This question floods Facebook groups, texts to current students and calls to the housing phone line. People swear by Jefferson hall, or absolutely need to be on West Green, or throw a fit if they’re put in “Dirty South.”
The truth is, walking into any freshman year dorm can be a little underwhelming. The in-window box AC unit rattles just out of sync with the weird noises from the refrigerator, and the slightly-dusty linoleum tile floors beg for the rug still waiting in the minivan. The walls are plaster or plaster-colored cinder block, and the bathroom is both too far and not far enough down the hall. It can be easy to wonder in slight disdain: this is the room that causes so much worry?
Yes, this 10 ft. by 14 ft. dollhouse will be kitchen, bedroom, living room and home for the next year, and when students move in, they will be far past the stress of room selection. They will have graduated to the worry of being near classes, friends and Court Street.
The secret to room selection is simple, however: it doesn’t matter where you live on campus.
People will fight this cold truth and swear up and down their year would have been different if they were in Boyd or didn’t have to walk up Morton hill every day. However, a dorm room is such a small part of the freshman year experience.
Students will make friends who live on their same floor as well as friends who live across campus. The quality of people in a residence hall has nothing to do with the dorm itself, and it is the people who will make college special, not a dorm room. Once students join clubs and make friends there will be some days they barely spend any time in their rooms at all. Whichever residence hall they live in won’t matter toward the quality of their experience nearly as much as making memories, meeting new people and trying new things will.
Some people are easily stressed by the location of their residence hall as well. However, as a freshman, classes will still slant toward satisfying general education requirements, so most freshmen’s schedules will consist of classes spread all throughout campus. Campus is also remarkably walkable, so even if students feel far away from a class or building, they can typically get there in at most fifteen minutes.
Furthermore, first year residence halls are remarkably similar to one another. Some may have elevators, renovated restrooms, sinks in the rooms or centralized air conditioning, but those small building to building changes have a minimal effect on the on-campus living experience. Where to live is one of the first choices incoming students get to make for themselves, so it makes sense to worry about choosing correctly. However, the truth is that there is no wrong choice.
My advice? No matter what room you walk into in August, just make it your own. Don’t get distracted by the location, flaws or lack of elevator. Think of the empty room as a blank canvas, and work to make it feel like home. Decorate with colors, pictures and posters until the room feels like a desirable, comfortable place to be. Making the space feel personal and aesthetic is really the only thing students can do to ensure their dorm is a “good” one.
Freshman year will be defined by friends, experiences, memories, classes and so much more than a residence hall. Students should embrace the positive qualities of whichever space they end up in, and remember it will only be a small factor in their overall experience. Among the hundreds of more influential experiences, however, enjoy the communal bathrooms, janky heat and unexplained noises. Relish in the two years of wonderful, awkward, inconsequential dorm living that unites us all.
Katie Millard is a sophomore studying journalism at Ohio University. Please note that the views and opinions of the columnists do not reflect those of The Post. What are your thoughts? Tell Katie by tweeting her at @Katie_Millard11