Thoughts on female-only dorms

<p>On Cornell's housing application I have the option to show a preference for Balch Hall, which is a female-only dorm. (Yes, I am female.) I was wondering if anybody here had thoughts on or experience with living in an all-girls dorm vs. a coed dorm? </p>

<p>Do you think they tend to be quieter, more isolating, cleaner, or have more/less drama, etc? </p>

<p>Thanks!</p>

<p>I think that would really depend on the people themselves. You could live with a bunch of girls but if they wind up being psychotic then you’ll be miserable. On the other hand, you could live in a hall with mostly guys who are cool to live with. </p>

<p>I would recommend going to the facebook page for the Cornell CO2018 and see what kind of people are interested in living in Balch Hall. If they seem like people who you could get along with, then I’d say go for it. If there’s a reasonable amount of concern about the girls, then apply for co-ed housing. </p>

<p>Thanks for the advice, Violet! That’s a great idea. </p>

<p>It depends on the dorm. I lived in an all female dorm for a year and the girls there were mostly much quieter and sweeter, but a big group still got together to go out to the parties. What I liked was that you went OUT to parties… then came home to a clean, relatively quiet place to sleep, rather than it being one of the party dorms. I thought we had nicer, cleaner facilities and the girls were really friendly. I lived in a coed dorm the year before and comparing the two, the single sex dorm had WAY, WAY less drama and catty meanness. But this was umich, not cornell. I don’t know anything about that particular dorm. </p>

<p>Also would like to say I’ve never gotten along with girls and have always been “one of the boys,” but I’d still never live in a co-ed dorm again. I loved my experience in my all female dorm.</p>

<p>Personally when I stayed at Balch it was deathly quiet, but everyone on the floor was friendly with eachother. It’s definitely more cleaner than the other residence halls and most of the girls didn’t have roomies. The rooms are a livable size as well & even though I had to sleep in a sleeping bag on the floor, there was still more than enough room even with stuff all over the floor, my host’s bed, and all her other furniture. </p>

<p>When I attended, six million years ago, Balch had a reputation for being quieter and cleaner, with bigger rooms.
Those are all sound like pluses to me.</p>

<p>On the other hand, I lived in a coed dorm freshman year, and I know at least three couples who are married today that met in my dorm. A good number of less-enduring relationships were also formed there in the dorm; even a couple of my own. So there’s that.</p>

<p>Thanks for all the input guys!</p>

<p>I live in Balch right now. A lot cleaner from what I’ve seen (compared to my friends’ dorms). Rooms are also a lot bigger, especially singles and the singles that once were doubles. It’s an older building so you have raw wooden doors and cracking walls. Great location, just right next to the bridge that leads on to central. </p>

<p>Sometimes there’s actually more guys than girls here… (Just because it’s not coed doesnt mean you can’t invite your guy friends over).</p>

<p>Quiet is a HUGE plus. Lots of my friends complain about how loud their dorms are at past midnight. </p>