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I'm part of Grand Valley State University's class of 2027, the largest freshman class in the history of this university. The size of my class was unexpectedly large, and produced a lot of issues regarding housing, therefore GVSU had to make a lot of changes in order to have as many housing options as possible for us. As a result of this change, the study rooms of the original 3 dormitories (Copeland, Robinson, and my building, Kistler) were turned into dorm rooms for students. I was one of the few who was placed in what they now call "Quad Style Traditional Living". Although Kistler is one of the oldest buildings on campus, and lacks the luxuries of newer buildings, I count myself lucky in many ways regarding my rooming assignment, but there are still negatives. Frequently the halls smell like weed, and the bathrooms tend to be dirty. Smells don't infiltrate your room, and a solid pair of shower shoes will combat any ickiness in the bathrooms. On the positive side, Kistler is unusually quiet. I really thought I'd struggle with the noise of my neighbors and such at college but I don't hear ANYTHING. Anyway, regarding my experience in my style dorm, I thought I'd hate it. I was upset about it for the summertime, but had to keep reminding myself I was lucky to even get a dorm. Surprisingly, I actually love my room! The quads in Kistler are incredibly spacious and leave lots of opportunity to rearrange the room however your group sees fit. The other rooms in Kistler have very small windows and little space to roam around, but quads have beautiful windows that reach nearly floor to ceiling, and wall to wall. The windows exclusively look towards a forested area behind the building, which is beautiful and provides nice privacy vs windows that may face Kleiner Commons. There is a TON of common space in our room (so much that we could fit an entire couch and kitchenette with ease) and an abundance of natural light. This makes up for the lack of common spaces to study and hang out within the building itself. I HIGHLY recommend the quad style living- especially if you have a close group of friends you'd like to live with! I was pleasantly surprised and you might be as well!
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