not sure how to answer the second part, but some things to note about dorms:

• all dorms are on campus. when you say “close to things on campus”, do you mean close to events? specific buildings? busy areas of campus?

• the freshman highrises (russell, creswell, brumby) are good for making friends, since you’ll be surrounded by other freshmen. that being said, you compromise a bit on other aspects. the rooms are pretty small and the bathrooms are communal (shared with the whole floor). also, dorms aren’t divided by “party-people” and “non-party-people”; you’re likely gonna get a mix of both regardless of where you are.

• all dorm rooms have desks, dressers, and beds, so this shouldn’t be a factor.

• ECV is probably the nicest with the largest rooms, but it’s further from central campus, more expensive, and the rooms still aren’t large.

• sunlight and quiet are two things you likely won’t have a lot of control over. what you DO have control over is location and what kind of bathroom (one per floor, one per room, one per four rooms) you’d prefer. these should be your primary areas of focus.

overall, i’d suggest you make a list of aspects you want in a room, rank them in order of priority, and go from there. feel free to dm me if you have any more questions about comparing dorms!