<p>Balch Hall and Cascadilla Hall at Cornell are AMAZING dorms. Cascadilla has a primo location in Collegetown. Balch dorms are huge, only women allowed though. </p>
<p>The East Campus dorms at Duke are spacious, even though West Campus location is much preferred.</p>
<p>I thought Yale had GREAT dorms-- esp. upperclassmen rooms in the residential colleges. One summer I stayed in a Branford single which goes to a senior every year and it was easily 200sq ft (big for a dorm room, let alone a single) with gorgeous wood panneling, a fireplace, a window seat, etc. The person had a couch and an old oriental rug. And there are also a lot of suites that I saw which were large, maybe not the actual sleeping quarters, but since you get your own living room, etc. it sort of makes up for it.</p>
<p>I go to Duke and maybe the dorms aren't as great as Yale's, but they're not dumps. Most dorms on campus have recently been renovated or built -- which means good lighting, clean bathrooms, and just general up to date looking. I had a huge room freshman year, a slightly smaller room sophomore year (when I switched to West campus and had a low lottery pick) but fully AC with a gorgeous view, and now going into my junior year I have a huge AC single</p>
<p>last year, my girlfriend's dorm had an upstairs with two doubles, two bathrooms, and a downstairs with a full sized kitchen, dining room and a living room. </p>
<p>the new dorms on west campus are also incredible. </p>
<p>also, Cornell takes the crown for best food</p>
<p>A lot of places are moving away from traditional dorms and doing suites -- mini-houses, sort of, where a dozen people can live. Like a shared common room, kitchen, and two bathrooms, and then ten small rooms off the side.</p>