There are so many residence halls on campus, and it can be difficult to decide on the best place to live, even after your first year once you have a better idea of what each place has to offer. Thus, I tracked down information and questioned friends on their dorms’ personalities and accurate stereotypes to hopefully help! Keep in mind, no matter where you live on campus, you’re bound to meet great people and make great friends, so don’t give these blurbs too much stock or worry too much if you feel you’ve missed out on a better residence hall. That’s why there’s opportunity to move next year and try out other communities!
Printy
Starting with the residence hall most known for freshmen, students know Printy girls as energetic, outgoing, and trendy. They often love to be involved in any campus event, and Printy units tend to develop close bonds throughout the year. This is mostly because of the number of Printy-specific events and a super active bro/sis community with Lawlor. Printy and Lawlor both probably have the most dorm-specific events of any other residence halls, with Printy having:
- Printy Wars! Units face off against other units first with a fun, choreographed video and then with in-person teamwork competitions.
- Gridiron! Printy plays against Maddox in an intense flag football game (I’ve heard it’s more fun in muddy weather).
- The Gauntlet! A spring gaga ball tournament played in the racquet ball courts, with a trophy for the winners!
Printy is the place to be if you’re looking to make fast and long-lasting friends both with your Printy sisters and Lawlor brothers and get involved in lots of high-energy activities. Beware though, the rooms in Printy are the smallest across campus, and the noise level in the dorms tends to be higher than in other residence halls as well. But the cozy and close-knit units make for great bonds with your new Printy sisters!
Lawlor
Lawlor has a similar personality to its sister, Printy — energetic and involved — except that Lawlor isn’t necessarily considered a freshmen dorm. In fact, from what I’ve heard, a lot of seniors tend to flock to Lawlor; overall, this residence hall has a variety of students from any year. Lawlor’s events include:
- Lawlor Palooza! A beginning of the year event in which all the guys get to play some wild games alongside their new units.
- Gridiron! Pretty much the same as Printy, an epic flag football game, except that Lawlor faces off against the Hill.
- All-Dorm Dodgeball!
- Trivia Night!
- Lawlor Night! A night to focus on spiritual growth and God’s Word.
- Lawlor Baller! A 3-on-3 basketball tournament in April.
Lawlor is a great place to live no matter your year, and like Printy, it’s one of the closest dorms to the center of campus which means less walking time to chapel and food. Its dorm rooms are also the smallest on campus, but I’ve heard that many guys enjoy the closeness of the unit and community. Lawlor puts a lot of focus on connection, so if you want to develop some close friendships then this hall is a good place to check out.
Maddox
Maddox is a pretty chill dorm, with most of its girls being artsy and writerly. Before some of the newer dorms were built, Maddox was a hotspot for seniors to live, but now it houses mostly sophomores and juniors. One of the best features of this dorm is how close it is to everything, especially chapel and the BTS building, as well as its beautiful and private — often hammock-filled — courtyard. They play in the annual Gridiron with Printy but have a much less active bro/sis with The Hill than Printy and Lawlor’s bro/sis. Maddox girls also get to enjoy a huge fall party, and a pancake dinner around Valentine’s Day. Apparently, a popular term for girls living in Maddox is “Maddox Moms,” because they tend to be so quiet and sweet.
The Hill
The Hill is actually a combination of four residence halls: Carr, Marshall, Palmer, and Rogers, with all being similar but each having their own fun traditions. The Hill is one of the furthest dorms from campus, located on the south end toward Alford. Many of the guys living here are very school-oriented, especially since the most common majors are engineering and computer science. But really, The Hill is so welcoming and friendly, and good for spiritual conversation, that it’s easy to make friends no matter your personality. Besides playing against Lawlor in the Gridiron, the Hill also has The Hill Grill — a bi-annual cookout —and the Highland Games — an event where halls compete as teams in various events, including cinder block toss and dodgeball, to try and win the golden cinderblock.
Willetts
There’s a little less to say about Willetts, but that’s mostly because it has a reputation of being a super chill residence hall for any year and any type of student. Many of the girls returning to this hall like to invite friends to live in the same hallway as them, but you can still make plenty of friends even if you come in not knowing anyone. Especially thanks to some fun dorm events, like Hallo-Willetts (annual trunk or treat), Fall Flannel Fridays, a super bowl party with their bros in Brock, bagel days during finals week, and occasional gifts of cookies and lemonade or hot cocoa. Willetts is a warm and friendly place with many chances to connect with your hall, but your experience there is what you make it to be. So don’t be shy to initiate hangouts with your hallmates!
Brock
Many of the male sports teams room in Brock, creating a play on words, “Brock Jocks.” Their residence hall is quite close to the athletic fields, which makes sense, so it’s very easy for you and your friends to pop over for a game of tennis, volleyball, or soccer! Dorm events in Brock include Brocktoberfest (a chance to compete in a variety of contests, finishing off the event with a big pig roast), a leadership night to encourage Brock leaders, and soccer and baseball tailgate parties!
