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I've slowly found out over time that one of the biggest concerns of dorm-bound high school juniors and seniors is the bathroom situation at college dorms. Last year I found out that one of my friend's brother's reasons for attending a community college was that he didn't want to share a bathroom with other people. In fact, just today I answered a question on Yahoo! Answers that was from a girl concerned about communal bathrooms.
So let's go over the typical bathroom styles at college campuses: communal, and suite style. Then you can be the judge of what is right for you.
There are two main types of bathrooms available at college campuses. Most bathrooms are some variant of these main two, but this should give you an idea of what you'll be seeing when you visit/live in a typical residence hall.
Communal: This is the more traditional style of college bathroom (and also the style I had while living in the dorms for two years). The communal bathroom has two parts - the toilet/sink area and the shower area - and sometimes has lockers where residents can put their stuff instead of carting it back and forth from their dorm rooms in a shower caddy. The toilet/sink area usually consists of 3-5 toilet stalls and 4-8 sinks. There are usually plenty of rolls of toilet paper in each bathroom stall, and soap dispensers and a paper towel dispenser near the sinks. Your shower area usually consists of 3-5 shower stalls. Shower stalls are curtained, and sometimes double curtianed. Double curtianed just means when you walk in to the shower stall, there is a little changing area, and then a second curtian that you walk through to enter the shower stall. It allows for more privacy because there are two curtians protecting you instead of one.
There are three major benefits to communal style bathrooms. First, they are cleaned for you with industrial strength products once a day. The university usually hires a janitor, and then during the morning there is a period (typically a half hour) where the bathroom will be closed for cleaning. During cleaning time, you go to the nearest floor or area and use the bathroom there. The second benefit of a communal style bathroom is that you do not have to purchase products like soap and toilet paper for the bathroom. They are provided by the university as part of your room and board fee. Finally, unlike suite style bathrooms, you will never have to worry about being locked out of a communal bathroom. You may have to wait one minute for someone to finish their shower, but that can be a lot better than waiting for your roomate to finish her "hour-long herbal rejuvination" shower when you're in a time crunch.
Suite Style: This type of bathroom typically comes with a "suite-style" dorm. These dorms are usually newer which is one reason a lot of people opt for them. Now, as far as the bathroom, in this case you would share your bathroom with just your roommate and the people who live in the room next to you. Those two rooms make up your "suite." The bathroom looks a lot like one you would find in your house. A tub with a shower, a sink with a vanity and maybe some storage space in the mirror if you're lucky. The toilet may either be out just like your bathroom at home, but some schools have a little "room" inside the bathroom where the toilet is. The room has a separate door and lock for privacy. The bathroom is either outside between the two dorm rooms that share it, or the bathroom has doors that connect it to the dorm rooms that use it (so you could walk through the bathroom into the next dorm room).
The main benefit to suite style bathrooms is of course, less people use the bathroom. The ratio of bathroom per student goes from 1:20 to 1:4. Another benefit is that you and your roommates can store things like towels, shampoo, and body care products in the bathroom instead of bringing them back and forth each time. Of course, there are some trade-offs for having a suite style bathroom. First, most colleges don't offer janitor services in suite style bathrooms. That means you'll probably have to work out a schedule with your roommates and take turns scrubbing the sink, cleaning the toilet, etc. Also your college will probably not supply general items like toilet paper and soap for your bathroom. However you could see this as an opportunity to choose great smelling fragrance soap instead of the plain stuff!
So, those are the main differences between suite style and communal style dorm bathrooms. Take some time to think about which style appeals to you, and take it into consideration when choosing your college dorm.
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