Dorm Questions

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill
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Hello. I am going into UNC as a freshman and have a few questions about the dorms. Generally, I am a quiet person who would like a quiet dorm. I am also not one to party. I know that as a freshman, the pick of dorms is few, but I was wondering which south campus dorm (which I know is where I am likely to be placed because I am a freshman) would fit me best.

As I have yet had the chance to go look at the dorms, I would like to hear your opinions from your experiences considering room size, convenience to other locations (I know there’s a 15 min walk to classes), bathrooms (how many people you share it with/cleaning services), laundry, noise level, wi-fi, renovations, and furniture (do I have to share a closet/dresser), and cost.

Also, could someone explain the difference between cooridor and suite style? From my understanding, cooridor is sharing a bathroom with 7 other people, and suite is sharing a bathroom with 3 other people.

Could someone clarify about their experiences at Granville? I’ve heard it’s loud and common for rushing (which I am not interested in), but the closeness to campus and the gym/food service is very appealing.

I am also invited to Honors Carolina, so Koury is an appealing option.

Moreover, what are the chances of getting into Connor as a freshman?

Thank you so much for all of your responses.

(Also, I found a video of a dorm tour online. see: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vjDprmtvXjE. How many of the other dorms have this set up?)

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My general dorm overview:

Most freshmen live on south campus; however, you can choose to live in Granville Towers as well. Granville is located off of Franklin Street and is not owned by UNC but is approved housing for freshmen. I’m not going to comment that much on it since I don’t know it that well, but a lot of people that live in Granville rush. Not all, but there are quite a few, so if you want to rush, I’d definitely check it out.

South campus residence halls are basically split up into 4 and 8 person suites.

Craige, Ehringhaus, and Hinton James are all high rises with 8 person suites. They’re older buildings but are for the most part well maintained. You share a bathroom with 7 other suitemates, but the bathroom is cleaned by the housing staff (who do a wonderful job).

Horton, Hardin, Koury, and Craige North are all much newer residence halls. They all have 4 person suites, and both rooms are connected to a bathroom. I think “suite” really isn’t the right word to describe these halls–they’re basically hall style and you share a bathroom with one other room. That bathroom is NOT cleaned by the housing staff, so if you’re messy you might consider an 8 person suite.

Both have their pluses and minuses. I lived in Craige this year and had no issues with it, but my hall wasn’t very close. There’s really a misconception that the high rises are more social dorms–I have not found that to be true at all. Some of my friends in Craige North know all of their hallmates and hang out with them in common rooms all the time.

Also remember, the housing lottery may totally mess with you, so don’t have your heart set on one place too much. You’ll grow to love wherever you live.

Things more specific to your questions:

Rooms are slightly bigger in the newer dorms (Craige North, Horton, Koury, Hardin), and you can view room sizes and floorplans on the Housing website.

They’re all bascially a 15 minute walk to class. HoJo might be 16 because of a long light.

Wi-fi is campus wide, but sometimes it doesn’t play nice with your computer. I have a Mac and sometimes just run an ethernet cord across my room–that connection will always be rock solid.

Laundry is in the basement/ground floor of all of those buildings.

You will not have to share a closet but may have to share a dresser (2 big drawers and 1 small for each roommate) in the older suite style dorms.

Hall style has hall bathrooms. 4 people suites have a 4 person bathroom you have to clean yourself. 8 people suites have a bathroom cleaned daily by the lovely housing staff.

Hope that helps, congrats on your acceptance!

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@adscram14 Thank you so much for the information! It’s really helpful.