Residence Hall Quiz: Finding a Room To Call Home

Your student is just a few short months from starting a new chapter at Cedarville, and the anticipation — yours and your student’s — is building! 

Your student's residence hall choice is an important step to take in the next few weeks. Recently, we’ve shared resources to help you and your student explore residence hall options and choose a roommate. Today, we're breaking down some of the unique residence hall features that will influence your student’s choice. 

Find your student, grab a pencil, and get ready to take some notes! You can learn more about any of the residence halls listed in this quiz on Cedarville’s residence halls webpage.

Question 1: Is privacy or community more important to your student?

A: Tight-Knit Community

A unit-style dorm tends to offer a more tight-knit community experience than a hall-style dorm. Each unit’s eight rooms are set up around a shared lounge and community space that students often use for movie nights, devotions, unit meetings, and other group activities.

• For girls who would prefer a unit style set-up, look at Jenkins, Maddox, and Printy Halls.
• For guys who would like a unit style set-up, check out Lawlor and Walker Halls.

B: Space and Privacy

Rooms in a hall-style dorm offer more space and privacy than a unit-style dorm. Each room opens into a shared hallway, and each hallway shares a bathroom. Each floor also usually has its own lounge and laundry facilities. Hall-style dorms still host community events, but the larger rooms further from the shared lounge spaces provide a quieter escape for sleep and studying.

• For girls who prefer a hall-style dorm, check out Diehl Johnson, Willetts, Wood, Johnson, Bates, Morton, McKinney, and Murphy Halls.
• For guys who would prefer a hall-style dorm, look into Brock, Faith, McChesney, Murdoch, Parker, Rickard, St. Clair, and West Halls or The Hill (a collective name for Carr, Marshall, Palmer, and Rogers Halls).

Question 2: Where does your student want to be located?

A: Near the heart of campus

The dorms nearest the Stevens Student Center, one of the busiest hubs of campus life, are Diehl Johnson Hall (women), Murphy Hall (women), Murdoch Hall (men), and Rickard Hall (men). A quick run to the post office or dining hall couldn’t be more convenient than from these dorms!

B: Near the academic buildings

Many of Cedarville’s academic buildings are located on the south side of campus, while most of the dorms are on the north side, but some dorms are closer to the academic buildings than others. Your student will be closest to his or her classes one of these residence halls: 

• For girls, check out Printy and Maddox Halls. 
• For guys, check out Faith, Lawlor, or The Hill.

C: Near the sports complex, fields, or courts

If your student is on an athletic team or if just enjoys staying active, there are many dorms close to the gym in the Callan Athletic Center and the outdoor fields and courts.

• Girls, check out Bates, Johnson, Murphy, McKinney, Morton, and Wood Halls.
• Guys, check out Parker, St. Clair, West, Rickard, and McChesney Halls.

Question 3: How does your student feel about cooking?

A: My student is practically a gourmet!

Some residence halls are outfitted with a kitchen for those who want to whip up delicious meals.

• Ladies, if you want a kitchen, check out Diehl Johnson, Maddox, Bates, Printy, and Willetts Halls.
• Gentlemen, if you want a kitchen, check out Murdoch Hall, Parker Hall, and The Hill.

B: My student would like to cook occasionally.

Sometimes, nothing beats a (literal) midnight study snack! Several of our residence halls have kitchenettes for people who want to cook but don’t need a full kitchen.

• For the ladies who want a kitchenette, check out Jenkins Hall.
• Guys, if you want to cook occasionally, check out Faith and Walker Hall.

C: My student loves it … so long as he or she isn’t the one doing the cooking!

If your student couldn’t care less about cooking in the dorms, Cedarville has a few residence halls without kitchens or kitchenettes.

• For girls, try Johnson, McKinney, Morton, Murphy, or Wood Halls.
• For guys, look at Brock, McChesney, West, and St. Clair Halls.

Bonus Question: Are there any special features your student is looking for?

A: A courtyard might be nice!

Maddox (women) is built around a courtyard where students can hammock, enjoy the sun, or play outdoor games.

B: My student wants to live in a brand-new dorm

Well, your student is in luck! Cedarville has built several new dorms in the past six years to keep up with growing enrollment.

• For women looking for a new dorm, try Bates, Diehl Johnson, Morton, or Wood Halls.
• Guys, if you’re looking for something new, check out Murdoch and Parker Halls.

C: My student is looking for a dorm with unique traditions

You can’t go wrong! Here are just a few of the dorm traditions your student might want to get involved in:

• Printy (women) and Lawlor (men) have several annual events, including the vibrant Printy Wars and Lawlorpalooza competitions early in fall semester
• Willetts (women) students participate in Hallo-Willetts and trick-or-treat through the halls
• Printy, Maddox (women), Lawlor, and The Hill (men) host an annual flag football tournament called Gridiron
• Rickard (men) and West (men) have a weeklong “Man Week” — a week where residents compete in challenges and hear from speakers on biblical manhood
• Brock (men) has an annual Brocktoberfest — a week of games and challenges culminating in a pig roast!

We hope this opens the door to talk with your student about choosing the right dorm for him or her. This is not an exhaustive list of everything each residence hall offers; encourage your student to keep an open mind and do further research as he or she considers where to live. We are confident that no matter what residence hall your student chooses, he or she will have the opportunity to build amazing community!

Housing selection for incoming freshmen is underway — check the residence halls webpage to see if your student is eligible to select housing yet. Hopefully, when the time comes for your student to choose their dorm, this quiz will have helped them decide.