Paulina Cuadra

Richardson and the Fayerweathers (North Fayerweather, Mid Fayerweather, and South Fayerweather) are all-first-year dorms that are extremely centrally located. Richardson has beautiful views to Baker Berry Library and the Fays are right behind Dartmouth Hall and an extremely short walk to the Green which serves as the center for campus. These are both pretty old buildings but rooms are generally a bit spacious. The majority of rooms in the Fays are composed of two-room triples with a half bathroom inside the room and showers in the hall. The Fays are all connected with each other through the basement. The room configurations in Richardson are a lot more variable ranging from singles, doubles, triples, to quads. The floors in both buildings are divided by gender, and because these dorms are composed of all first-year they are a pretty popular spot amongst first-years and tend to have pretty close friendships among floors. Having lived in the Fays my first year, I am an undying Fays fan!!

Dorms in East Wheelock are located near the Alumni Gym. These dorms are not the most centrally located but are very nice and more modern than most other buildings. The majority of first-years living here are either placed in singles or two-room doubles. Students living in East Wheelock also tend to study and hang out in the common rooms. Upperclassmen also live in these buildings but in non-first-year floors. An added East-Wheelock perk is the Brace snack-bar that has late-night (8:00 p.m. to 2:00 a.m.) snack options available for purchase. 

Wheeler is one of the most centrally located dorms on campus as it is right in front of Baker Berry Library. Dorms are composed of singles, doubles, and triples. There are four buildings designated as the “Choates” which are Brown, Little, Cohen, and Bissel. Only Brown and Little are in School House and these two are connected with each other. Most rooms in the Choates are one-room doubles with some singles. You can be at Novack and some academic buildings after a really short walk and are placed right behind frat row. While the Choates are generally considered to be pretty old, these are one of my favorite dorms since they host amazing communities. People living in the Choates tend to form pretty strong bonds with each other, and given their proximity to frat row they are a pretty popular destination amongst first-years. 

This year, Allen House dorms were composed of Gile, Cohen, and Bissel which are the other two dorms in the Choates; these have the same characteristics as Brown and Little. Gile is a building shared with upperclassmen in the Allen House community, but first-years are placed in the same floor together. Gile is really centrally located as it is placed right on Tuck Mall which is close to the library, the new Computer Science and Engineering buildings, as well as a popular study spot known as the Cube. 

West House dorms for first-years are called “The River” and are composed of Judge and French. These are easily the farthest dorms from the center of campus. However, they are extremely close to the river, the new (and beautiful!) Computer Science and Irving Buildings, as well as the Engineering building which are amazing study spots. While these dorms can get a lot of hate for being pretty far away and old, they create amazing friendships since people get to talk to one another on the way to and from the buildings. Some of the strongest friendships I know here are River friendships!! Most people have their own room whether it be a two-room double or a three-room double where the middle room serves as a shared common room. 

First-years in North Park will be placed into the McLaughlin cluster which are Berry, Bildner, and Rauner. Living Learning Communities are also found in these dorms. McLaughlin dorms are really new and modern buildings that are close to the Life Sciences Building and are about a four minute walk away from Novack. Most of these dorms are either singles or doubles. Common rooms are nice places to study and hang out! The Goldstein snackbar with late night-options is also a convenient option!