Questions about dorms in college.?

For the most part, living in the dorms is living on your own as an adult. There is no one checking you in and out. You can come and go whenever you want. Usually use a key card or key (had both in case card didn't work) to get into the building (at all times). There is no curfew. No strict rules other than be respectful - quiet at night, keep the bathroom clean, etc. And don't break the law (drugs, underage drinking). If that happens, public safety or campus cops are called and they take care of it. You can usually have anybody sleep over at any time (probably want to run it past your roommate first). The bathroom was communal - sinks in the middle, toilet stalls on one side, shower stalls on the other. The price of the dorm is added into your tuition so you pay it together. Living in the dorms is expensive, mine was $2,500 per semester (so $5,000 a year) and that's not including a meal plan ($2,000 a year) or tuition ($8,000 a year). You almost always have a roommate so don't forget to include that in your story. In my building, girls were on one side, boys on the other. So both boys and girls on all floors, just different sides of the building. When you walk into the building there's usually a front desk with a student worker who just kind of oversees the dorm. Everyone's mailboxes are also there when you walk in. We also had a big lounge area with a kitchenette, couches, tv, etc. Hope this helps! As for boy and girl names - Beth and Zayne :)

When I was in college - in the early 70s:

The dorms were open and anyone could go into any dorm. The doors were locked at some point, but your room key (yeah - real "old fashioned" metal keys) would open the door to your dorm.

There was no one checking when you left or returned.

Dorms in my first year were separate for each sex, but 3 years later, there were some dorms that were different sexes by floor, some by room.

No curfews.

No particular rules, so no consequences to being a flaming idiot.

Many students shared rooms with a boy/girl friend. No one cared for how long.

What it looked like depended on the specific dorm. Some were very old, some were much newer - can't generalize.

Bathrooms & showers were in shared spaces. They looked institutional.

You had to pay the college for staying in a dorm. I have no recollection of the cost - too long ago.