Stepping into the new world of a college can be a scary experience for many students. Often, it means leaving home and staying away from family, depending on the college you choose and its location.
For such students, there’re two options. One of them is to stay at some accommodation outside the campus. The other is to stay in a college dorm. Of course, the third option is that you could commute daily from home to college if it’s in the same city. However, some colleges actually require students to live in college dorms.
In such cases, it makes sense to stay at a college with the best college dorms in the USA.
This brings us to the question, are there actually any benefits of staying at a college dorm? Or is this just some unnecessary requirement by some colleges?
Therefore, I will begin by answering these two questions. These answers are very important since they might help you to select one of the colleges with the best dorms in the USA for your higher studies.
Importance of Dorms at Colleges
The US Census and various private organizations frequently study the pros and cons of students living in college dorms. That’s because they wish to find facts about the quality of life at these college dorms and the overall impact of dorm life on a student.
Here’re the results of some of these findings.
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Positive Points of Living at College Dorms
There’re at least five major positive points of living in college dorms as a student. These points are beneficial for the long term too and can help you both as a student and later in life.
Higher Chances of Graduation: Students that live in college dorms usually complete their courses and graduate, compared to their peers that commute either from home or any other accommodations. This is proven by a study covering five years and millions of US students. The study was conducted by the Higher Education Research Institute at the University of California- Los Angeles (UCLA).
Better Access to Study Material: Studies by universities from Iowa and Wisconsin prove that students living in dorms or community halls, as they’re also known, have better and easier access to study material, compared to their counterparts that commute from home or other places. That’s because there would be several students from the same class staying at the dorm and taking notes proves easier after college hours and classes.
Greater Participation in Campus Activities: Regardless of whether they’re curricular, co-curricular, or extracurricular, students living in college dorms and community halls participate in greater numbers at campus activities. This helps them get a better experience of college life compared to their peers that commute or live in other places. Therefore, college dorms can also contribute to shaping your personality for the adulthood and future.
Making Friendships: Students that live in dorms usually make lifelong friends at college. That’s because they have more time for interaction and knowing each other, instead of only during college hours or spare time. Furthermore, dorm life also helps develop qualities such as team spirit among students. It fosters community living and teaches several other life skills that students living outside can’t usually learn.
Learning-Living Experiences: There’re lots of universities and colleges that offer programs that involve both living and learning. This means the dorm life of a student is intricately woven with the learning culture of the college. It allows students to enjoy learning skills and the course in a slightly informal manner. Students at dorms are also better poised to attend events and learning sessions held later in the evening, early morning, or during odd hours.
Flipsides of Living at Dorms
Unfortunately, dorm life isn’t really for every student. It comes with considerable flipsides too. Therefore, we will also look at these negative points, since it could help you decide.
Homesickness: The first and biggest drawback of living in dorms is homesickness. Often, students are emotionally close to their parents and siblings as well as home ambiance. Therefore, some students might find it difficult to live in dorms.
Extreme Freedom: Living in dorms without the supervision of parents can be dangerous for students that don’t know where to draw their limits. They could end up with the wrong people outside the college and develop a bad character. This happens due to the extreme freedom that students enjoy when staying in dorms.
Addictions: While colleges are strict about their alcohol and drug policies, it’s worth remembering that thousands of students that live in dorms fall victims to alcohol and drug addictions. This can be very harmful to the future of the student in terms of health, finances, studies, and career and could ruin the life of the person.
High Stress: Some students might experience severe stress while living in dorms. That’s because living in a community with people you know little about isn’t really easy. Most students at dorms will be from different backgrounds and some even from foreign countries, with different cultures. Therefore, it’s not easy for all students to mingle easily and adapt to dorm life.
Lagging at Studies: While colleges encourage living in dorms because of the obvious benefits, studies also prove that everyone doesn’t really benefit. Students at dorms can be prone to bunking classes and instead, enjoying the time or even sleeping. Some students will study late meaning their roommates can’t sleep too. This results in sleeping at irregular hours and missing classes.
What does This Mean?
These studies and their findings prove that staying in college dorms can be beneficial for a lot of students while some may find themselves at odds. However, it’s fair enough to say that with proper discipline and commitment to the course you’re studying, living in a college dorm can actually help your career and studies.
This makes it all the more important to find a college with the best dorms in 2022. This year, we also have to consider the fact that every dorm needs to follow guidelines for social distancing and safety protocols in wake of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.
20 Colleges with Best Dorms 2022
The website Niche.com lists all the colleges with the best dorms facility. This also includes colleges with the best dorms for 2022. The Niche takes feedback and reviews from students at these universities and takes into consideration various other factors while ranking these colleges.
Therefore, this list I am presenting is based on the findings by The Niche based on their research and findings across the USA. This list will help you find the answer to the question “Which college has the best dorms?”
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1. Washington University
Washington University located in St. Louis Missouri ranks on top of the list of colleges with the best college dorms. This ranking comes after reviews and votes by some 1,490 students at the university.
2. Johnson University
Second on the list is Johnson University in Knoxville, Tennessee. This university has been voted to have the best college dorm by about 291 reviewers, who’re students. However, these reviews were complete and met all requirements for the rankings.
