So you’ve finally chosen which college you want to go to and now you have to choose which dorm to live in. Usually there’s a bunch of options for dorm styles ranging from community living to field of study-related dorms. The people you meet in the dorms could very well become the people you hang out with for the rest of your college career, so choose carefully. This is just a list of popular dorm styles and what you should know about them.

The All Freshman Dorms

At school’s that offer dorms to students beyond freshman year, they often have some dorms designated to just first year college students. This can be cool because you will be living with people who are in the same boat as you (brand new to the college experience). You will probably be dealing and struggling with a lot of the same issues as your dorm mates like tough classes, getting lost on campus and adjusting to the independent college lifestyle in general.

Dorms divided by college of major

Some schools have dorms designated for students who wish to live with people from their same college or field of study. This can be beneficial because you will most likely share classes with people you live with, which could help when having trouble in certain classes. You can also build relationships with people you will most likely share classes with for your entire college career. Lastly, you will most likely have similar interests with people who chose the same major as you did.

Independent or Community Living

These dorms are for students who feel that they want to live a more independent lifestyle on campus. This means that the dorm is more like an apartment, where there is a kitchen and the flat is usually shared with 3 other students. The kitchen allows the students to cook their own food rather than rely on a meal plan. These living situations are usually a little less social than the standard dorms, but offer the student with more privacy and a shower that can be shared with fewer people rather than everyone on the entire floor.

No matter which dorm style you choose, keep in mind that this is an important choice and you’ll be living in these dorms for at least one year. Don’t wait too long as many times dorm choices are on a first come first serve basis, so act fast.

As always, if you have any questions, comments or funny stories you'd like me to share about college or the blog, email me at stu@stuvu.com