Which Community is Best?

As many ASU students know, some dorms are greater than others. Many dorms are nothing to be proud of and others cause extreme envy of any student not in those dorms. Today in our weekly ASU guide we are going to explore three of the Residence Halls at ASU and help incoming freshman decide which residence hall is the best fit for them. In each category we will rank quality on a scale of one to five, with five being the highest. The communities will be ranked in the categories of; room size, facility quality, location, and a Xfactor if the dorms have a special quality about them that gives it a leg over the competition.

Arcadia Community:

1. Room Size: Most of the rooms in the Arcadia residential community are small in comparison to other dorms on campus. At about 10x12 feet, the rooms are barley big enough for two people to share a space comfortably. Score: 1/5.
2. Facilities: The biggest short coming for this community are the community bathrooms. Since the dorms are so old, a lot of the showers do not have water pressure, nor control of the water temperature. Depending on who is living on your floor the bathrooms can become extremely dirty, even after being cleaned three times a day. You always have to wear shower shoes in the bathrooms in order to avoid getting a case of athletes foot or other fungal infections. The only plus to the community style bathrooms is you do not have to clean them, or pay for bathroom supplies. Score: 2/5
3. Location: If the facilities are the downfall of Arcadia, then its location is its biggest plus. Less than a five minute walk to the Gammage auditorium, a five minute walk to the Memorial Union, and right across the street from the all important iHop. The Arcadia community is also located right next to a parking Garage, so parking is an extremely easy task. After leaving the parking garage, reaching any of the three major freeways surrounding the Tempe campus is also extremely easy. Score; 5/5.
4. X Factor: Arcadia is a community for the Art and Design students. In rooms by the center courtyard, there are practice rooms for the music majors, for the design majors there is a design studio, and then a classroom for groups to work with each other on different group projects. In the courtyard there is also a decent volleyball court that is used all throughout the day. Score: 2/5.

Total Points: 10/20

Hassyampa Academic Village:

1. Room Size: Being one of the newest residence on the ASU Tempe campus, Hassyampa Academic Village (Hassy) has some of the biggest dorm rooms this world has ever seen. Each room has more than enough space for two people, their property, and space to spare. The closets are built into the wall as you walk into the dorm (Shown right). Score: 5/5. 
   
2. Facilities: Another plus of Hassy is the facilities, every two rooms combines to make a sweet with a shared bathroom. The one and only down side of the shared bathrooms is that you are responsible for purchasing toilet paper, soap, and cleaning your own bathroom. Score: 4/5.
3. Location: Although it is not terrible, Hassy doesn't have the best location. It is located in the far south east corner, located away from most classes. Across the street from Hassyampa is a Dutch Bro's coffee house to help with your studying needs. Score: 2/5.
4. X Factor: When Hassyampa was built, it was designed with the idea of being a completley self sustaining community. In the ground floors of the community is a shopping market, a dining hall, and a UPS store so that besides class, students could stay in the community. Score: 3/5.

Total Points: 14/20

Barrett Community:

1. Room Size: If you want luxury, Barrett is the way to go. These dorms were built in mind of being used only by the Barrett Honors College. That said in order to be in these dorms you have to be in the honors college or sustainability program. Since it is the honors college the size of the rooms in Barrett is perfect for the amount of people each room was deigned to hold. Score: 5/5.
   
2. Facilities: A huge plus in Barrett is the varying types of room design, along with the facilities design as well. Depending on what room you are in, you can have anything from your very own bathroom to a bathroom shared by four people. Once again you are in charge of purchasing supplies. Score: 5/5.
3. Location: The Barrett dorms are located right next to Hassy, also in the South East part of the tempe campus. But Barrett is also outfitted with classrooms down stairs so most of the honors classes are located inside of the community, which eliminates the draw backs of Hassyampa. Score: 4/5
4. X Factor: This category is where Barrett truly takes the cake. Located on the "Hogwarts" dining hall (as most students call it) is the best dining hall food you could ever have. Serving premium steaks most nights, and other high end food no one ever complains about Barrett food. After they are done eating, Barrett Residents can walk over to there very own Starbucks kiosk and many other restaurants that only Barrett students can use. Score: 5/5

Total Score: 19/20

ASU is a wonderful place, and living in the dorms are a huge part of the ASU experience. Ironically the community that received the lowest score is the one that I live in. But I do not regret being here at all. For more information on other dorms at ASU, please visit ASU's housing website at housing.asu.edu. If you have any questions for me do not hesitate to comment in the box below and I will attempt to get back to you.