*Note: These dorms were freshman dorms the past three years of my college career at OU; not completely certain as if they will be freshman dorms 2020.
When I was accepted to Ohio University in the fall of 2017, I had copious amounts of questions that I wanted answers to. Many of them I was able to answer within a timely matter, but one predominant question remained: which is the best dorm to live in my freshman year? I spent a great deal of time Googling this question, but would find outdated articles that weren't entirely relevant anymore, or asked current students who hadn't been a freshman in some amount of time. As someone who was a freshman at Ohio University in the academic year of 2018-2019, and also lived on campus this past year, I'll try to give my best advice on what dorms you should try to get into, from best to very best.
6. James Hall (West Green)
https://www.ohio.edu/housing/james-hall
James Hall is air-conditioned and a good hall to be in if most of your classes are on West Green, since it's a hike from East and South to get to West. Many years, James Hall houses both freshmen and sophomores. A unique feature of James Hall is that it has a community kitchen.
5. Brown Hall (South Green)
https://www.ohio.edu/housing/brown-hall
Brown Hall is a good hall for freshmen. It is a minute walk, if that, from Nelson Court, the best dining hall at OU. It also is next to the Mackinnon mailroom, so getting mail isn't a far distance. It also has air conditioning and a laundry room. The main lobby of Brown also has a pingpong table and a piano, if you're into that.
4. Scott Quad (East Green)
https://www.ohio.edu/athens/bldgs/scott.html
Scott Quad, to me, is the most centralized dorm at OU, due to the fact that it is close to College Green, meaning its a great location to nearly everything. It is also at the top of Morton Hill, which will limit the number of times you have to make the dreadful walk up Morton. Another positive is that it has a laundry room inside of it. OUPD also resides on the bottom of Scott Quad, which not only can make Scott Quad residents feel safer, but allow them to say, "Scott Quad lives above the law."
3. Wray House (South Green, "Dirty South")
https://www.ohio.edu/athens/bldgs/wray.html
Wray House is located on Dirty South. Now, hear me out, I lived here the first semester of my sophomore year and loved it. I was skeptical about going in due to the unwritten rule that dorms on Dirty South should be avoided at all costs, but I was surprised after moving in how much I liked it. There was an elevator (which makes moving in a lot smoother), a laundry room, and is air-conditioned. This dorm is also mod-style, which is the closest freshmen can get to having their own bathroom. There are a few "mods" on each floor and a central lobby within each floor. Each mod is composed of a few rooms (singles or doubles) and one bathroom. My mod consisted of myself and three other girls, then we all shared one bathroom. After having lived in three different dorms, Wray House was probably my favorite. It's kind of a hike from everything, but not terrible, and the view is amazing in back-south.
2. Lincoln Hall (East Green)
https://www.ohio.edu/housing/lincoln-hall
Lincoln Hall, located just across from Jeff Hall, is the dorm I lived in my freshman year. Not to sound biased, but it is one of the best halls you could live in as a freshman. It has a laundry room, elevator, air conditioning, and is just a short distance from College Green, Court Street, and Jeff Market. Lincoln has one of the best features a freshman could want: sinks! This is due to the fact that most of the people who reside in the hall are in the College of Fine Arts. Although, if you can get in you should- it makes brushing your teeth and getting water to fill your Keurig up much more convenient.
1. Jefferson Hall (East Green)
https://www.ohio.edu/housing/jefferson-hall
Jeff Hall is no doubt the best freshman dorm you could live in. It's newly renovated with air conditioning and is located at the bottom of Jeff hill, it's close to both College Green and Court Street. One of the three on-campus markets is also in Jeff Hall, which makes it convenient if you need any snacks, toiletries, or somewhere to just use your swipes. Lastly, it has a laundry room, a plethora of study rooms, and the East Green mailroom resides in it, which means you don't have to walk out of your dorm to go get your packages or do your laundry.
Here were my personal opinions about the six best dorms freshmen can live in at Ohio University. If you're looking at a possible dorm that wasn't on this list, here are some things to keep in mind if the dorm is "good" or not: the distance it is from your classes, College Green, dining halls, and Uptown, if it has a laundry room in it or not, if the mailroom of your Green is close by, and amenities such as airconditioning. Good luck and have a great freshman year!
