Dormitories and living conditions
- Thread starter derekz19
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Its been a while but I'm pretty sure some things haven't changed.
Buildings are 60+ years old so they are going to show their age, but the problems at KP were more about the mechanical equipment servicing the buildings than the buildings themselves. There was no A/C, just fans but one blowing in and one blowing out would create quite a naturally aspirated environment even in the dog days of August. Heat was hit and miss in the winter, but winter views out my window of LI Sound made it tolerable. I always found the furniture more depressing than anything.
Bathrooms are communal just like you would find in a restaurant ... Three sinks, three urinals and five commodes. Showers are also communal, check your shyness at the door, a big tile room with six shower heads sticking out of the wall.
Some M/N post videos to youtube, that will give you a "real" look inside the dorms.
Buildings are 60+ years old so they are going to show their age, but the problems at KP were more about the mechanical equipment servicing the buildings than the buildings themselves. There was no A/C, just fans but one blowing in and one blowing out would create quite a naturally aspirated environment even in the dog days of August. Heat was hit and miss in the winter, but winter views out my window of LI Sound made it tolerable. I always found the furniture more depressing than anything.
Bathrooms are communal just like you would find in a restaurant ... Three sinks, three urinals and five commodes. Showers are also communal, check your shyness at the door, a big tile room with six shower heads sticking out of the wall.
Some M/N post videos to youtube, that will give you a "real" look inside the dorms.
Thanks for the info! Some things I've read suggest that in the past 3 -5 years that the buildings were all renovated with new furniture and new mechanical (maybe AC?). Can anyone confirm that? Also with the renovations - are the shower facilities the same?
I believe that all of the dorms have been completely gutted and redone in the last several years. My son went on a recent overnight visit. He is a low maintenance kid but said that the dorms were nice, there were two sinks in each room, that they did have heat/AC and that the room for two was much larger than my daughter's room for three at her University. He did not comment on the shower situation.
Here is the information straight from the USMMA website:The renovation of the last of six dormitories will be completed by the end of 2014. This will include individual room heating and air conditioning controls, completely modernized bathrooms for men and women, new fire suppression sprinkler systems, and brand new furniture and mattresses. - See more at: https://www.usmma.edu/about/leadership/campus-capital-improvements#sthash.0KYfUCV7.dpuf
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Heads ... not bathrooms. If you plan on going to KP, may as well start using the correct terminology now.
The way that link was worded, it sounds like the heads are essentially staying the same, they are just redoing the finishes. New sinks, toilets, tiles, etc.
Thanks! Just wondering if anyone who's been recently knows for sure. I'm not going - my child might go. I'm just a Mother
I'm a current student. 3rd Co/4th Co are trash. 1st, 2nd, and Band are new. With 1st being basically brand new. The academic buildings are terrible, we went through the firsts tri in hellishly hot classes. The bathrooms are 2 urinals and 4 stalls or so, there are separate bathrooms for males (upperclass/plebe) unless your son is on 2nd deck (mostly women). The bathrooms are decent in the new companies, trashy in the old. But, they are cleaned by plebes and constantly dirty. The showers are communal, with about 6 shower heads, but you can usually take a shower alone (after indoc, during indoc you will take communal 30 sec showers). But the mission here at KP is to make you a leader (now more than ever with the Sup't being an Army man) and tough as nails, so don't expect a cushy lifestyle here.
My son is in 4thCo and I have visited his quarters. Room is comfortable but very basic, as expected. Size is good and much larger than his room at NMMI, where he prep'd for one year. Bathrooms are ok and DS says that they (cadets) keep it very clean. I guess it depends on who you have on your floor. The only complaint I hear about facilities is in regards to the academic buildings. AC not working or no AC at all, and sometimes very difficult to concentrate in class during the summer. But as someone else mentioned, comfort is not a goal when these kids are being prepared to face much worse conditions. They learn to adapt and make the most of it. After 1 year at NMMI, my DS thinks USMMA is a five-star hotel.
I don't want to sound like that old man on the lawn yelling at kids. . . . but, when I attended KP, there was NO AC in most of the academic buildings and none at all in the barracks. . . . Plebe year, I don't even recall getting fan privileges much before November. . . . . Often times when at sea, the climate control conditions may not be very good either, whether in the workplace or accommodations. . . . and while I don't sail any longer, I do spend the occasional time onboard a vessel and have to live with the accommodations provided. . . sometimes I think that I am too old to spend a week in a room with six others and the head out the door, down the hall, through the galley and down one deck. . . but sometimes ya just gotta deal with it. . . .
Academic buildings are being re-done as part of capital improvement. Starting with Samuels Hall (humanities building). This will take very long though, as it is being done at a very slow pace. May be finished in 8-10 years.
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You took the words right out of my mouth.