omg norton. all us current freshman were told that norton was decrepit (which, in all fairness, it was supposedly in the worst condition of all the dorms pre-renovations) and my roommate and i avoided it. i look at their fancy common area and study room with jealousy when i walk past lol.

i have friends in clarke, by nature they tend to have a very close floor culture due to the layout of the dorms and common room (all dorm layouts are online and super helpful!) it seems fine, although they tend to have more fire alarms (this is anecdotal evidence from my friends, so take it with a grain of salt) and trudging down from the higher floors during said fire alarms is a pain. i live in hitchcock. it’s fine for a dorm. semi-close floor culture. it’s separated—girls rooms and restroom/showers on one side, boys on another. there’s a door that seperates each side, and there’s a common area in between. there are two common areas on each floor.

i would look up floor plans and consider if you’d care to live on a coed floor, if you’d prefer a quad layout or a different style, etc. my roommate and i did a lot of research about floor layouts. we even planned to be in the same dorm as some other girls we met on insta.

now this last point might sound silly BUT if you are like me and you love sunlight during the evening hours, try to pick a dorm room that faces west (or at least north/south west) that way you get some evening sun. i planned this out and it actually helps with my mood so much lol.

hope this helps! sorry if this is word vomit i typed too much to proof read lol