Bridgewater, VA – There are 10 residential areas on Bridgewater College’s campus. What are the pros and cons according to students?
Bridgewater College’s underclassmen residence halls are Dillon Hall, Geisert Hall and Daleville Hall. Dillon and Geisert are community style, meaning there are shared bathrooms for the whole hall. Daleville is suite style, which includes a private bathroom between two rooms.
This article covers some student opinions of Bridgewater College’s seven upperclassmen residence halls.
Bridgewater College has four apartment style, upperclassmen residence halls, meaning that two to six people share a bathroom, living space and kitchen. Wright Hall and Heritage Hall are Bridgewater’s community style upperclassmen housing. And Blue Ridge Hall has both suite style and community style dorms.
The Wampler Towers are apartments located beside McKinney Hall and consist of 4 “towers,” each housing up to 48 residents. “My roommate and I thought it would be a good fit,” said one anonymous resident, living in the Towers. She went on to explain that they enjoyed using the kitchen space that each apartment had. She did say that she didn’t feel as connected to the people living in her building.
The Towers are a good fit for residents who want their own kitchen and living room. The Towers might not be a good fit for someone who likes a lot of community because of the location on campus and the apartment style design.
Stone Village is located on East College Street, so there is some distance between it and most academic buildings. It consists of five houses that hold 12-24 students each.“I really like living with 5 other people,” said senior Kinley Woodard, a Communication Studies major with a minor in Philosophy & Religion, who resides in Stone Village. Stone Village is a good fit for students who want to live with their friends, but it may not be a good fit for students who do not want to walk very far for classes.
The Crimson Inn is located on Main Street in Bridgewater. It used to be a motel and is secluded from the rest of campus. Because of the motel style, each apartment is separate and leads outside instead of into a hallway. Patricia Long, a second year resident of Crimson Inn, mentioned that there was no living room area for her apartment, nor was there a break room for the building. “There’s a little table in the kitchen,” Long said.
The Crimson Inn is a good fit for students who want to be further away from campus. It’s not a good fit for people who want to utilize their residence hall for a heightened sense of community.
The Second Street Apartments is a small house on Second Street in Bridgewater that holds eight students. Having such limited space, the rooms can be hard to get, but might be a good fit for students who want to live away from the noise of campus.
Wright Hall and Heritage Hall are connected residence halls behind Bowman Hall, an academic building. Residents generally think of them as easy options because of their central location and large capacity.
Wright or Heritage might be a good fit if students want to be close to Bowman, the Carter Center and the Forrer Learning Commons. However, they may not be the best fit if a student does not like community bathrooms.
Blue Ridge is also one of the larger capacity halls, currently holding about 120 students. “Its central location on campus was convenient,” said one resident, who requested anonymity, in response to a question about why she and her suitemates picked Blue Ridge. Blue Ridge is beside the Kline Campus Center and the Rebecca Quad. “There’s only one [kitchen] for the whole entire building,” said that same resident. The same goes for the laundry room.
Blue Ridge may be a good fit for students who want to be close to everything on campus. It may not be the best fit for people who will be frustrated by the lack of kitchens and laundry facilities.
Stone Village and the Wampler Towers are often the most highly coveted residence halls, so that is another thing to be considered for students choosing housing. There are obviously pros and cons to any of Bridgewater College’s residence halls that may be considered when choosing housing.
Each residence hall has advantages and disadvantages, depending on lifestyle and personality. Of these seven, Stone Village and Wampler Towers are the most coveted by BC students. The housing process begins in the Spring, and housing choices can be made through BC’s StarRez Portal.
