Dorms usually offer helpful amenities for students such as on-site laundry facilities, cable, gym, lounges, study rooms and high speed Internet connections. Dorms are typically located on or near the campus and classes, so students do not need a car.
Dorms typically include meal plans so the student does not have to spend time and money cooking or grocery shopping.
There are usually student jobs available in dorms so students can work in the building where they live.
Students who live in the dorms have more time to focus on studying than on domestic duties. Also, dorms are closely monitored by campus security to provide safe accommodations for college students.
A college dorm is a unique opportunity for students to live with their peers. Sometimes schools offer academic communities such as women in engineering floors to help foster friendship and academic study groups in the dorm setting. Some schools offer theme dorms, for example a dorm for international students to provide the students a more familiar surrounding.
Dorm living often allows the student to meet a diverse group of people. Dorms may be organized around athletic intramural groups and other social organizations. This social aspect of living in a dorm can help make the student's transition away from home to college easier.
The price of room and board in on-campus housing can be more expensive than living in an apartment off campus, but the amenities and convenience must be factored into the cost.
However, on college campuses in urban settings, the dorms can provide a much more affordable city living option. The biggest negative aspect of college dorms is the size of the rooms and sharing the space with a roommate.
Dorms are configured as singles, doubles or suite living. In a single room, the student has the room to himself; but this privilege is often reserved for seniors. The double room is shared with one other student. Suite living is where a cluster of rooms share a living room, bathroom and sometimes a kitchenette.
The rooms are typically small, but usually contain a desk and twin bed for each student and a closet that may or may not be shared. Adjusting to living with one or multiple roommates can be difficult. Some roommates become friends for life, while others never get used to sharing a room with a stranger.
Students who live in dorms are bound by the rules associated with the campus housing. Some college dorms have strict policies related to dorm visitors. It is important to ask about this policy since the rules can vary greatly from dorm to dorm; for example, some dorms do not allow males to visit females in their rooms. Some dorms prohibit alcohol and smoking. These policies are typically strictly enforced with disciplinary actions taken against students who violate them; they are in place to ensure a safe and studious environment.