Joanna Jou

The Choates Cluster, located northwest of the Green and next to Occom Pond, comprises 4 halls: Cohen, Bissell, Little, and Brown. Cohen and Bissell connect to a common room (known as Bisco), while Little and Brown also connect to their own separate common room (known as Brittle); the two buildings look identical to one another as they are also located next to each other. On my housing application, I had indicated that I would prefer to not have any roommates, which the residential life office (blessedly) granted as I currently live in a single inside Cohen Hall.

The Fayes (short for Fayerweathers) consist of North Fayerweather, Mid Fayerweather, and South Fayerweather, which are externally connected in a linear form right behind Dartmouth Hall. Because of its close proximity to the Green, it is often the hotspot for first-years to hang out as the Fayes host only first-years and house a good amount of the first-year class given its basement and four additional floors.

The River Cluster, consisting of French and Judge Hall, is located closest to the Connecticut River (hence why it is called “The River”); students often joke about how it is closer to Vermont than the rest of campus as it is also the farthest from the Green (maybe it isn’t even a joke?). Nevertheless, many of my friends who live in the River Cluster vouch for the tight-knit community they have amongst the people on their floors and dorms as they spend more time in their common room together and get to know one another beyond just being floormates or hallmates. A bright side of living near the River is that you have the closest access to the Connecticut River to go swimming, canoeing, paddleboarding, or anything else water-related during the warmer seasons.

Pictured: Wheeler Hall (top) and Richardson Hall (bottom)

Wheeler and Richardson Hall are located adjacent from one another, and also the closest first-year dorms to the Green. Just next to Wheeler and Richardson is Rauner Library and Baker-Berry Library, making it one of the most central dorms. For those interested in the physical sciences, Wheeler and Richardson are also relatively close to the Physical Sciences Center (including chemistry, earth science, and geography), and the Department of Physics and Astronomy.

Although East Wheelock is the name of the residential house, we often think of Morton, Zimmerman, or McCulloch. Located closest to the Alumni Gym and farther east from the Green, it is also known as my vacation home given the one mile walk from the Choates and the modernity of the dorms. A mix of first-years and upperclassmen live in East Wheelock with first-years residing in either the first and second of Zimmerman, or the third and fourth floors of Morton and McCulloch. In addition, all three halls are connected to a common space called Brace Commons, which has its own late night snack shop built into Brace and contains various study spaces.

This cluster that first-years reside in consists of Bildner, Rauner, and Berry that is located north of the Green and closest to the Geisel Medical School; the Bildner, Rauner, and Berry cluster is one whole building but interiorly separated by the three halls. McLaughlin, similar to East Wheelock, consist of a mix of first-years and upperclassmen in their dorms; they also house some of the LLCs (Learning and Living Communities) such as the Entrepreneurship or Great Issues Scholars program. We often refer to these dorms as “Hotel McLaughlin” because they are considered one of the newer first-year dorms with private bathrooms and showers, air conditioning, and also have a late-night snack bar at their sister cluster (Goldstein, Byrne 2, and Thomas Halls)  just next to the Bildner, Rauner, and Berry cluster.