Choosing your residence

Incoming freshmans have three residences to choose from. Below are brief descriptions of those residences and what we think about them. Alternatively, you can visit the Department of Housing and Dining Services website for more detailed information e.g. furnitures and amenities in the rooms.

AMR I & II

"AMR" is the acronym for "Alumni Memorial Residences". As its name suggests, this set of buildings was built to commemorate alumni. They are the oldest among the dorms on campus and thus are also the most rundown. Each three-floored building, AMR I and AMR II, is seperated into eight halls (all of which are co-ed except one in each buidling). Students reside in either single or double rooms, and share bathrooms on the floor.

Under par cleanliness in bathrooms and constant noise among the corridors may irritate some. On the brighter side, it is often said that students in AMR I & II enjoy better social life. While this claim is subjective and depends on an individual student's personality as well as that of those living around, we believe that it's partly true - the drawbacks of the dorms compel students to get out and socialize. While we cannot wholeheartedly recommend AMR I & II, we are sure that you'll have an enjoyable freshman year should you be placed there, as long as you have a powerful fan to cool off the blistering Baltimore heat in the first and last few weeks.

Buildings A & B

This set of generically named buildings offer suite-style living. They are located closely to the AMRs, the Fresh Food Cafe (a caffeteria renovated in 2006), and the Blue Jay Cafe. Each suite comprises of a bathroom, a kitchenette (if you're lucky), and two double rooms (or one single and one double room). When neccessary, the Housing Department may assign three students into one double room.

Unlike the poor residents in the AMRs, residents in Buildings A & B enjoy a climate-controlled environment all year round. What's more, they have convenient access to the caffeteria, classrooms and lecture halls, the gym, as well as the tennis courts. And thus, we cannot think of any significant shortcomings of Buildings A & B. It is the safest option among the three.

Wolman Hall

As the newest addition to freshman residences, six-floored Wolman Hall offers comfortable suite-style living like Buildings A & B, except that a kitchenette is guaranteed in this case. It is, however, not located near the freshman quad as the other two residences, but instead situated near the recently built Charles Commons complex. Residents in Wolman Hall have convenient access to the Charles Street Market directly underneath.

Since it's located away from the other freshman dorms, its residents may find themselves a little bit disconnected. But this will not be the case as long as you make effort in making friends, inviting them over, and astound them with the comfort you enjoy in your suite. Others may also find the daily hike to classrooms cumbersome, but we think you'll manage. If you're a 'comfortus' creature and don't mind taking a few more steps to get to places around campus, Wolman Hall is your choice.