The Top 10 Coolest Dorms in the Country
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
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College dorm rooms don’t necessarily have the best reputations. There are horror stories about mice, dirty and broken furniture, and cold windowless rooms that are only good for sleeping (if that). But home should be where your heart is, right? So shouldn’t your dorm room be awesome and beautiful? Well, some dorms really are, and feature everything from old-school fireplaces to the latest green technology. From the coast to coast and around the world, these are the coolest dorms around.
10. Harvard
Harvard is known for its hallowed halls and famous alumni like John F. Kennedy, Al Gore and Mark Zuckerberg. The Cambridge campus is very old (we’re talking 1636), and the historic dorms have classic touches like fireplaces and a dark, Victorian edge. The cool part of being a freshman is that you get to live in Harvard Yard during your first year, while the next three years you’re assigned to a “House”. “The best part of these Houses is the community. Each house has its own dining hall, common rooms, computer room, mini gym, library, etc. You get to know everyone in your House really well over the three years,” says Julia, a Harvard student and Her Campus intern. One of the freshman dorms, Hollis Hall, once housed George Washington's troops during the Revolutionary War, Henry David Thoreau, and Ralph Waldo Emerson.
About the Author
Biography
Kimya is a print and multimedia journalism student at Emerson College. She loves living in Boston, but still misses her hometown of Austin, Texas. She enjoys fashion, poetry, food and making predictions for award show winners.
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Comments
Just wanted to correct the bit on the 7 Sisters. They are not "a group of all-girls colleges in Massachusetts". They are womens' colleges, first created as the female equivalent to Ivy League colleges or Little Ivies. There were more (such as Pembroke, now absorbed into Brown), but the 7 Sisters came together in 1915. (* http://www.mtholyoke.edu/about/seven_sisters.html) Four were in Massachusetts (Radcliffe, Wellesley, Smith, and Mt. Holyoke). Radcliffe was eventually absorbed into Harvard. Two were in New York (Barnard, and Vassar which is now co-ed). One was in Pennsylvania, Bryn Mawr. 5 out of the original 7 remain womens' institutions.
To the ones who actually think that the dorms of their own schools are better, have you been to the ones featured in this article, though?:)
Just like to point out that Mount Holyoke is a women's college, not an all-girls school. Also, the Seven Sisters do not only exist in Massachusetts. Barnard College is located in New York City, and Bryn Mawr College is outside Philadelphia. Vassar, a former Seven Sisters member, is in Poughkeepsie, NY. Only 3 of the original 7 are in Massachusetts--Mount Holyoke, Smith, and Wellesley. Radcliffe College has been absorbed by Harvard.
Can I offer a couple corrections to the blurb about Mount Holyoke? The Seven Sisters Schools are not just in Massachusetts, Bryn Mawr is in Pennsylvania and Barnard and Vassar are in New York. Also it's not an "all-girls college" it's a "women's college".
Some of the dorms at Sarah Lawrence College look like they're straight out of Hogwarts.
There are also awesome tiny houses on campus!
To be fair, "the new dorms" are pretty awful... but the rest are mostly great.
I might have included Amherst College, which has some amazing dorms, especially some of the more recently renovated ones, but I think this is an excellent list.
I think UC Santa Barbara should definitely be on this list. The only beachfront dorms in the country? Yes please!
Yes indeed, they really have the most amazing beach view dorms, I loved staying there. We had some vintage style furniture back then and it was pretty inspiring living in such an environment actually.
As a current Mount Holyoke Student, I appreciated seeing Mount Holyoke make number 4--I definitely agree. However, I have a couple corrections.
1. The Seven Sisters are women's colleges, not girls' schools. Girls' schools end after 12th grade.
2. The Seven Sisters are located throughout the northeast, not just in MA. Originally 4 were in MA (Mount Holyoke, Smith, Radcliffe, and Wellesley), 2 were in NY (Barnard and Vassar), and 1 was in PA (Brynn Mawr). Only 5 remain, as Vassar is now co-ed and Radcliffe was absorbed into Harvard.
3. McGill is not in the USA, but in Canada.
Uh, McGill is in Canada, therefore not "in the country." FYI...
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