<p>JE isn’t objectively the best. Farnam is very good, but JE sophomore housing isn’t as good as many other colleges, and JE has to annex a very large number of juniors to McClellan (which at least has the advantage of being a great location and very close to JE). </p>
<p>Vanderbilt is, in my opinion, the most beautiful freshmen housing. Every room (except the basement) has beautiful wood paneling, most of the common rooms have great window seats and huge windows, and the entryways have ornate tiling. But there are almost no singles (maybe 5-10% of people will get a single), and the doubles are small. The basement is not pretty like the rest of vanderbilt, but they are great suites because the bedrooms are much larger (and often given to juniors for annex housing). </p>
<p>I’d say the best freshman dorms (like everyone else says) are Durfee, Lawrence, Farnam, and maybe Welch. L-W is the worst, and Bingham is next to last. But Bingham is still quite nice. The rooms are small, but it is a very interesting building, and the tower has an elevator. And there are more singles than L-W or Vanderbilt, and some large suites, which is nice to have. </p>
<p>In any case, all the housing at Yale is good, even if you’re in L-W. Plenty of froco applicants in Pierson and Saybrook are clearly willing to live there a second time.</p>