For most Quincy University freshmen women, Friars’ Hall or Willer Hall are the most common options for student living during the fall semester. But often, students are unsure where to live following their freshman year.

While Friars’ Hall is strictly a women’s residence hall, Willer Hall allows both women and men.

QU’s future sophomores have the option to live in a single space, sharing a floor and bathrooms with other women in Friars’ Hall, or in an apartment style dorm that fits four to eight students in Willer Hall.

Freshman Alaina Wilkinson plans on living in Willer Hall next semester for perks she can’t get in other residence halls.

“I really like how I get to live with a bigger group of my close friends, and we’ll have a bigger space to hangout,” Wilkinson said.

Wilkinson plays on the women’s lacrosse team at QU and likes the dynamic of Willer Hall as it allows her to live and bond with her teammates.

Sophomore Lucas Forthofer currently lives in Willer Hall, and has enjoyed his time living with his friends.

“There’s really nothing I don’t like about living here. The rooms are big, the living room has a lot of space, and I like the other people who live with me,” Forthofer said.

One main downside to living in Willer Hall is that there is no elevator with five floors, and the steps are a little narrow for some people. This is, however, completely worth it for what you get in return according to Forthofer.

Another main perk about Willer Hall is its bathrooms. One apartment style room shares a bathroom. The toilet also has a stall with a lock for added privacy, and the shower also allows for privacy from the rest of the room.

Willer Hall also has an open lobby area for lounging and playing different games with friends.

Alternatively, the main floor of Friars’ Hall holds the Campus Safety & Security Office, St. Clare’s Center, and direct access to Francis Hall in addition to a lounge area.

Accessible amenities such as these makes Friars’ Hall attractive to incoming sophomore students. This is the case for sophomore, Alexa Blaesing.

“Friar’s has the biggest single rooms on campus which is why I wanted to live here. I wanted my own space and peace and quiet. I chose the seventh floor so I wouldn’t have anyone above me, and it has worked great for me so far,” Blaesing said.

Blaesing’s favorite features in Friars’ Hall are the sinks in each dorm room, and the elevator that makes her trip to the highest floor easier to manage.

The only complaint of many Friars’ Hall residents, on occasion, is the temperature.

Friars’ Hall is run on a boiler system, which makes it difficult to toggle the temperature dorm-to-dorm. Some student’s struggle with this as the boiler system accommodates the climate outside, which happens to drastically vary week-to-week in Illinois.

Despite this, students can better prepare for living in Friars’ Hall going into the fall semester with electric fans or space heaters.

Blaesing still considers Friars’ Hall a great place to live for sophomore women and has enjoyed her past two semesters residing there.