After living in Schwalm my freshman year, I thought I would be in here either until I graduate or I decided to live off campus. All my friends are in Schwalm so it’s easy to hang out with everyone. When it comes to doing homework or just hanging out during down time, we’re all here. We’re still right by everything because campus is small, yet it still feels far from everything. However, my roommate and I have been considering moving to Garver because all our friends won’t be in Schwalm next year. If I counted right, roughly 12 of our 15 friends in Schwalm won’t be living here next year; most will be in Garver with a couple going to East. We have about less than a week to decide what we want to do, so we made a list comparing the two res halls that I wanted to share with you guys in case anyone else is struggling with this decision!
Garver
Pro- closer to all the buildings, except one
Pro- air conditioning
Pro- where many of our friends are/will be
Pro- more private shower areas
Pro- more and comfier furniture in lobby
Pro- allowed to have your personal microwave and mini-fridge
Pro- normally a bit cleaner than Schwalm (Schwalm is clean, but I guess Garver is cleaner?)
Pro- has won many of the Homecoming competitions in the past couple of years
Pro- has a ping pong table and an air hockey table
Pro- donuts for finals
Pro- a bit higher population
Con- cannot move the furniture
Con- more fire alarms have gone off
Schwalm
Pro- cheaper
Pro- able to rearrange room and stack furniture, including being able to bunk and loft your bed with what is already provided in your room
Pro- no doors separating the girls/guys side so it’s easier to make friends of both genders
Pro- very social
Pro- allowed to have a mini-fridge
Pro- Snow Bowl (when there is snow, there is a two-hand-touch football tournament in Rhiney Bowl)
Pro- has a lobby, basement, rec room, and spare room to hang out in compared to Garver’s lobby
Pro- the parking lot is closer/the U has more driving space
Pro- hardly no complaints about playing music with the door open (being smart about loudness and time is implied)
Con- No air conditioning
Con- farther from everything
Here’s a quick sum-up: Schwalm is cheaper, is typically considered more social, but it’s farther away and doesn’t have air conditioning. Garver has air conditioning and is closer to everything, but is more expensive and there isn’t as much freedom with arranging the room. These are the deciding factors, but the list just goes a bit more in depth!
Nick Rush ’20 is studying Sports Management and plans on minoring in another business area. He plays baseball for MU, and he plans on working in the sports industry after graduation.