Hello everyone!
I’m quite new to this forum and I have some questions I’d like to ask about the quality of dorms at different boarding schools and what makes them better than others.
P.S. I’m starting a new thread so I can get updated answers.
Thanks.
The question is really moot.
The quality of dorms can vary by school and can also vary within each school. What makes one dorm, or room with a dorm, desirable is often personal preference. It can be location, it can be size, it can be the percentage of singles versus doubles, as examples.
That said, a dorm is not a reason to choose a boarding school. Additionally, at many schools, you get what you’re assigned, so you need to make the best of it. You should also assume that, especially for schools that do not have dorms exclusively for freshmen, the best rooms/dorms will have been selected by returning students.
All dorms will have a bed, desk, chair, and a place to put your clothes. What else you are able to fit in can only be answered on a case by case basis.
Thanks for the help! @skieurope
The biggest aspect of most dorms is your roommate, which you can spend effort to make it working and/or try to personally choose (from the second year).
they’re nice
For my kids, the most important thing was whether they were living in the same dorm with friends or not. They’d forgo a nicer dorm, bigger room for proximity to buddies.
IMO, for the schools I’m most familiar with, in general the dorms are nicer than college dorms. Partially because they don’t get trashed by drunk people. 
@doschicos: my daughter would agree with you about college dorms - she’s not looking forward to being at the bottom of the housing heap again!
our kids’ dorms were not as nice as their college dorms. Most were in old houses, dark and old sometimes in the basement. Only once one of my two students got a new dorm with an elevator and air conditioning, new furniture etc.
Although I agree the dorm should not be the reason for choosing a school, I do think it says a lot about a school and how they view student life. We saw some schools that had absolutely beautiful rooms, in very well-maintained buildings. We saw others that had rooms as big as a closet with peeling paint and poorly sealed windows…I couldn’t figure out how a person could get out of their bed without banging their shins on the desk, it was so cramped. To us, the way the dormitories were maintained said a lot about what the school felt was important. Students will spend a lot of time in those buildings and therefore, IMO they should be comfortable and maintained well. They don’t need Ritz-Carlton accommodations by any means, but if I’m spending $50k per year, I don’t want my kid living in a hovel either.
I think it’s an interesting topic. My kid’s dorm room is big and nice. It’s a double but there’s a wall separating each section so they have some privacy. Roomate has become a good friend. Definitely nicer than most college dorms, and more spacious.
“They don’t need Ritz-Carlton accommodations by any means, but if I’m spending $50k per year, I don’t want my kid living in a hovel either.”
Wait until college when you’re spending $70K+ per year and the rooms are worse. 
Ironically, the school we saw with the nicest dorms had the least nice students
^ us, too, @CaliMex !! @doschicos I realized I never lived in a dorm in college…so this will be a real eye opener for me!
I had a tiny single last year, and I had to blast the heat and open my window in the winter so my friends down the hall didn’t freeze, but I miss that dorm dearly. It was small and full of my closest friends. This year, my room is bigger and each room has its own thermostat, and my dormmates are awesome, but it’s not the same. Like @doschicos said, it’s the people, not the walls.