Funny thing about freshman year dormitory halls these days: they’re often nicer than anything you can find off-campus or in the Greek village. Which schools are worth attending just for their swanky student housing?
GreekRank.com’s list of colleges with the best student housing looks at cost of housing, amenities, views, year built, and overall quality. While Greek housing tends to lead the lineup for best places to live on-campus, these schools may keep you wanting to stay in your frosh dorm forever.
University of Cincinnati
Floor to ceiling windows? Ceramic tile baths? Yes, please. Cincy’s Morgen Hall has 12 floors of apartment style-living, housing 456 students — and plenty of architectural awards. The hall was ranked #9 on design curial's list of America's Most Luxurious Residence Halls, and won the State's Highest Prize for Design, awarded not just for style but also sustainability and eco-friendly efficiency.
Boston University
High-rise, high-profile, StuVi2 is considered the crown jewel of BU’s campus, and a “towering symbol for a city with a love-hate relationship with its expanding universities,” says BU Today. “The physical structure, all 26 stories, makes a statement: one can see in it a message of sustainability, aesthetic beauty, over-the-top luxury, or simply the Next Big Thing in undergraduate life,” the student paper goes on to say. And elsewhere? The Boston Globe called it “perhaps the most opulent residence hall to ever grace the local college landscape.”
MIT
The nicest (and most innovative) hall award goes to MIT. Their “Sponge Hall” is huge, housing over 300 students, so it makes sense they’ve also built in something called a “ball pit.” Along with their own government structure, the hall features a unique social "lounge" structure where politics, open house meetings and proposal meetings can be conducted.
High Point University
At this private, Methodist school in the North Carolina city of the same name, 97% of students said that their overall dorm quality was great, according to Niche.com. What does that really mean? An overall low-cost of housing (under $6,000), with adjacent, superb dining facilities, walls that smell of fresh paint, and our favorite -- stain-free furniture.
Rice University
You’re here for the dining halls. Both McMurtry College and Duncan College dormitory buildings have their own cafeteria — and better yet, it’s freaking gorgeous. Along with prefabricated bathroom pods, which featured plug-and-play connections to hook them into the building's utilities, the buildings put sustainability first throughout their design.
Washington University
A dedicated cleaning staff, en-suite bathrooms, underground parking, bicycle storage… the list goes on. Washington U’s dorms all feature common area lounges with televisions, a printing station, community kitchens, amongst other things. Check out their Loft Apartments and Townhomes, which feature one, two and three bedroom fully-equipped units.
Temple University
At 1300 Residence Hall, it’s all about the amenities. The gigantic dorm hall (1050 students in a five-story building) features its own fitness center, computer lab, a large reception area, plenty of meeting rooms, and spacious student lounges. We’re biased towards the private bathrooms.
Bowdoin University
Nicer than some (read: most) apartments, the Bowdoin Stevens House Dormitory is one of the smaller dorms (note the word “House” in its name), and while it looks classic from the outside (note it was originally built in 1860), the inside has been completely retrofitted. We’ll guarantee that the 35 students who get to live here are in better accommodation than any brand new building down the street.
