Dormitory

:The term dormitory is also often applied to suburbs or towns adjacent to large cities. For instance, Porirua is a dormitory city for Wellington, New Zealand. (In the United States, these would be called bedroom communities, and they are also referred to in some countries as commuter towns.)

Dormitory buildings

At boarding schools, colleges, and universities, the word dormitory is used to describe the entire building used to house students. It is this usage which is much more common in the United States. In UK universities these buildings are usually called Halls of Residence, except at Oxford and Cambridge. In the United States this terminology is often controversial at best among residence life professionals, who prefer the term "residence hall" or simply "Hall" over "dormitory" or "dorm".

Related Topics:
UK - Oxford and Cambridge - Residence hall

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Most colleges and universities provide (usually for a rental fee) single or multiple occupancy rooms for their students. These building are comprised of many such rooms, like an apartment building, and the number of rooms varies quite widely from just a few to hundreds. The largest dormitory building is Bancroft Hall at the United States Naval Academy.

Related Topics:
Bancroft Hall - United States Naval Academy

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Formerly, many companies in the U.S. and elsewhere housed employees in dormitories. This practice has dwindled, but continues in many other countries.

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Dormitories have replaced barracks at many U.S. military installations.

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Typically, these dorm rooms are about 25 square meters (15 by 15 ft) of floor space, and provide the following minimal furnishings:

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• twin bed (sometimes in a bunk-bed configuration);
• desk;
• mirror;
• closet space (sometimes);
• drawers (clothes storage) (sometimes);
• window;
• sink with running water (rarely);

Most often, bathrooms are provided for a group of rooms, which provide shower, toilet, and sink facilities.

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In the U.S., dormitories are most often segregated by gender, with men living in one group of rooms, and women in another. Some dorms are single-sex with varying limits on visits by persons of each gender.

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Most dorms are much closer to campus than comparable private housing such as apartment buildings. This convenience is a major factor in the choice of where to live since living physically closer to classrooms means being able to sleep later and still arrive to class on time.

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