Is Bassett the best dorm at Duke?

Bassett is arguably the worst Freshman dorm at Duke. It has not been renovated recently. My room was a decent size, but it had mold, bugs, and peeling paint. The bathrooms are dirty af and literally have southern-style saloon doors because they're so old. Freshman housing is random, so you don't have a choice, but if you have a mold allergy, definitely get accommodations to avoid Bassett. Additionally, the Genetics and Genomics Focus cluster lived here (at least during the 18-19 and 19-20 school years), so if you are considering that FOCUS program, maybe reconsider.

Pretty terrible experience, other than the fact that I liked my roommate and the community in the dorm. My room was the smallest room out of any other room I saw in Bassett/East Campus, and I'm pretty sure it was supposed to be a single. This review may be inaccurate soon in the future though because I'm pretty sure they're renovating the dorm (finally lol).

I wish there were more variables to score dorms on, because I honestly didn't think Basset was the hellhole some people make it out to be (although it certainly still had its issues). The main downsides of Bassett are its age (hasn't been renovated in what feels like centuries), extensive mold problem that forced a couple people to move out mid-semester, and things took forever to get fixed (3 weeks in a 60°F room before our heater got fixed... woohoo). The rooms and bathroom were pretty average from my point of view. Bathrooms are communal style but basically what I expected. Rooms really come down to luck of draw, and you can either get stuck in a tiny little closet (like me) or an average to above average sized room if you're lucky. The rooms themselves weren't too bad though and I'd argue no matter what room you get, you will be fine living in it for a couple semesters. I'm someone who likes to do their school work in the dorm room rather than a library or public space and it worked out just fine for me. The main positive about being in Bassett is the social scene. I'm not the most social person in the world but I found myself quickly making friends and hanging out in the common room pretty often. In Bassett everyone bonds over the "suck" of the dorm and has a good time. Even if you aren't a super social person, at least stop in the common room for Duke games... if they are close the place gets ROWDY.

Unlike many people, I actually enjoyed my experience at Bassett overall. I had a pretty decent size single and a nice view of the front quad. I also had a large closet -- double the size of the one in my current West Campus dorm The bathrooms could have been better for sure. The doors to the stalls and shower curtains were really annoying. However, there were a lot more sinks in the bathrooms than you'll find in some dorms, which was really helpful in the morning when everyone was getting ready. There's multiple vending machines on the first floor and a laundry room on the second floor. The laundry could use more washers and dryers though. Basset's close to Marketplace, but it's a bit of a walk to the bus stop. However, I didn't mind it. Overall, it's not as bad as people say at all, but it may be hard to feel that way when you look in other dorms like Trinity. But If you end up living here, you'll be okay, I promise!