McKinney
Some people say McKinney is like a Willetts 2.0 — smaller in size than Willetts and housing fewer students, but typically just as chill and just as mixed-major. While you can find any year at McKinney, mostly sophomores and juniors live here. The involvement in dorm activities depends on the hall and the RA, but the bathrooms are all apparently really nice! McKinney is a good place to live for those in-between girls, who want community but privacy, and who want the noise level between library-quiet and Printy. It’s the best of both worlds!
McChesney
Like its sisters in McKinney, McChesney guys are laidback and come from all years and majors. This residence hall is also a good middle ground; if you need space to yourself to study or rest then you have it, but if you want to spend time with people then they’re within reach. You just have to be a bit more proactive in making friends with your hall when living in McChesney. Their events include an annual bro/sis battle and cookout event, an annual dodgeball tournament with St. Clair, and impromptu weekend tournaments, ping-pong, and football games scattered throughout the year. McChesney is a great place to live to get a little bit of everything!
Murphy
Murphy is another girls’ hall style dorm with standard size rooms. Unfortunately, I haven’t heard much about this dorm’s personality or stereotypes, likely because it’s another in-between residence hall with a good balance between community and privacy. I do know that Murphy is one of the closest girls’ dorms to the SSC and dining hall, though, which is definitely a plus! And, they have an annual Fall Harvest Party with the Jenkins and Walker dorms!
Rickard
I have nearly as much information on Rickard as I do its sister Murphy, sadly, but I know Rickard has recently joined an annual flag football game in the Spring with St. Clair and McChesney! They also have an event called ManWeek, which is an opportunity for halls to compete against each other in “manly events” before settling in to hear from some speakers throughout the community and the university on biblical manhood. West apparently shares in this event, which means there’s great opportunity to make friends from a separate but nearby dorm!
Johnson
Johnson is a hall style dorm that’s the farthest from the academic side of campus of the female dorms, but closest to the athletic fields and some of the best parking! Mostly sophomores and juniors live in Johnson, but you can find any year and major there. I’ve heard Johnson is like a calmer version of Printy, but one that boasts larger living space. It has excellent community, and a good balance of social interaction and isolated study time!
St. Clair
St. Clair, brother dorm to Johnson, functions much like the majority of other hall style dorms on campus, housing students of any year and major. Along with St. Clair’s annual dodgeball tournament with McChesney, and an annual bro/sis battle and cookout, St. Clair guys initiate impromptu nerf battles, ab nights, and other fun activities like ping-pong and sport intramurals.
Walker and Jenkins
Walker and Jenkins are two separate dorms, but very similar. They both have the same unit style layout, are located right next to each other, and primarily house seniors. The girls living here are typically quiet, laidback, and independent. The only dorm-specific event for Walker and Jenkins I’ve heard of is a Fall Harvest Party with Murphy, but this gives the individual units plenty of time to plan their own activities out and about. Since the dorms are so large and so nice, they are maybe the most competitive to get into, especially if you’re trying to snag a unit with a group of friends.
West
I’ve heard a lot of intriguing West lore, but I’ll leave it to you to ask West guys about their shenanigans. West is yet another dorm with a good mix of majors and years, but apparently their rooms are bigger than most and their bathrooms are nicer than most. This residence hall sits on the edge of campus, but this gives West guys probably the best parking spots, and great access to good walking paths and star-gazing spots. Halls don’t have as many events together — just ManWeek alongside Rickard — but roommate pairs tend to be inseparable not too long after moving in.
Bates and Parker
Bates and Parker house girl and guy students respectively. They are some of the newest dorms on campus, with some of the biggest rooms, which makes them rather difficult to get into until senior year. Because these two dorms are so new, I have yet to hear much about the dorm-specific events, their bro/sis events, or even their dorm personality. Likely, though, the seniors in Bates and Parker are busy studying for their senior year and cramming in as much time with the community as they can get before graduating!
Faith
Finally, last but not least, is Faith! Cedarville has long since planned to tear down Faith, but it seems like they didn’t have the heart to remove such a steadfast residence hall! Faith is one of the oldest—if not the oldest—residence halls on campus, and for the past two years has been used as the quarantine dorm. I’m not sure of any dorm-specific events or accurate stereotypes of Faith, but I stayed in Faith when I was a visiting high schooler and found that every person I met there was super kind. Unfortunately, Faith is the furthest away from the main buildings on campus like the SSC and chapel, but it’s very close to the Tyler and Williams buildings which makes it the perfect place for communications, psychology, and English majors!
In Conclusion
While most of the dorms certainly have their well-known personalities and stereotypes, it ultimately doesn’t matter where you live because Cedarville University is such a community-rich school that it’s nearly impossible to avoid making friends if you want them. And even if you do decide that your freshman-year residence hall may not be the place you feel most at home, then you can always try a new dorm your next year and experience a new dorm culture! That’s the beauty of your four years, AKA 1,000 days, at Cedarville!
Student Life Blogger
- Majoring in English with minors in Bible, Creative Writing, and Editing & Publishing
- Hometown: Blythewood, SC
- Coffee Order: Bourbon Latte at Beans-n-Cream
- Favorite Bible Verse: Luke 9:23
Tags: #dorms, #personalities, #reslife
Posted in: Campus Experience, Residence Halls