Most college students can’t wait to ditch their 8×8 college dorm rooms for off-campus housing. But at Wofford College, senior students are happily turning to an unusual housing option: apartment-style. We haven’t heard of students being excited about living on campus …until now! Laura Corbin, the Director of News Services, tells all!
Courtesy of Wofford College
So, what is The Village at Wofford College?
The Village is a complex of apartment-style housing in a neighborhood setting at Wofford College. Each apartment has four bedrooms, two full baths, a common living room, full kitchen and dining area, and each unit comes with a porch or patio complete with its own rocking chairs.
The apartments are arranged in a variety of buildings – single-story one-apartment houses up to two-story apartments with four apartments. The styles and colors of the buildings vary, providing a break from traditional row after row of look-alike apartment buildings.
Our readers are definitely not thrilled with the thoughts of 8×8 dorms. What are the perks of living in The Village?
The Village is filled with perks. Aside from apartments that mimic what students will see as they move out into the world on their own, The Village provides for opportunities for students to gather in commons areas – such as the amphitheater where outdoor concerts are held, the bocce ball courts, the beach volleyball courts or the basketball courts. The Village also is next door to the campus tennis courts. In addition, the full kitchens give students the chance to cook their own meals, and host their fellow students as well as faculty for meals and social activities.
Courtesy of Wofford College
Why keep Wofford College senior students on campus?
Keeping senior students on campus does a number of things. First, it’s an opportunity to bring the senior class back together, again to foster that collegiality. They have been “mixed together” with sophomores and juniors after having spent their first year together in freshmen residence halls.
Coming back as seniors gives them a chance to enjoy their final year of college together. Also, having the seniors together in The Village provides a great transition out into the world. The apartment-style housing gives the sense of more independence, and allows the seniors to prepare for even more of that when they graduate and move on with their lives, probably living in apartments of their own.
Did we see something about front porch rocking chairs and borrow-a-bike program? Now that’s just cool. What else does The Village offer its residents?
Yes, each apartment comes with its own rocking chairs on its front porches, encouraging students to sit outside and chat, wave and talk with each other as they walk to their own apartments, and just chill out. The camps also has a borrow-a-bike program. In addition to the bocce, basketball and volleyball, The Village also has open green spaces for cookouts, Frisbee throwing and other outdoor activities. A Village laundry center also has study and meeting spaces.
Courtesy of Wofford College
Anything else we should know?
Absolutely! The Village is expanding, opening Phase V this fall. This phase features room for 80 students in loft-style apartments on the upper two floors of a three-story building that will anchor The Village area.
The facility will feature the Grand Galleria, an open-air eating and gathering space that will allow easy access and encourage flow into and through the building. It also will include a deli/market for The Village students to do their grocery shopping for fresh food preparation.
There will be other meeting spaces, high-technology classrooms, and the Center for Professional Excellence, which houses Wofford’s Career Services, Success Initiative and other programs aimed at providing students with necessary skills to move into their careers or graduate programs.
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Whether you’ve already been admitted to a college or you’re still waiting to hear back, the future is inevitable: soon, you’ll be leaving home, and setting off on a new adventure. On the plus side, there’ll be no more strict parental curfews and rules to deal with. But on the minus, you can say goodbye to your spacious bedroom—you’re likely to spend at least your first year crammed into a tiny dorm room with a roommate (who’s likely to be a total stranger).
