Student Blogs

I remember that when I was applying to colleges one of the things that I really wanted to know about was the dorm life. I wanted to see what the dorms looked like, how I got to select a roommate, if I really had to share a bathroom or walk down the hall to take a shower, the size of the rooms, what the best dorms were, the number of roommates I would have, parking lot, etc. I had two college tours and the one thing I was really looking forward to during the tour was the student dorms. Maybe I am just weird, but honestly I think that getting to see what the rooms look like and getting an idea of what to expect really helps you determine whether or not you can picture yourself in that campus for the next four years.

So here are a few things I learned about the GU dorm life:

You are required to live on campus for the first two years (unless there are special circumstances like having relatives here in Spokane, being from the area, etc.)
Room sizes vary from dorm to dorm, but the majority of them have the same furniture: two twin beds, two desks, chairs, two closets, drawers, two trashcans (trash/recycle) & a phone.
Roommates: During the summer you will get a survey about your living styles (what time you go to sleep, wake up, whether you are clean or not, do homework in your room, etc.). This helps the Housing office pair you up with someone that might share the same living styles as you. Trust me it is nerve racking! But GU does a great job at trying to find your match! Also, there are some students who already know who they want to live with you can always request each other (but sometimes that’s not the best option)
Bathrooms: YES you do have to share bathrooms and sometimes even walk down the hall to take a shower. When I first learned about this I was NOT looking forward to it. I lived in Coughlin hall where the bathrooms are in the middle of each wing. There was one side of showers and the other side of stalls; it was something that I definitely had to get used to. But after a while I realized it was not as bad as it looked; having more than one shower allows you to take long showers without having someone complaining about how long you are taking and custodians clean the bathrooms! So that is one thing you can take off your chore list.
Room size: Again, it depends in which dorm you are staying. Some are very spacious, other ones are just big enough for you to live in, but there is one thing you can always do: LOFT YOUR BED. The lofting kits are the ones that allow you to raise your bed and make more space in your room. A lot of students place their desk under, put a couch there, etc. Also you can always get creative with the room setup to help make more space.
Best dorms: I lived in Coughlin for two years, so I will probably be biased in this response because I loved Coughlin. There are themed floors, libraries in the building, common areas, coffee shop downstairs, flat screen TVs, indoor parking lot and overall the Coughlin community is great! But there are also dorms like Madonna, CM, Marion, Desmet, Alliance and much more! Just know that wherever you get placed you will end up loving it!
Number of roommates: Almost everyone gets paired with one more person, but sometimes there are students that have two other roommates. (both of my years I had ONE roommate, but I had some friends that had two)
If you are thinking to live on campus you can always buy a parking permit. Coughlin has indoor parking space, which is nice for the winter season, but throughout the campus there are designated parking spaces for students!

Like I said earlier, the one thing I looked forward to in tours were the student dorms. So here are several pictures that Ruben took this past year of some dorms!

Alliance

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