<p>I am curious about favorite dorms at American University and why…I’m also wondering about Honors dorms/floors. Help!</p>
<p>Is there a big difference between North side and South side?</p>
<p>North side and South side are different worlds. Literally. If you want the party scene / Greek life around you, and to be able to step outside your dorm and find tons of people, live on South campus. Letts and Anderson are both great, Letts is freshmen only which is actually really fun. Centennial is also South campus, but it’s upperclassmen only (with suites). North campus, I can’t say as much about it because I don’t actually live there, but I can tell you that I have to go out of my way to meet people who live there, unless I meet them in classes.</p>
<p>It’s all what you’re looking for out of the college experience. </p>
<p>South Side:
Tends to be more noisy and social than North Side. You can expect to have the fire alarm pulled several times during your stay here, particularly during weeks leading up to different Fraternity Initiation. The three dorms: Letts, Anderson, and Centennial; are all connected and so it is very easy to meet people. Some honors floors are in these dorms as well as some University College (UC) floors, so it’s not as if the people on South Side are somehow less intelligent than North Side Residents. South side also contains the Perch – a coffee shop that gets particularly popular during midterms and finals. </p>
<p>Letts: All Freshman Dorm. Older (but getting a renovation in the future), smaller rooms but decent storage space.
Anderson: Generally the freshman favorite, slightly bigger rooms than Letts.
Centennial: Suite style rooms usually reserved for transfers and sophomores/juniors. This means 4 people share a private bathroom and shower with double sinks. Relatively large rooms with access to the party scene with the benefit of upperclassmen maturity during times that need to be quiet. </p>
<p>North Side:
North side has it’s own community, and is as close and tight-knit as south side is. Not all partiers are on South Side, not all reserved people are on North Side. It does have a stigma of being quieter, but that really shifts year to year (this year during welcome week – North Side has had more transports – when a student calls an ambulance for alcohol related problems for another student, than South Side did.) But they also have honors floors.</p>
<p>McDonnell/Hughes: Pretty interchangeable. Connected with large formal lounges that often host interesting alternatives to going out on the weekends. The rooms are fairly average size.
Leonard: The newer of the three north side dorms, as it was just renovated in 2007 I believe – it is the international dorm. Most international students, as well as those who express an interest in living with international students are placed in this dorm. </p>
<p>Other: Clark and Roper Hall just opened this year to house students, so the rooms and furniture are less than a year old. They’re much smaller dorms (in the sense that they only have about 20 rooms each, spread out over 2 floors). While technically closer to South Side than North Side, they can’t really be grouped in with either. </p>
<p>Hope that is helpful. Let me know if you have any more questions.</p>