If you're like many freshman thinking of attending Marist, you have no clue which housing option is ideal for you! But never fear: you *will* find your home-away-from home! And while I'm likely a bit biased since this is my freshman dorm, here are the reasons why Leo is the absolute best!

1. (Lowkey) some of the best views on our beautiful campus!

Many rooms in Leo have views of the stunning Hudson River! Whether your room is on the first floor or the sixth floor, if you are on the right side of the hallway, chances are that your room has a beautiful view! However, if your room is on the left side of the hallway, it likely has a view of the two bridges that call Poughkeepsie home: the Mid-Hudson Bridge, which is illuminated with different colors at night, and the Walkway Over the Hudson.

2. Great mixture of people.

Leo has a wonderful mixture of people with different majors, backgrounds, hometowns, and hobbies. It has a vibrant sense of community as well, because of the fact that there are two lounges in the dorm, so people get to mingle. Also, there is never a shortage of programs hosted by Resident Assistants (or RA's) in Leo!

3. Just enough people on each floor.

There are seven floors in Leo, and roughly 320 students, according to Marist. The dorm is entirely freshman, and co-ed, so there are separate guys' and girls' floors. Living in Leo, you have the opportunity to meet a lot of people, but it's not as massive as Champ, so you get to know people better since you see many of the same faces on a daily basis.

4. Just enough noise.

While it does depend on what floor you are on, Leo is generally just right when it comes to noise level. No, it's not going to be perfectly quiet all the time, but that's college life! However, generally people that live in Leo are respectful of their neighbors, which makes for a peaceful dorm.

5. A Leo Person is a Friendly Person.

Leo people are friendly. This is widely acknowledged. Around campus, when you're a freshman, upperclassmen will often ask you where you live, and when they hear that you're living in Leo, they instantly know you're friendly.

6. No like seriously, you'll make friends doing your laundry.

This happened to me during the first week, and honestly, it's still one of my favorite stories to tell.

7. Multiple lounges to chill in, plus a super sweet RD!

Like mentioned before, there are two lounges in Leo, so if the television in the Ground Floor lounge is occupied, don't hesitate to head up to the Stone Lounge and watch whatever show it is you desire!

Marist is unique because there's no real "bad" freshman dorm -- they're all pretty equally great, but simply have their own distinct personality. Champ is known to usually house people that are a bit more "loud" (which isn't a bad thing, it's simply personal preference), Sheahan typically tends to be more "quiet," Mid-rise varies, Marian is many fashion majors, and Leo is known for its friendliness and is pretty much right in the middle in every way you can image. For this reason, Leo has something for everyone.

Live, love, Leo!