<p>My daughter’s school has no freshman dorms. From day one, she lived in rooms next to upperclass students and became close friends with a number of seniors. </p>
<p>IMO, this is a hugely beneficial arrangment and impact the college culture in ways that you would never think about. These students gave her role models for how to be a successful college student. They provided informal mentoring about professors, majors, course selection, etc. They prevented the critical mass of “kids gone wild” energy that sometimes afflicts freshman dorms. </p>
<p>The benefits continue. For example, this summer (she’s a rising junior), she stayed with friends who graduated at the end of her freshman year on a long weekend trip to Washington. So, she gets a taste of life after college.</p>
<p>She is very fond of some of the upperclass students who went out of their way to show the newbies the ropes and she and her friends go out of their way to show “their freshmen” the ropes. I think it makes for a very cohesive campus culture as styles and traditions that make the school distinctive are passed directly on from class to class to class.</p>
<p>I contrast this to my experience living in freshman dorms. I don’t believe I ever talked to a senior during my freshman year. We lived in different dorms, ate in different dining halls, and took different classes.</p>
<p>My daughter does point out one exception where all freshman dorms may be better: at a very large school where dividing the student body up into more manageable chunks may have some benefits.</p>