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News briefs on the greatest and latest dorms opening up on college campuses. Trends in new dorm construction are observed in the larger number of more luxurious residence halls used as a tool to recruit the next generation of students, and a greater focus on dormitory amenities. New dormitories are breaking the mold of the classic dorm room concept. The majority of new dormitories contain "cluster" type single or double dorm rooms, where a group of 4 to 12 students share a private common space similar to an apartment with 10 bedrooms. The trendy new upscale dorms are coming with a hefty price tag, with the cost for housing rising 40% on average to cover the cost of the new super dorms. With the rising cost of college, shaky job market and diminishing real value of wages some are wondering how just how much debt students are willing to take on for a 4 year college degree and if this will increase enrollment at community colleges. Edison State College located in Fort

  The Princeton Review recently released their list of the best college dorms in the country, Washington University in St. Louis received the top billing as the best of the best. "South 40" as it is called is home to 10 residential dorms and everyone has social lounges, study rooms, personal computing labs, and recreation rooms. The residential buildings with the best features include: HIG (Hitzeman/Hurd/Myers) and JKL (Shanedling/Dauten). Each comes with nice balconies, furniture, and a large common room. For more information check out Washington Universities Residential Life website.