Residence halls: a freshman's ultimate quest for the best living experience, most aesthetic dorm room, fun times and best facilities. We've all heard the horror stories of moldy showers, broken air conditioners, and haunted dorms, so here is the quick guide of the best (and worst) places to live on Ohio University's main campus.
1. Bromley Hall
Originally built by The Bromley Group in 1966, the college inn bought this building later on, only for Ohio University to buy and open it as a residence hall in 2001. Located on South Congress Street, it is considered to be on West Green but is closer to uptown. Bromley is pretty much an old hotel turned into a dorm, and always fills up on the first day of room selection for its suites and spectacular view. Sorry freshmen, upperclassmen only!
2. New South
Again, sorry freshmen! You'll have to wait a year before New South becomes open for your selection. Another very popular residence hall complex on South Green built in 2015, these are brand new buildings with suite-style rooms, a student kitchen, and bathrooms that connect through the door of two rooms. Be prepared for room selection sophomores, these dorms fill up on the first two days as well!
3. Jefferson Hall
Newly renovated in summer 2017, Jeff is located on East Green, right across the schools of education, music, and dance. It only houses freshmen and conveniently has Jeff Marketplace and cafe. Easy access to food, nice study rooms with a TV on the first floor, it is easily top of the chart for one of the best dorms for first-year students.
4. Lincoln Hall
Also newly renovated and located on East Green, Lincoln houses freshmen and includes triple and quad room styles. The dance studio and meeting room is on the first floor, a small computer lab with graphic design and MIDI software and keyboard is on the third floor and the art studio is on the fourth floor. Each room also has its own sink.
5. James Hall
Home to OU's athletes, if you're an athlete, chances are you will be living here. However, it's open to all freshmen. Located on West Green, it is conveniently located right across academic buildings such as Irvine (the bio/med school department), Academic and Research Center (engineering) and Stocker Center (Russ College of Engineering and Technology) and Boyd dining hall, along with the Convocation Center, home to our basketball team. If you're a STEM major, most of your classes throughout the year will be on this complex.
6. Scott Quad
7. Back South
Freshmen, take this as your warning. Back south has coined the nickname "Dirty South." OU's 10 year plan is to tear down buildings on this side of campus one by one and rebuild a new back south. These are the oldest dorms we have and as someone who lives here, I can testify that they are gross. The showers are small with low ceilings, not every floor of the halls have AC and the inside generally has a musty, old building smell. Wray's clock tower goes off every half hour. You can hear it all the way from the library.
Ultimately, there are good and bad dorms on every green, so choose the location that best suits your classes! You'll want the extra sleep time for those early mornings. Choose wisely and sooner than later, and you'll find a good place!
