Posts tagged rooms

Howdy. So, first of all, the rooming process is something that’s highly personalized and considered for each student. Before you arrive at Bennington, you fill out a housing application to Student Life where you’re asked questions about things like: when you go to bed, when you wake up, how messy you are, what you like to do for fun, etc. etc. ad infinitum. The idea is for Student Life to get the best sense of your personality that they can from the application.

From there, the Dean of Students reads each application and pairs each student up with a roommate (in relatively rare cases, students can be placed in triples or quads; but speaking as someone who has lived in both, I’ve never really lacked for floorspace in either situation). From that initial pairing, the Dean takes the roommates and places them in houses that fit their lifestyles as best as possible.

Another component to the roommate thing is that every semester you and your roommate will write a Roommate Agreement with one another, as facilitated by your House Chairs. The agreement offers a really good chance for you and your roommate to have an open dialogue about what your values are, how you’ll solve disagreements, and what your policies are on guests, noise, and mess. Having that direct line of communication, in my experience, has always been a really valuable resource in ensuring a harmonious living situation.

-Evan ‘13

Yes. There are six quads - all in the 70s houses - that are four-person rooms. Having lived in one myself, I can say that they are absolutely massive and perfectly suitable for a four-person living situation. The 70s houses also have what are commonly referred to as the upstairs quads, which are four separate rooms that converge around a shared common room. As far as I know, freshmen aren’t placed into these quads, so it’s a safe bet that if you’re placed in a quad it will be one of the downstairs ‘studio’ quads.

-Evan ‘13

o hei thar

Bingham-specific, something you should definitely bring is a floor lamp and a desk lamp. Talk to your roommate; see if they already have one, because you probably don’t need two. Bingham doesn’t have overhead lighting and most other colonial houses don’t either. Floor lamps are always handy to have around anyway.

Being the best there ever was is also an important trait to have, so, yeah, be conscientious that you’re always doing that. Otherwise, you’ll get a better idea once you get here!

Looking forward to meeting you in a few weeks! Enjoy the rest of your summer!

-Evan ‘13

The word from Student Life is sometime in mid-July, barring any sorta delays. So, probably not for at least another week or two. Just a heads-up, though: in Admissions, I/we only know as much about housing/roommates/classes as the incoming freshmen do, so we will probably never be a great resource to ask about things like that.

Your best bet (assuming that you’re an incoming freshman) for that kind of information is either to ask around on the Class of 2016 Facebook group or call the office of Student Life at (802)-440-4330. I’d say give it another couple of weeks before you start making phone calls though - it’ll all be worth it, I promise.

-Evan ‘13

If you’re planning on bringing a bunch of electronics I would say…. yes. 

-Michaela ‘13

Hey there! Glad you found us.

So, first of all, all our ‘houses’ are technically dorms. They can each house roughly 35 students each, and they are all maintained and cleaned by the College. The reason I think you might have been confused is that most students typically refer to the dorms as houses - they look and feel less institutional and more home-y, so it’s basically just semantics. But yes! Houses = Dorms, in Bennington parlance.

Roommates are chosen and placed by Student Life on the basis of a housing survey that asks questions like: ‘when do you go to bed/wake up?’ ‘what music/movies do you like/dislike?’ ‘what are you looking for in a house/roommate?’ I always say it’s kind of like the Sorting Hat from Harry Potter, honestly. No one knows for sure whether it’s an art or a science. What’s cool is that each house has its own personality that forms from the community living in it, which results in residents taking a lot of pride in the house they live in.

Finally, girls and guys are not roomed together by default. While it is totally fine to reserve a room with a member of the opposite sex, Student Life doesn’t do it randomly; you have to specifically request a roommate of the opposite gender.

Hope this helped!

-Evan ‘13

Bed, desk, bookshelf, dresser and closet/armoire.

Kevin ‘13

Unless there is a medical reason for a student to have a single, the way things generally break down is freshmen and sophomores in doubles, and juniors and seniors guaranteed singles.

Liam ‘14