Dorm Options

The College Dorm Survival Guide: How to Survive and Thrive in Your New Home Away from Home
by Julia DeVillers

(Page 2 of 4)

Big Halls

Some residence halls are like small cities. Huge. The largest, the Jester Center at the University of Texas at Austin, is a million-plus square feet and has beds for three thousand students.

Pros: When hundreds of students live together, your chances of finding people you click with rise exponentially. There's always something to do: Large buildings typically have a lot going on, from activities to hall government to a party at any given time. Tall buildings have great views. And climbing stairs can be good exercise.

Cons: It can sometimes be easy to get lost in the shuffle of so many students. It can feel overwhelming and impersonal. There might be long waits for elevators, gym equipment, etc. You'll have long walks upstairs if the elevators break. Some high-rises are very high - if you're afraid of heights, request to be placed elsewhere.

Small Halls

Small halls usually house under a hundred people. They might look like houses or apartment buildings. They might even be houses or small apartment buildings.

Pros: Small dorms often have a cozy, homelike feel to them, and sometimes the amenities are nicer. You may feel closer to your fellow dormmates. You'll probably know your hall director on a first-name basis, too.

Cons: There may not be as much variety of people to meet. Fewer activities. And, like living in a small town, more people will know your business.

First-Year Experience Halls

These halls are for freshmen or new students only. They often have special programs and services to help ease you into college life.

Pros: Living completely among first-year students who are all going through what you are can be reassuring. Everyone is new, so everyone hasn't cliqued off yet. And the programs the dorm offers specifically for you can be really beneficial.

Cons: Everyone's about your age, so you'll have little or no guidance from experienced upperclassmen. Liv- ing in these dorms may result in "freshmen gone wild" syndrome.

Mixed-Year Halls

These dorms have a mix of lower- and upper-grade students. Freshmen may live next door to seniors or even in the same room.

Pros: Here you'll find more variety of ages. New students can benefit from the wisdom and experience of others.

Cons: New freshmen can feel overwhelmed living with seasoned pros. Cliques already in place can leave freshmen out. Older students can prey on freshman inexperience.

Coeducational Housing

Most dorms mix up guys and girls. They might live right next door to each other or on separate areas of the same floor, or floors might alternate all-girl and all-guy.

Pros: In coed dorms, you'll have the opportunity to get to know students of both sexes, making it more like the "real world." It's a good way to learn to be comfortable with the opposite sex, especially for people who don't have siblings of the other gender.

Cons: Some people may feel the need to impress the opposite sex, which can result in fashion traumas or hall dramas. And there's always the possibility of hookups gone wrong.

Realllly Coed

It's extremely rare and incredibly controversial, but a handful of the most liberal schools around the country have extended coeducational housing beyond buildings and floors to include actual sharing of rooms, making for some of the most liberal dormitory policies. Haverford College (PA), Swarthmore (PA), Wesleyan University (CT), and Hampshire College (MA) allow men and women to live together.

All-Male or All-female Housing

Some halls only house people of one gender. Some think it's old-fashioned; others enjoy the benefits.

Pros: Many people feel more comfortable in a single-gender dorm, especially for their first year away from home. There's no need to impress the opposite sex. You can wear whatever you want. This situation can be good for bonding with friends.

Cons: Nobody of the opposite sex.

Your Call

Some people loved it. Others not so much. Here are some things students had to say about living in a single-sex dorm.

"Major girl cattiness. Total stereotype of gossip and backstabbing."

"No girls in the dorm? Lame."

"Really empowering. All the girls were so supportive of each other and we became really close."

"Great, because I focused on studying and sleeping. I met girls in class, at night, so it didn't hurt my social life any."

Twenty-four-Hour Quiet Halls

Some halls have noise restrictions - no loud parties or loud music allowed at any time.

Pros: It's easier to sleep and study without drunk people screaming up and down the halls and without loud music blasting from next door.

Cons: These quiet halls can have reputations as "dork dorms." This might or might not be true and students might or might not care. Some may find these dorms too quiet or antisocial.

From the outside, our dorm was the study dorm. I got the reaction "Ohhhh, you live in the HONORS dorm" from some people. But from the inside, people knew it was not as such. Some people had a full sound system that they would use at all hours of the night, and it would shake the walls and knock the plaster off! The girl across the hall from me was a sorority pledge who partied hard and came in at all hours of the night. So, I was living with some of the most intelligent people on campus I had ever met, but they also, despite what outside people might have thought, knew how to have fun.

- Sarah Mast, University of Southern California grad

Copyright © 2006 by Julia DeVillers. Excerpted by permission of Three Rivers Press, a division of Random House, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.

About the Author

Julia DeVillers is the author of several books, including Girlwise: How to Be Confident, Capable, Cool, and In Control and How My Private, Personal Journal Became a Bestseller. She lives in Columbus, Ohio.