<p>First of all, get hotel beds and high school restrooms out of your head. They have nothing to do with what you'll find in your dorm. </p>
<p>Second, put all of this on a back burner until you know where you're going to school (unless it's so important that you want it to guide you in your selection), and don't give it your full concern until you know where in that school you'll be living. The answers to your questions will vary way too much between schools and dorms for us to be able to give you very accurate responses. You might find yourself in a brand new apartment with a bathroom of its own, you might find yourself in a triple with an attached bathroom, maybe you'll have a double that's connected by a bathroom to another double, maybe you'll have a suite with its own bathroom, maybe you'll have a communal hall bathroom, maybe you'll have a single-sex floor (and thus bathrooms)...there are so many possibilities, and all of them will come with their own perks and pitfalls.</p>
<p>That said, I'll offer the advice that I can...</p>
<ul>
<li><p>Even if you end up with communal bathrooms, don't think of them as public bathrooms. For the most part, you'll know your hallmates, and people will be decently respectful of the fact that the restrooms are a common living area. </p></li>
<li><p>Shower flip-flops and a shower caddy pretty much eliminate any "gross" factor from showering. I never fully warmed up to communal showers, but y'know, they're just one of those things that come with the territory. Everybody deals with them, and if you're in a set-up where you have to, you will, too. </p></li>
<li><p>At my school, communal bathrooms were cleaned 'lightly' every day (paper towels picked up, toilet paper refilled, trash emptied, floor mopped, etc.) and cleaned 'fully' once per week (whatever it is that made everything smell like disinfectant). Bathrooms inside of suites or rooms were fully cleaned once per week. Cleaning was done by housekeeping staff, though obviously those who had restrooms within their room or suite had to keep them decently neat. </p></li>
<li><p>The case at my school, and I assume the case in many places, is that housekeeping can be "on call" over the weekend and on holidays. In other words, bathrooms might not usually be cleaned over these periods, but if there's a safety/hygienic concern (like someone having thrown up on the floor), it won't go ignored. </p></li>
</ul>
<p>I understand your mindset (I worried about all of this, too, and I spent all of my first year answering questions for my college-bound germophobe of a best friend!), but seriously...unless this is a fear that seriously hinders your day-to-day living, you're really worrying too much, especially when you don't even know what your living situation will be. Clearly, if this is a debilitating fear, you'll need to pursue a solution beyond mattress covers and shower sandals.</p>
<p>Out of curiosity, are you a senior in HS, or younger? If you're younger, I suggest you try to spend some time in different dorms (visiting friends, on tours, etc.) to ease your concerns and/or get a feel for the type of set-up you want). If you're really concerned, I'd also recommend taking that into account when you're applying to schools (doesn't need to be a huge priority, but look at the Princeton Reviews lists of Dorms Like Palaces and Dorms Like Dungeons, check to see if a school has apartment-style housing, check to see if freshman can choose their dorms, etc.). I loved my college for many reasons, but when I was trying to make my final decision on a school, housing definitely came into play (and trust me, no regrets).</p>