New Hall is an all-women's college, founded around 1954.
- It is a modern college, meaning:
- Everybody is allowed to walk on the grass.
- The porters are nice.
- We aren't required to wear gowns to formal hall.
- It has no chapel or religious affiliation.
- We have to sign a form saying we've "kept" the term, but nobody actually checks if we're in college or not.
- They are slightly more on top of technological things:
- I got my Internet connection set up the first day. They sent me a form over the summer asking about my computer and had my account ready to be activated once I arrived and installed their virus software.
- Of course, we don't have quite the list of famous alumni, centuries-old tradition, or dining hall filled with portraits of long-dead college fellows that the older colleges do.
- The accomodations are in 3 different buildings. In ascending order of price:
- Old Block - this is where most of the freshers and a few second and third years live. Many rooms in Old Block are "split rooms." This does not mean that two people live in them - it means that the room has two stories (it's sort of like a large loft area). Old Block features a lot of depressing gray brick that residents generally try to cover with posters. Old Block is too ugly to be used for conference guests, so residents do not have to move out of their rooms over the holidays.
- New Block - this is where most of the second and third years live and where all four of us MIT people are housed this year. The rooms are spacious (though not gigantic) singles and all have ensuite bathrooms. It's a bit like a hotel room, especially when you consider the bedders. There are bulletin boards on the walls and ample closet space. New Block has a kitchen about the size of two closets for each hall of 18 people. New Block residents can stay in their rooms all during term (the longer one).
- Buckingham House - some second and third years live here. I've never been in it, but it is supposed to be even nicer than New Block. Buck House residents have to move out as soon as full term (the shorter one) ends.
- They do have some storage space for stuff over the holidays.
Other random stuff:
- They don't let you pay college bills by credit card, just cheque or cash.
- New Hall is at the opposite end of town from the Engineering Dept (25-30 min walk, 10-15 min bike).
- To make up for the distance, they have a decent selection of engineering textbooks in the library.
- They claim that the sea monster writhing on their crest is a dolphin - I don't believe it.