Transitioning for high school to college is a big change. One large component of that change is that you have to transition into the dorm life. Since Swarthmore does not have freshmen housing, any student in any class year can live in any of the residents halls around campus. I decided to give you a mini tour of each of the possible places on campus that you can live in your freshmen year here at Swat.
I will start with Hallowell in this post, since that is where I lived my first year. Hallowell is co-ed, like the majority of the dorms on campus. Hallowell is actually connected to two other dorms on campus: Dana and Danawell. Hallowell is one of the quieter dorms on campus. The rooms are either doubles or singles, so if you live there as a freshman you would be placed with one roommate. The rooms are very spacious.Each room also has lovely oriel window which proved to be an amazing spot for me to work on my sketches.
One great thing that I loved about Hallowell was the view. Hallowell is located right next to the Crum, so there was a wonderful view of the 200+ acres of woods at Swarthmore. On move-in day the first thing I noticed, and loved about my room, was the window. I used my extra blankets and pillows to create a comfy little area to relax and sketch in. In hindsight, I wish I had taken more advantage of that cozy little spot.
One thing, other than the window, that I think I will miss most about Hallowell is its location. It was super close to my classes, the dining hall, and the gym. When I was running late for class because I woke up at 9:50 a.m. for a 9:55 a.m. class on Tuesday morning, it made it a lot easier for me to get to my class quicker.
Like the other dorms on campus, Hallowell has a kitchen and a laundry room. An extra bonus is that because Hallowell is connected to two other dorms, I had easy access to the kitchens and laundry rooms in those halls as well. Overall, I loved Hallowell. I would have loved to live there again for my sophomore year, but my roommate and I are excited to see what the other residence halls on campus are like.
