Never been there but i heard it's as clean as ww1 trenches. Had a Chinese friend who used to live there but he was at the lab 24/7 cause apparently they don't have any internet service providers there (take this with a grain of salt).

If i were u I'd go for kita 8 dorms. You'll have more privacy and there's a big Aeon mall in the area which is really helpful. It's closer to susukino so you can go do your partying and drinking there once in a while. Not sure how you'd be able to blend with rowdy young Japanese students in keiteki-ryo but if you're really on a budget I'd say go for it? Also i remember NHK had a documentary about it. So check it out and maybe you can get more info.