🏠 Brown University — Parent Guide

Helping parents understand dorm options, safety, accessibility, and what to expect at Brown University.

💡 Tips for parents reviewing dorm options:

🏠 How housing selection works at Brown University

Brown University guarantees on-campus housing for all four undergraduate years, and the vast majority of students choose to live on campus. Housing is managed by .

First-Year Housing:All incoming students are required to live on campus. Freshmen are assigned to one of several first-year areas:, or the Assignment is made by based on lifestyle questionnaires. Students cannot choose their specific may indicate general preferences.

Upperclass Housing Lottery:Rising sophomores, juniors, and seniors participate in an online housing lottery each spring. Students receive a lottery number and select their room during an assigned time window. Seniors generally have earlier pick times, followed by juniors and then sophomores.

Special Interest Housing:Brown offers a variety of program houses and affinity housing options — language houses, cultural houses, wellness housing, and more. Applications for these are separate from the general lottery and are due in early spring.

Cooperative Housing:Brown operates several student-managed co-ops (Finlandia, Perkins) that offer affordable, community-based living outside the standard lottery.

As of May 8, 2026

📍 Location

Providence, RI

🏛️ College Type

Private Research University

👥 Enrollment

10,726 total students

🏠 Housing

54 dorm buildings reviewed on DormScouter

📊 Dorm Comparison by Safety & Cleanliness

DormOverall ★Safety ★Cleanliness ★ReviewsFeatures
Andrews Hall 0 🛗 Elevator
Littlefield House 0
Grad Center A 0
Archibald-Bronson Hall 0 🛗 Elevator
Champlin Hall 0 🛗 Elevator
Emery Hall 0 🛗 Elevator
Hegeman Hall 0 🛗 Elevator
Jameson-Mead Hall 0 🛗 Elevator
Keeney Quadrangle 0
Metcalf Hall 0 🛗 Elevator
Miller Hall 0 🛗 Elevator
Perkins Hall 0
Slater Hall 0
Young Orchard 2 0 🍳 Shared Kitchen
Buxton House 0
Caswell Hall 0
Chapin House 0
Diman House 0
Goddard House 0
Harkness House 0
Machado House 0
Minden Hall 0
Olney House 0
Sears House 0
Wayland Hall 0
West House 0
Alpha Chi Omega (ΑΧΩ) 0
Delta Gamma (ΔΓ) 0
Kappa Alpha Theta (ΚΑΘ) 0
Kappa Delta (ΚΔ) 0
Everett-Poland Hall 0
Woolley Hall 0 🛗 Elevator 🍳 Shared Kitchen
Morriss Hall 0 🛗 Elevator
New Pembroke 1 0 🛗 Elevator
New Pembroke 2 0 🛗 Elevator
New Pembroke 3 0 🛗 Elevator
New Pembroke 4 0 🛗 Elevator
Grad Center B 0
Grad Center C 0
Grad Center D 0
Gregorian Quad A 0
Gregorian Quad B 0
Hope College 0
Young Orchard 4 0 🍳 Shared Kitchen
Young Orchard 10 0 🍳 Shared Kitchen
Barbour Hall 0
Chen Family Hall 0
Danoff Hall 0
King House 0
Marcy House 0
Sternlicht Commons 0
Grad Center 0
Emery-Woolley Hall 0
Young Orchard Halls 0

🔗 More Resources

🔗 Brown Residential Life

Open link ↗

🔗 Housing Lottery

Open link ↗

🔗 First-Year Housing

Open link ↗

🔗 Special Interest Housing

Open link ↗

🎓 Class-Year Housing Guides

Year-specific advice for Brown University dorms — what changes from freshman to senior year:

🎓 Freshman Guide📚 Sophomore Guide📖 Junior Guide🎉 Senior Guide

🔍 Filter by Amenity

Looking for something specific? Browse Brown University dorms filtered by amenity:

❄️ with Air Conditioning🍳 with Shared Kitchen🛗 with Elevator♿ ADA-Accessible🏳️‍🌈 LGBTQ+ Friendly🚿 with Private Bathrooms🛁 with Semi-Private Bathrooms🧼 with Communal Bathrooms♀ All-Female