Rooming Options

Freshman Rooming Options

Freshman Rooming Options

1

Rank

Option

Photos

Pros

Cons

My Recommendation

Rank

Option

Photos

Pros

Cons

My Recommendation

1

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Single

Have your own personal space. This is the BIG ONE!!

Will never get (s)exiled by your roommate. I know people for whom this is a big issue and they’ve slept in lounges/on other people’s couches... do you really want that?

Will not have to deal with a roommate’s significant other sleeping over (or doing more AH) in YOUR room

Will not accidentally walk in on your roommate

Can decorate your room however you want! You get FULL creative liberty

Can do whatever you want in your room (wear/not wear whatever lol, blast music, make food, etc.)

You can be as messy or as neat as you want!

Can have a quiet study environment

Miss out on “classic college experience” of having a roommate

Potential to get a tinyyy single. I know people who have gotten the smallest single in the Quad, where there’s less than a yard between the bed and their desk. On the bright side, they’re incentivized to get out of their cramped rooms and socialize/study in libraries a lot

If you’re not very social it may feel isolating, especially during the first weeks of school

Potential to feel lonely after a long day (since there’s no one else living in your room with you!)

Not able to host people/have as many people over in your room

When I chose a single, I was worried that I would feel isolated or lonely. However, as someone who’s very social and constantly going out, it’s been reallyyyy nice to have a place that I can go back to at the end of a long day. Privacy can be hard to come by in college so having personal space is amazing. Being in a single did not impact my social life at all. In fact, during NSO (New Student Orientation, aka the first week of school), I was able to host a lot of people in my room because I didn’t have a roommate to consult. Additionally, being in a single has also motivated me to get out of my room and go study in more social areas. Since many of my friends and I live in the Quad, they’re all super close and I can see them/study with them a lot, even though we don’t live in the same room. I’m definitely a bit biased but it’s honestly great to not have to worry about being kicked out by a roommate or deal with all the drama of living with another person for a whole year. If you are social and plan on going out, I would highly recommend choosing a single. For people who are more studious and don’t necessarily go out Wednesday through Saturday, a single may still be a great fit because you can study in your room distraction-free and relax by yourself; I have many friends who solely study in their singles. All my friends with singles love them and do not regret choosing them!

2

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Double

Opportunity to become best friends with your roommate

Potential built-in friend to hang out with during the beginning of first semester

Roommate can combat feelings of loneliness

May get a slightly larger room. *This is not always the case tho; I’ve seen how my single is around the same size as some people’s doubles

Can host other people in your room if it’s larger

Potential to meet/become close with a really cool person you would not have met/spent time with otherwise (if you go random)

Can rely on roommate to clean the room (but don’t do that lol)

Can rely on roommate to decorate your room during move-in

The quintessential college freshman dorm experience

Won’t have personal space

Potential to end up with a roommate you don’t like. This can be for multiple reasons: your sleeping/study schedules don’t align, they don’t respect your boundaries, they’re messy, etc. Even if you choose your roommate or fill out a rooming survey, there’s potential that they misrepresent how clean/social/studious they are.

If you choose your roommate and end up disliking them, then you may regret choosing them over a single/going random for the rest of the year.

May get sick of constantly having someone around

Potential to get (s)exiled by your roommate for various reasons

Potential to walk in on your roommate doing things you don’t want to see

Potential to deal with a roommate’s significant other sleeping over (or doing more AH) in YOUR room

Potential to not get the beautifully-decorated dorm room of your dreams if your roommate is envisioning a different aesthetic/color pallette

Will have to be quiet/respectful of when your roommate is sleeping/studying if your study/sleeping hours don’t align

If I had chosen a double, I would have wanted to choose a roommate rather than get one randomly assigned (Penn gives you the option to choose/go random). However, I was worried that if I chose a roommate and end up disliking them, I would regret choosing them for the rest of the year. This was for good reason––I know many people who dislike the roommates that they chose. In fact, I know people who literally moved out half-way through the year because they could not deal with living with the other person. That’s not to say that all doubles will go badly. There are a lot of people I know who are best friends with their roommates, or are acquaintances, at the very least. This is great for the beginning of the year when you don’t know people. However, I think that if you’re social and open to meeting new people your first week of school, you shouldn’t choose a double just because you’re worried about being isolated/lonely. Doubles are very hit-or-miss so I would weigh the pros and cons a lot before committing.

3

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Triple

Opportunity to become best friends with your roommates

Triples are usually very big so you can host a lot of people

Very social!!!

A taste of suite-style living because the triples are usually broken up into 1-2 “singles” and a “main” room

If you get into fights with your roommates, it can become 2 v. 1

May not have personal space if you end up living in the “main” room

If you choose your roommates and end up disliking them, then you may regret choosing them over a single/double

May get sick of constantly having people around

May be frustrating to get the “main” room rather than a side “single” in a triple

Environment may not be as good for studying, depending on your roommates

If you are less extraverted and want to be more social, choosing a triple could be a good idea. If you are extraverted and want your room to be a social hub, choosing a triple could also be a good idea! The people I know in triples love their roommates and love hosting other people. You can definitely have “parties” in your triple (just be responsible so you don’t get reported/busted) which can be a lot of fun. If you are deciding between living alone in a single and living with others, I would recommend choosing a triple over a double. That’s because your room will definitely become THE place to hang out (versus a double which is more of an in-between due to the size of the room). Also, making two new best friends may be better than just one friend!

4

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Suite

Opportunity to become best friends with your suite mates

Will have your own personal space since each room in the suite is a single

Will have amenities like a fridge, freezer, sink, separate shower/bathroom

Potential to seriously hate your suite mates

Environment may not be as good for studying, depending on your suite mates

Suites are only in four-year housing (and you know how I feel about choosing four-year housing over freshman-only housing!!)

I would not deliberately choose suite-style living unless you are set on living in one of the four-year college houses. While it’s great that you get a single and have amenities that aren’t available in the other rooming options, I feel that these benefits do not outweight the drawbacks of missing out on the freshman-only dorm experience. Additionally, you have three more years to live in suite-style apartments––why not take advantage of the freshman-only housing options when you can?

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