Hogwartsbound

First of all, thank you everyone for your help! I was wondering if anyone knew how to request dorms and which ones are considered the best/nicest?

hopkid

You will get an email a little later in the summer that will give you all of the proper information about how to select dorms and what not.

There is no "best" dorm - it depends on what you prefer. AMR I and II are more traditional college dorms with common showers and "typical" dorm living. Buildings A & B and Wolman are suite-style living where you share a bathroom and a kitchenette with your roommate and another set of suitemates. If you want some more information and videos of the freshman dorms, you should check out this link: Hopkins Interactive | Cribs

AAustin

AMR's: tend to be more social since the rooms are smaller and closer together

Wolman: more comfortable since it's suite style. you get your own bathroom but have to clean it yourself. Not normally as social as the AMR's, but you'll still become friendly with your floor if you want. I loved living in Wolman last year but did wish I got a little closed with my floor mates. You'll have to be more outgoing in Wolman than the AMR's to make a lot of friends.

A&B: More comfortable than AMR's, but usually the least social of the dorms since there is no common room.

You have to decide whether you want easy friendship or easy living. You can have both good friendships and a comfortable living arrangement in any of the dorms, but it tends to be easier to make friends in AMR's and Wolman tends to be more comfortable. I don't recommend A&B if you wanna be really social though since most people just stay in their rooms.

Hogwartsbound

Thank you very much! I appreciate the link and your responses!

tanman

It's interesting - the environment in the dorms tends to vary greatly year to year. When I lived in Building A, A&B were one of the most social dorms. The next year or so was very different from what I heard, but my senior year, I heard that A&B were again very social dorms. Definitely check out the Cribs videos (linked above) and then think about what mix of personal space vs close-group living you want. The AMRs will limit your personal space (no private bathroom etc) while the suite-style housing will have less contact with your neighbors while A&B are somewhere in the middle.

Ultimately, most people end up finding friends in their dorms and love where ever they chose/were assigned to live.

duermomucho

I lived in AMR II during my freshman year, but spent most of my time with my friends in Wolman. My floor/house of AMR II was socially dead, everyone kept their doors closed, and there were people who lived two doors down from me that I never even met throughout the entire year. So the AMR's aren't necessarily more social, its just what you make of it. The good thing about it is you can walk throughout the entire building pretty easily, and meet other people outside of just your floor and house.

If I were to do it again, I would live in Wolman. It's almost unfair how much nicer it is than the other freshmen options, the largest rooms, air-conditioned, with private bathrooms. You also get a common room with couches, tables, and a tv, and people hang out there all the time, which really allows you to bond with your floormates. Downsides would be that you have to clean, and you probably won't interact too much with other floors.

Buildings A&B, at least for my year, were known for being socially dead. That could change, but if you want suite style living go with Wolman.