Shak

This may seem like an odd post, but I'm just trying to gather some data to assess feasibility on an idea I thought up.

About how many dorms are available on your campus?

Is staying in a dorm freshman year a requirement, and if not, what % of freshman usually do anyway at your campus?

How did you go about picking your dorm, did you:
a) Go with a friend's recommendation.
b) Picked whatever dorm was most convenient location-wise.
c) Carefully go through each dorm's pros/cons and decide.

Obviously the criteria aren't exclusive but essentially what I'm trying to find out is to what degree of scrutiny did you go when picking your dorm. How much importance did you place on picking your specific dorm? Were there any specific must-haves that made you pick one dorm over another? Oh and one more question, did you physically go and tour a bunch of the dorms before deciding or did you base your decision off your own research (Internet, family, etc.)

Any replies will be greatly appreciated, I hope I don't take too much of your time.

Cards4Life

16 dorms available for all students, primarily occupied by freshmen and sophomores.

2 dorms for sophomores or students 19+ or grad students

3 apartment complexes for sophomores, married students, grad students, or students 19+


Through conferences and youth sport camps, I was able to stay in 7 different buildings and check them out. I didn't really care what I wanted in a dorm--the really nice dorms tend to be not so social (most of the nice dorms are suites), and the "crappy" dorms tend to be very social because people hang out in the lounges and keep their doors open more often. At least at my school anyway.

I changed my assignment 3 days after getting it online, because my roommate-to-be was a 5th year open option LAS major and I wanted to live with either another freshman or a sophomore, and by your 5th year, I would hope one would have a major picked....I changed to a triple in the building next door and was happy for the most part.

b@r!um

13 dorms at my college, no apartments. 3 of the dorms have kitchens.

98% of all students live on campus

Freshmen are just assigned a dorm, they don't get to pick. Sophomore year I picked a relatively quiet dorm that is close to the dining halls and guarantees a spacious single. Despite these perks the dorm is the most unpopular on campus because of its prison feel: bare concrete walls and no daylight in the bathrooms, hallways or common rooms.

OKgirl

Living on campus isn't manditory for anyone, but 85% of the people live in them. There are 2 female dorms, 3 male dorms, and campus apartments. In order to live in the apartments, you have to have a kid, so that's out of the question. I picked my dorm because more freshman tend to live there and they offer more group activities. When I toured, it seemed like the decor in the one I picked was more modern than the other. Mine also has a workout room, so that's pretty cool. It's also right by almost all of my classes for the next 5 years. I really hope I like it.

Easy

I usually divide a circular target into regions, with each region representing a particular dormitory. Then I blindfold myself, prop the target somewhere, and grab my bow; then I shoot an arrow at the target, letting Apollo guide my arrow as to decide which dorm I shall be residing in.

bookwormgirl

At my campus, there are 3 dorms (2 for freshman, 1 for sophomores and up + graduates) and there are a few apartment complexes. It isn't a requirement to live on campus freshman year, so not alot of students do. I'll say about 50% do. My university is more like a commuter school. When it came to picking the dorm, we could pick our first and second choice. I actually went on tours so I knew which dorm I wanted.

Cards4Life

I forgot to mention that living on-campus isn't required for anyone, although very strongly recommended for freshmen, and I'd guess that around 90-95% of frosh live in the dorms.

There are several quality apartment buildings directly south and west of campus (literally across the street in some cases) and a lot of older students choose to live in the west part of town (about 2 miles away, 5 min drive). Off campus rates are very reasonable--cheaper per person per month than the dorms or on-campus apartments at least.

catsushi

I wish I knew dorm info, but I still don't know who my roomie is or where I am staying. So frusterating!! Supposedly we are supposed to find out soon...

all605

My campus has 6 dorms. I'm not sure of the exact numbers, but probably like 50-60% of freshmen live on campus (it's not required and lots commute).

As far as dorm selection, freshmen have no choice (other than choosing the quiet-living option); we just get assigned.

DubV

I chose mine because it's where all of my classes are and it's where all the parties are at. It's downtown was well so many restaurants and bars are nearby.

Shak

Thank you for your responses, it seems like most of you toured your campus and picked which dorm would be best, while some of you didn't get the choice (any idea how common this is?)

I suppose it'd be easiest to just out and say what I have in mind. I was thinking of creating a website dedicated to reviewing dorms across campuses in the US (validated user generated content).. Initially I'll probably provide some incentive to write a review but hopefully it'll kick off from there. I want these to not just give the skinny, but a fleshed out review of all the dorm features with some pictures and whatnot.

Perhaps I'm getting ahead of myself here, but if such a resource existed how many of you would have thought it handy at the time? I'm not sure if I'm trying to fill a gap that just doesn't exist.

salamander

^I saw a website like that once, specific to NYU dorms, and it was fantastic. I think it's a great idea to put together one site for many campuses- incredibly time-consuming, but it would be a great resource.

To answer the questions in your original post, there are 13 residence halls, 4 campus apartment buildings, and fraternity/sorority housing on my campus. Freshmen aren't required to live on campus, but nearly all of them do anyway, although fewer upper-class students do. And freshmen don't get to select our dorms at all- unless you live in a specific learning community, it's done by lottery.

RacinReaver

If I were you, I'd also extend it to off-campus living options. I know there were certain landlords/companies in Pittsburgh that were notorious for ripping off students or providing extremely poor service. One of my friends had a hole in their wall that went through to the next apartment, so the landlord fixed it by scooting their dresser over by a foot to cover the hole up!

beanieboo

i would say theres about 15 different dorms on campus. i would also estimate that 99% of freshman live on campus.. something like 85% of all undergrads live on campus anyway.

freshman year we got to request a campus and i went off of what i heard at orientation and the assumptions i made about each campus. i got the one i didnt request and loved it anyway.

this year theres an established heirarchy to which dorms are best so obviously everyone tries for the best and then just falls down the line according to pick.

like salamander said.. at a school like NYU where you can suggest different dorms that are quite different sometimes its nice to have a site. i helped one of my best friends pick out her NYU dorm frosh year. if that was the case for me i would do more research into each dorm

ASC

9 different dorms on campus; only three available to freshman and sophomores (unless you live with your kids/hubby/family)

Freshman/sophomores required to live on campus unless their parents live within 20 miles. Probably....50-60% of freshman/sophomores live on campus

38% of students live on campus overall.

As far as picking my dorm, well, I'm applying this fall (though gauranteed admission), so I'm still deciding!