OP, then your D should look at WUSTL. Their dorms all have temperpedic mattresses and a very large bathroom that is shared between two rooms. I don’t know if other dorms have communal bathrooms, but the one we looked at had a very large shared bathroom. The residence hall part of campus reminded us of Main Street Disney, no lie. Also since it gets hot and muggy in St. Louis, there are misters on campus. A little over the top, IMHO but it certainly puts a mark in the “plus column” for many kids.
I think MiamiDAP is basing her statements on a sample size of 1. (Most juniors move off campus? Not for my two kids, where at both schools the vast majority of students live on campus for 4 years). Every school is different. For my kids, going to a school where on campus housing is guaranteed for 4 years was a big plus when deciding where to apply/attend. Personally I think there are far more important things than the housing (programs/location/size) as long as the housing is not terrible. We never visited any schools where I would call the housing “terrible” but perhaps it exists out there.
That really depends on the institution. At places that believe that a vibrant residential life can be part of the educational package (Harvard, Yale, Rice and I am sure there are others), nearly everyone chooses to stay in the dorms. I also think manyof us have a pretty spoiled idea about what we need. Shared bedrooms and one bath for all the children were standard in middle class households when I was growing up.
These are just blanket overgeneralizations; it totally depends on the university.
As it happens, both of my kids did move out of dorms as juniors (at different universities) and enjoyed living off-campus. But they were both at schools where off-campus living is common among upperclassmen (and where on-campus housing is not guaranteed for all four years). There are certainly plenty of colleges where the situation is different.
My older daughter went to college in 2007, my younger one is going in the fall, and I’ve noticed that most schools we looked at this time had spiffied up their dorms in the intervening years - more suite style than they were when my older daughter went. The school my daughter is going to has the traditional hallway dorms (where she’ll be living), but it is also where we saw the Shangri-La of dorm rooms - it was like a condo, 4 bedrooms with a shared living space, small kitchen, 4 individual shower stalls in the bathroom, had an upstairs and a downstairs.
My D moved out of the dorm system after her freshman year, so it just depends on the school and the type of living environment your kid wants.
DS grew up with an en suite bathroom and a bedroom much larger than my first studio apartment. We agree that he was spoiled.
His freshman dorm room was tiny, not air conditioned, the common room was cramped and awkward, the bunk beds were in a very small room, the bathroom was shared with hall mates and (iirc) there were only two showers, etc. In addition, he and his roommate were very different kinds of people and were at best civil.
His sophomore accommodations will be much better as he will then move into his residential college with roommates that are friends.
If you asked him to describe his freshman year, he would include a sucky room somewhere in the top 10-20 things he remembers, but it would not be at the top of the list.
Actually, a lot of socializing and bonding happens in the girls community bath and shower room - getting ready to go out on weekends, helping each other color/style hair, there is a good amount of chatting and banter. It was like that at my dorm, anyway, although I did have a single room (we all did in our building.)
We were told on a recent college dorm tour that, although freshmen could request a 2 BR suite (4 students altogether) with a shared bathroom and living room inside the suite, that it was recommended to freshmen that they get the traditional double room and use the communal bathrooms. This is because the kids in the suites tend to isolate themselves from the rest of the floor, whether they mean to, or not. No need to hang out in the common floor lounge, if one has a nice comfy living room space with only 3 other people… And like I said, I know there is a lot of socializing in the common bathrooms. The traditional double room opening onto the hall leads to socializing among hall mates as well.
My D has always had her own bedroom, but I’m insisting she have a roommate in a traditional room her first year. I think it’s a great learning experience, especially for only kids, and my dorm mates ended up being my closest friends, not necessarily my class mates or fellow members of clubs.
In contrast to miamidap- One thing I noticed in touring various types of schools last year was that freshman dorms were often the nicest on campus. Perhaps trying to draw new students in? (After all, the upper classmen are already committed to the school)
My only child was used to have her own everything - room and bathroom. She lived in a 6 person suite on the fourth floor, with no air. The bathroom was in the room but had only one toilet for 6 women. They loved freshman year and like IxnayBob’s son (who attends the same school), the accommodations definitely will not be the top of the list of memories of freshman year.
Yeah, my dorm room was sucky. It was small and overpriced. But you know what? I made great friends by sitting in those cramped conditions, complaining about dorm food, and spilling out into the hallway to congregate. My random roommate became one of my best friends and was even in my wedding party despite now living on the other side of the country. My hallmates came to my wedding from all over the country.
It’s less than a year. Everyone will survive. 
@IxnayBob @Tperry1982 - Your descriptions of the freshman suites at your kids’ school sound remarkably similar to my daughter’s freshman living situation at that school’s main rival - 5 girls in a suite that was originally designed for 3. It had a lot of character but spacious it was not!
“Why do you say that they are sub-standard, @MiamiDAP?”
-Because the college dorms are a great example of sub-standard living. It is NOT the cave in the woods, I would say, it is a bit higher standard than that. Well, if you visited many colleges, you know what I mean, if you did not, I cannot explain why. The simple truth is that the dorm is very much below in the standard of living than the most kids’ homes where they lived with their parents. Dorm may still be better than the living quarters of somebody in a third world country, for them, the USA college dorm will be a luxury.
That’s true enough, but how is that different from the likely case that my kids’ first few apartments/homes will also be below the standard of my home? I had a 30-45 year head start to upgrade my standard of living 
Re: #33
That is simply not true.
There are many college housing styles… For example, some older style dorm rooms are a room with the shard bath down the hall. Others are 2 with a shared bath in between, some are rooms with a shared living room, and then there are the Apartment/suite types with living rooms, individual baths, kitchens, etc. For example:
http://www.businessinsider.com/10-college-dorms-with-awesome-amenities-2013-10?op=1
Ever been to military barracks? Large open rooms with in some cases open bathrooms? Would these be considered “substandard”?
"That’s true enough, but how is that different from the likely case that my kids’ first few apartments/homes will also be below the standard of my home? I had a 30-45 year head start to upgrade my standard of living "
-I cannot explain any more than I said. As I mentioned that most from many countries abroad will consider the USA college dorm luxurious but at the same time, these people will consider the USA prison standard of living as luxurious. So, I do not think that we should consider these type of opinions. Other than that, the dorms are sub-standard in comparison to non-dorm living and that fact is NOT considered by most to be a barrier in attending any specific college. However, there are others who prefer a more comfortable living. I know examples, when kids simply could not tolerate a dorm living, they transfer to hometown college and live with their parents instead. Nothing wrong with that, it is just another option that saves a lot of time. A kid ends up being served by parents with all the living needs that the kid has. Not such a poor choice at all.
My kid goes to school in NYC. While her dorm itself is pretty standard issue (though all NYU dorms have private baths- no communal) her location is fabulous. She lives overlooking union square with a view of the Empire State Building- something I imagine she will NOT be able to afford when she graduates!
Every fabulous is just in one person’s set of eyes. Many would not live in NYC in any accommodations. NYC require a certain personality. Unfortunately, half of my family also thinks that NYC is fabulous, so I visit them frequently, but I would prefer TO never visit NYC, not my place to be. And to live in some reasonable place in NYC requires whole ton of money that most of us do not have anyway,…unless you purchased your place some 16 years ago. The price in some places has risen 10 folds (not a typo, I mean TEN).
@MiamiDAP, real estate is complicated, but generally prices are high when there are many people desiring to live somewhere I know that’s a bit simplistic rather than simple, but I don’t think it’s far from the truth.