<p>My daughter is probably going to American and is trying to find out information about the various dorms available. Any insights into the advantages of the different dorms would be greatly appreciated. We’re probably going to campus in mid-April, but just wanted to hear some thoughts from current students/parents. Thanks.</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>
<p>D has lived on both South (sophomore) and North (freshman) sides, and has friends in both (she’s never referenced the “tight-knit community” thing)–I can’t say it mattered to her one way or the other, except that her North side dorm was more convenient to the Katzen Center, if that’s an issue. But the campus is pretty compact, so no dorm is more than a 10 minute walk to anywhere. I also don’t think the “personalities” of the two sides mean much after the first few weeks–you find your friends, you hang out with them regardless of where they live, and where you sleep isn’t so important (assuming the roommate thing works out okay). Personally, I find the North end of the campus to be a bit more peaceful because its less congested, but I’m a parent, so my viewpoint doesn’t mean a thing.</p>