Bad dorms can ruin a college experience. Find out which colleges and universities are known for the worst dorm rooms and residence halls.
While the best college dorms can help foster socialization and promote good study habits and life skills, the worst college dorms can have just the opposite effect.
Some dorms can seem like a prison and make students loathe having to go home at the end of the day. Here’s a look at some of the worst college dorms in the country.
The Top 10 Worst College Dorms
- University of Illinois at Urbana – Champaign Students who resided in Garner Hall say, “It wasn’t horrible but I was very excited to get out of there.”
- George Mason University: Commonwealth Hall has a reputation for being amongst the worst college dorms because “Elevators are constantly breaking down, there’s extremely poor Internet connection, and it looks like a prison,” one student reports.
- Georgetown University: Darnall Hall is so bad that it may result in unlikely friendships, say students. “It is the oldest and furthest freshman dorm on campus and has a reputation for being one of the least desirable places to live on campus. Yet one must forge friendships in order to survive since you are located further from campus hotspots, like the dining hall.”
- George Mason University: President’s Park students say, “In general there is not a lot going on. It is far from campus and classes. I hated sharing a bathroom with 10 other people. It would have been nice to have a kitchen. My RA wasn’t very involved either.”
- University of Illinois at Urbana – Champaign: Weston Hall students rated this dorm amongst the worst dorms because, “It’s too loud and E-14 is pretty far away.”
- University of Illinois at Urbana – Champaign: Forbes is just as bad as other dorms on campus.
- University of Mississippi: Miller Hall was apparently so bad that it was torn down to make way for new dorms.
- University of California at San Diego: Marshall Apartments has its ups and downs, “The triple rooms are very small, parking is almost nonexistent. However, staff is very nice and daily cleaning services included.”
- Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University: Payne Hall students voted it amongst the worst college dorms because, “The dorm is extremely old and rooms are small. Hot water came and went all year, and many times I had to take a cold shower. Also, my radiator broke halfway through the year and leaked all over my room, damaging a lot of my stuff.”
- New York University: Goddard Hall is small, even by New York City standards, “”It’s NYC, so you take what you can get, but our bedroom had no room to walk or open the closet door.”