<p>Overall, the dorms at Brown are just mediocre. Many students seek out off campus housing as juniors and evern more do so as seniors. The Pembroke dorms- where many freshmen live - were redone recently and are pretty nice and are big. West Quad, last I saw, a couple years ago, was kind of a dump, but definitely fun. There are some new dorms being built, but not sure when they will be ready.</p>
<p>I lived in Perkins eons ago. It is far from most of the rest of campus, as it was once part of another college or university. The rooms were a little bigger than the west quad rooms which was one plus and there were built-in closets, bureaus and desks which freed up the floor space. But my memory is of cinder block walls or similar.</p>
<p>The freshmen units at Perkins were usually very close knit, as there was something to being an outsider (far away from stuff) that helped us bond together. We would normally go over to the Ratty (main dining hall) together in small groups as it was definitely a hike. At the time (30 years ago!!!) I was not thrilled to be so far from everything, but I got used to it pretty quickly. And, Perkins was closer to some shops and restaurants on Hope street and Wickendon st, But my son will be going there in the fall and if he ends up in Perkins, I will be disappointed.</p>