United States Military Academy at West PointCampus Housing Summary

Written by Ryan Peckyno

Ryan Peckyno

Hometown

Bradford, Pa.

View all previous student authors

When it comes to dorms, the majority of cadets believe that the barracks leave much to be desired. As a cadet, you have only the necessities. There are numerous rules and regulations that tell you what you can and cannot have, as well as how to arrange your room. The desired result is that everyone's room looks exactly the same. This can drive anyone nuts, but especially college-aged guys and girls. Often times, it feels like you're back home with your parents. The barracks can be a very confining space.

There are certain perks to living in barracks. The majority of the rooms are either two- or three-man rooms, and unlike most colleges, cadets change roommates every semester, which keeps things interesting. The rooms also provide cadets with the technology they need. Rules and regulations ensure that cadets are focused on their academic and military duties, because for all they know, some of the cadets could be deployed to Iraq after their four years at the Academy. Therefore, comfort and `nice dorm rooms' are not at the forefront of concern for the administration. The convenience of having rooms conform to one standard is also hard to match. You may even find yourself thanking the rules of the Academy when your keys are right where they should be and you don't have to search through 10 piles of trash on top of your bed sheets.