Frequently Asked Questions about Dorm Rooms

Floor Charts
At the Room Draw website, you can follow links to a floor plan of each of the floors in all the dorms. These charts give approximate size and configuration of each of the rooms on campus. The yellow highlights represent spaces reserved for you.
 
Room Size
Below is the square footage of dorm rooms throughout campus, as calculated several years ago. I’m sure that there is some variability to these numbers, particularly with singles in the Quads and Linde and doubles in Atwood and Linde. All student dorm rooms are carpeted, so there’s no need for area rugs. New students are only assigned to a few reserved singles in South.

Atwood double:  207 square feet
Atwood triple:    292 square feet
Atwood single:   157 square feet

Case double:     251 square feet
Case single:       181 square feet

East double:      200 square feet
East single:        130 square feet

Linde double:     196 square feet
Linde single:      120 square feet

North double:     200 square feet
North single:      130 square feet

South double:    212 square feet
South single:     100 square feet

West double:     200 square feet
West single:      130 square feet

Furniture
At Mudd, every student is provided with a bed, mattress, dresser, closet, desk and desk chair. Some rooms have bookshelves, while others may have a cushy chair as well. Any other furniture for the room is up to the individual.

Extra stuff: Furniture from Overstock.com (coupon code: 121728 for 10% off)

Lighting
All rooms have a strong overhead light in the room. We do allow halogen lamps—as long as they’re used carefully to prevent against fire. Otherwise, a desk lamp, and perhaps a bedside reading lamp, will be useful.

Air Conditioning
Every dorm on campus has built-in air conditioning, so there's no need to buy your own.

Refrigerators
You can bring refrigerators, but they should be small and as energy efficient as you can get. If you’d like to buy one around here after you arrive, or order it for pick up after you arrive, check these places—all of which have stores within 3 miles of Mudd:

Best Buy (Central Avenue and 8th Street in Montclair) has a good selection of compact refrigerators (Best Buy fridges).

Walmart (Foothill Boulevard and Benson Avenue in Upland) has many models (Walmart fridges).

Staples (Foothill Boulevard and Towne Avenue in Pomona) also has several smaller models available (Staples fridges).

Sears (In Montclair Plaza, Moreno Avenue between Central and Benson in Montclair) also has many available (Sears fridges).

Home Depot (Mountain Avenue and 8th Street in Upland) also has a couple of models (Home Depot fridges).

Microfridge is a company that sells a combined microwave and refrigerator unit. It is possible to purchase one directly from them by calling 1-800-994-0165. We no longer participate in their rental program. It is much cheaper to buy the unit and keep it for all four years—and even sell or bequeath it to another student when you graduate.

(There is no Kmart near Mudd, by the way.) A refrigerator is another thing that you may want to share with your roommate. Check with him/her first.

Microwaves and Other Cooking Appliances
We do allow students to bring microwaves to use in their rooms. Hot pots with automatic turn-offs, popcorn poppers and even toaster ovens, used safely, we also allow. Hot plates with open coils, though, are not allowed in the residence halls (along with anything else with an open flame or red hot coil). There are communal kitchens available for student use in South, Case and Linde. These have refrigerators, freezers, stovetops and ovens, along with cupboard and counter space.

Sheets
All dorm mattresses at HMC require twin, “extra long” sheets. Regular twin sheets will not fit on the mattresses. So, be sure that you get extra long ones. Some places that have them detailed online are as follows:

Bed, Bath, and Beyond has a whole line of sheets for dorm beds available in extra long. They also have lots of other stuff for dorm rooms. The closest store to Mudd is at the huge Ontario Mills Mall about 10 miles east on the I-10.

Over the web, Uparents.com and Dormbuys.com have sets of extra long sheets along with plenty of other dorm stuff.

These are just a couple of suggestions. You can find these in many places, though the supply of extra long sheets available at stores in the Claremont area on Orientation weekend may get thin.

Electricity
California and Harvey Mudd had a number of electrical power outages during 2000 and 2001 (for a little history, check http://www.hmc.edu/admin/deanstu/power.html). While the power grid and its supply have stabilized, it may be prudent to prepare for the possibility of an interruption in the electrical supply to individual dorm rooms. With that in mind, bringing a battery-powered alarm clock as a back-up to your electric clock-radio may be good. Flashlights are good, too. Candles, however, are not allowed in the dorms.