3. High Point University
Located in the eponymous city, High Point in North Carolina, this university was among the rare ones to conduct classes during the peak of the 2019 Covid-19 pandemic.
This was possible because its students were living in the High Point University dorms and had no contact with the outside world to contract an infection.
4. Saginaw Valley State University
In the state of Michigan, we have the amazing Saginaw Valley State University, known for its beautiful campus and superb facilities. Students say that the dorm at this university is perhaps the most comfortable and luxurious in the USA. Some 1,613 students have written reviews of this dorm.
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5. Union University
Union University is said to be expensive but good for students wanting a Christian or conservative lifestyle. This college is located in Jacksonville, Tennessee. Reviews from 656 students were taken for ranking Union University at No-5 on this list.
6. Grand Canyon University
The Grand Canyon University of Phoenix, Arizona got as many as 9,562 reviews from students, who voted its dorm to be among the best dorms in colleges in America. This university is also well known for its superb teaching methods and friendly faculty and students.
7. Stevenson University
Stevenson University is based in Stevenson, Maryland. It ranks among the best colleges with the best dorms, based on 1,249 reviews from students. The food at this university is also said to be superb, which makes living in the Stevenson University dorms a pleasure, according to students.
8. California University of Pennsylvania
This university is based in the city of California in the state of Pennsylvania. The California University of Pennsylvania got 1,450 reviews to rank it at No-8 for colleges with the best dorms for 2022. Students write that the staff at this college are very helpful and the facilities are superb.
9. University of South Carolina- Beaufort
This college gets praise for its programs in nursing, hospitality, and healthcare, from some of its students. Also, reviews written by 460 students that met the standards of The Niche state clearly that the University of South Carolina- Beaufort has one of the best dorms in the USA. This university is located in Bluffton, South Carolina.
10. Mansfield University of Pennsylvania
The Mansfield University of Pennsylvania operates from the eponymous city of Mansfield, PA. With 889 reviews from students, its dorm is said to meet the A+ standards set by The Niche. Good food and superb staff also make this college among the best in the USA.
11. Colorado Christian University
Dorms at the Colorado Christian University in Lakewood, Colorado is also rated as A+ by its students. This ranking was gotten after 1,280 students from the university gave their honest reviews of the facilities on campus. The university also gets foreign students.
12. Florida Gulf Coast University
The Florida Gulf Coast University is located in Fort Myers, Florida. The 2,509 reviews by their students say that the Florida Gulf Coast University dorms meet the A+ standards of The Niche. Also, the food and other facilities as well as educational services at this university rank among the best in the USA, students say.
13. Regent University
A student writes that attending this university was the best decision of their life since they found a Christ-centered community. The university dorms are ranked as A+ with food and other services also scoring very high on the student scale.
This makes Regent University of Virginia Beach, Virginia, the 14th on the list of the best university dorms in the USA for 2022.
14. Indiana Wesleyan University
Overall niche grade of B+ and overall dorm rated at A+, students rankings place Indiana Wesleyan University at No-14 on our list of 20 colleges with the best dorms in the USA for 2022. The reviews come from 1,090 students for this university, which is based in Marion, Indiana.
15. Liberty University
Located in Lynchburg, Virginia, students say that Liberty University has a dorm that easily ranks at A+ on The Niche scale. The overall ranking of this college is also an A-,(minus) which puts it on top of the list of topmost universities in the USA. Reviews for Liberty University come from some 7,573 students.
16. Texas Christian University
The staff, dorm, and food at the Texas Christian University, all have been rated as very superior by its students. The Niche got some 1,628 reviews from students about the facilities and staff at this university, which is located in Fort Worth, Texas. The college dorm meets A+ standards easily, students say.
17. Indiana University- Southeast
The dorm at Indiana University- Southeast also scores an A+ ranking from its students. This educational institute is said to be a superb community college with lots of local students, though some of its facilities such as classrooms are smaller.
Some 695 students have reviewed this college. Its dorms rank at A+ on the scale. This university is located in New Albany, Indiana.
18. Santa Clara University
With dorms ranked at A+, Santa Clara University makes it to No-18 on our list of 20 colleges with the best dorms in the USA. Some 1,414 reviews came in for this college, with all students ranking the dorm as one of the best for a college in the USA. This college also welcomes a lot of foreign students on its campus for various programs.
19. University of Mobile
This university gets its name from the city of Mobile, Alabama. Some 300 students have given their reviews for the University of Mobile and rank its dorm to be in the A+ class, according to various parameters stipulated by The Niche. This college also has several programs for nursing and other related courses.
20. Bowdoin College
Brunswick, Maine, Bowdoin College is said to be LBGTQ friendly. The dorms are rated A+ by their students. Over 700 students gave their reviews for this college and its various facilities.
Bowdoin College is among the popular private colleges and universities in the USA. The college also has the best food in the USA, students say.
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Wrap Up
Some of these universities and colleges with the best dorms for 2022 are private while most are public. And a lot of them offer courses that might interest you.
Therefore, look at the programs available at these colleges and pick one of your choices, if staying at a dorm cannot be avoided. Usually, colleges with dorms also offer superior quality food. You could also refer to our list of US colleges with the best food, which would make it easier to choose where to study.