A person’s dorm room can show a lot about his or her personality. Going into college, one’s room is similar to having a locker in high school. The difference here is that you have to live in your dorm room, making them much more personalized than the high school locker.

After thoroughly examining a number of rooms, I’ve noticed an almost stereotypical trend among the students of Southern Vermont College (SVC). Girl’s rooms are vastly different from boy’s. Here are some of the most common trends I have seen:

The walls.

Walls in girl’s rooms tend to be quite decorated – and that’s putting it lightly. Girls have a tendency to make a scrapbook out of their walls, taping pictures of friends and inspirational quotes everywhere. There may also be the occasional Marilyn Monroe poster as well as other strange wall decorations that I honestly cannot describe. There is one thing I know for certain; they’re hella cute.

The walls in boy’s rooms are usually decorated as well, albeit quite differently from the girl’s. Instead of putting up pictures of friends, boys tend to tape up posters of their favorite sports teams, games or bands. There will be the occasional person who will also put up controversial pictures, such as a gigantic swastika… just to mess with people.

The lights.

    Girls have a propensity to have very specific lighting in their rooms. The most common illumination – Christmas lights. These lights are usually lining the top corners of the room, creating a nice, mellow ambiance. Girls may also have a variety of lamps, usually bought from stores such as Target, and usually in soft pastel colors.

Boys are very simple when it comes to their lighting. They usually have one, maybe two lamps; one for the ground, one for the desk. The colors of these lamps tend to be neutral, making it easier to match with the room, not that matching colors is their number one priority.

The overall structure.

    The structure of girl’s rooms are quite different from boy’s – being that they actually have structure. The food goes on one specific shelf, as do the books, the knick knacks, etc. This makes it easier for them to find where they put things, and also makes the room come together a lot better. They also have an overall orthodox theme.

Boys don’t really have a structure to their room. They put stuff where they fit, and are satisfied with that. Some may be a little more organized than others, but not so much as girls. Their rooms are, conclusively, a lot more simple.

Of course, not everyone fits all of these trends. There are always a few exceptions to every rule. These are simply the most common tendencies of room decorating that I have seen.