Phones, Answering Machines and Cell Phones
We provide a telephone hook-up in each room but not a physical telephone. Electric cordless phones are useless during a power outage. You can bring one, but consider the possibility of a regular hard-wired phone, at least as a reserve. Since we have a central voice mail system (http://www.cuc.claremont.edu/phone/FAQ.asp), you also would not need a phone with an answering machine—though our voice mail system can get temperamental at times. Remember that you’d only need one phone/answering machine per room, so work out with your roommate who will bring it.

Cell phones are ubiquitous and convenient these days. There are, of course, lots of options. Sprint has a transmission tower on our Sprague Library and gets good reception around most of campus. Some companies will be signing people up at the Huntley Bookstore during Orientation. 

Thrift Stores
If you don’t want to invest in furniture, ask to go on thrift store runs with upperclass students after you arrive. There is plenty of good, cheap furniture to be found at the multitudes of thrift stores in the area. Scripps has a good list of places at http://www.scrippscollege.edu/students/sarlo/guide-claremont.php#thrift.

Cars and parking
Freshman or 1st year students are not allowed to bring automobiles as HMC is unable to accommodate additional parking.

For questions or concerns, please contact Dean Chris Sundberg at (909) 621-8757 or chris_sundberg@hmc.edu.

Bikes and Bike Locks
Many people have bikes on campus. These are particularly convenient for getting to classes on other campuses. There are bike racks at each dorm as well as near the academic buildings’ entrances. However, thieves regularly come through campus targeting bikes. Investing in a solid-steel, keyed U lock is essential, as often the thieves are found with boltcutters. Chris Sundberg will have these locks available for the subsidized price of $10.00.
Otherwise, storing your bike in your room is the safest place.

Storage
We have storage available for students on campus. During the year, students may store boxes and other things in storage rooms located in each dorm. These have combination locks on them to which residents are given the combo. For the summer, we encourage students to take anything valuable home with them. If you want to store stuff here, you may put it in the dorm storage rooms or in several storage pods we provide for storage off campus. Both in-dorm storage and storage pods are completely locked over the summer, with no entry allowed. Ideally, for security and to reduce the need to rent the expensive storage pods, students should (perhaps in groups) rent a space in the multitude of mini-storage places near campus. Some provide free truck use.

Maintenance
Individual rooms on campus are cleaned by building attendants every other week at the discretion of the resident and if things are generally picked up off the floor. One building attendant is assigned to each dorm. Suite and communal bathrooms are cleaned weekly. Lounges and courtyards are cleaned each day. The Facilities & Maintenance department is here to assist students in a variety of ways. In addition to cleaning services, the department also handles maintenence and repair of dorm facilities, key and card swipe access, room reservations, summer housing and grounds services. The Facilities and Maintence offices are located in the basement of the Platt Center, and the department webpage is at http://www.hmc.edu/about/administrativeoffices/fm.html.

The "What to Bring" List
The following is a suggested list of stuff to bring. A (*) denotes optional stuff while a (#) denotes stuff you should contact your roommate about before bringing it along with you (thereby avoiding duplicates).

• Bed sheets – TWIN – EXTRA LONG (regular twin sheets will not fit on the mattresses)
• Blankets and/or comforter
• Pillow
• Towels
• Toiletries
• Trash can (metal ones won’t burn if something catches fire in it)
• Alarm clock (battery powered, along with your usual one if it happens to be electric)
• Flashlight
• Calculator (a “scientific” one is useful, but not essential)
• Backpack/bookbag
• Laundry basket
• Laundry detergent
• Quarters (for laundry: 50 cents per wash, 25 cents for 45 minutes of drying)
• Duct tape (it fixes everything, but don't use it on walls, ceilings or carpet or it will damage them)
• # Phone (not a cordless one, since it will not be functional if we happen to lose electricity)
• # Answering machine
• *#Stereo system
• *#Microwave
• *#Small refrigerator
• *#Small fan (besides air flow, they make fine “white noise” machines to sleep to)
• *#Iron/ironing board (our advice: befriend someone in ROTC instead)
• Silverware and a couple unbreakable dishes
• Computer (see Computing and Information System's FAQs about what kind)
• Camera
• Power strip and extension cord
• Dictionary/Thesaurus
• Décor for the room
• Shelves, milk crates, etc.
• Desk light (bring fluorescent or compact fluorescent lights because they are more energy efficient)
• Sports/hobby equipment
• If you decide to work you will need official ID. Most students use a state photo ID & their social security card or a valid passport. Keep in mind that there are other acceptable variations. 

We think that’s about it! During orientation, time will be set aside to go to Target / Wal-Mart / Staples, so don’t worry if you forget something.