Corcoran Dorm Reviews at DePaul

Corcoran gets a bad rap at DePaul, and it's certainly not up to par with some of their other housing options, but it's cheap and it's near a CTA train station. It worked out for me because all I was really looking for was a bed and a ceiling.

Overall, I had a very positive experience at Corcoran Hall. It's a traditional dorm with communal bathrooms, no air conditioning, and right next to the public train, but when you get past its negative aspects you begin to see its positive ones. Since the kitchen lounges were the only areas that had air conditioning, it allowed many people, myself included, to run into each other and actually interact and get to know one another. My closest friends in college are all people I lived on the same floor with. While Corcoran's amenities may be lacking, it consistently has the best/closest community compared to the other dorm halls due to this downside. It helped make being away from home freshman year feel less intimidating, being able to know many people.

Corcoran is best described as a very traditional dorm compared to the others offered by DePaul. It's an older building, with communal bathrooms, four floors high with no elevator, a kitchen lounge on each floor, and no air conditioning except for the lounges and main lobby. In my experience, it certainly had its pros and cons. Its location on campus was very nice considering it was right next to the main CTA station, making it very easy for myself whenever I had to use the train. And while some complain that its proximity to the trains make it a distraction at night, you truly get used to it after the first week of living there. The lack of ac did make it difficult at times, but it was honestly a blessing looking back on it. Since the lounges were the only places where residents could cool off in the warm season, it became a social hub for everybody and is where I met many of my closest friends. It encouraged everybody to get to know one another, and Corcoran overall had one of the best communities among residents when I was there, especially compared to the other dorm halls. I knew everyone on my floor since the hallways are just one long stretch, and could at least recognize and say hi to other people from other floors, and that familiarity really helped getting accustomed to college life and living on my own. While Corcoran may lack in basic or comfortable amenities compared to the other dorms, the atmosphere and comradery it brings to residents truly make up for it. I honestly value my time there for the memories and friends it brought me.