Should I opt for Single Gender floors?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Brown University
1

Hello all,

I know there is a thread about this on the forum already, but it was a little old so I thought I’d reach out for updated information. I’m going to be attending Brown next fall and was wondering if anyone could offer insight on what the pros and cons are of being on a single-sex floor at Brown. I am a female, so I’d be on an all female floor. I feel like I might really love having a tight knit group of female peers to with, but I also don’t want to end up on a floor with people who chose to be there for extremely conservative reasons and just don’t want to interact with boys in general.

Are there any stigmas associated with being on single-sex flooring? Is it more fun or calming or stress-free to be on a floor with only girls? Do the floors tend to be less social in any way than co-ed? Did anyone have a particularly good or bad experience with single-gender floors?

Please be honest! I’m just trying to fill out my housing survey as honestly as possible lol. I really appreciate the help!

2

This was many years ago, I lived in a co-ed dorm freshman year where my floor was all female… I did like it a lot and it gave me the opportunity to bond with other women. (at the time, I had a harder time making female friends than male friends).

It wasn’t weird at all… I didn’t find anyone to be too conservative. Plenty of boys visited and we visited other floors. Our dorm rooms had bathrooms though, no hall baths, not sure how that plays into it…

3

From my experience, single-gender floors tend to be made up of people who for religious/social reasons aren’t comfortable being on a multi-gender floor, or whose parents pushed them into it. In general, I’d suggest going for multi-gender floors unless you have a strong issue with living near men. You’ll certainly be able to make those strong female friendships still - I’d suggest looking into the sorority housing options after your first year.