"The Castle is a stronghold of ancient magic". - Albus Dumbledore
Saint Mary's College may be a small, all-girls school in the middle of nowhere Indiana, but I believe it is a truly magical place. I believe that so much that I have found myself sometimes making parallels between SMC and Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. One of the parallels I see most clearly between the schools is the comparison of the four dorms to the four houses of Hogwarts. Therefore, I have decided to make an article explaining which house of Hogwarts that each SMC dorm would correlate to, and why. Enjoy!
Holy Cross - Hufflepuff
I will first start with Holy Cross since it was the first dorm ever to be built. Holy Cross is a hall that contains mostly Sophomores. They love being a Belle and are very loyal to their school, which is why they like living in the first ever dorm built at SMC. Their animal symbol is the badger, which is a pretty quiet animal that lays low and keeps to itself. This is perfect for HoCro, since they tend to keep in their dorm, as it is somewhat farther away from the other dorms. That doesn't mean they don't talk to others; in fact, just like Hufflepuffs, they are extremely friendly and outgoing once you get to know them. The symbol of Hufflepuff is Earth, which is also perfect for HoCro! With many of them being sophomores, many are studying abroad and seeing all that the Earth has to offer them! Holy Cross girls are hard-working and lovable girls, just like the members of Hufflepuff.
McCandless - Slytherin
Many people tend to associate Slytherin with negative traits, but this is certainly not always true, especially in the case of its comparison with McCandless. Being an all-freshmen dorm, these girls have the rules enforced rather strictly upon them. Therefore, just like a Slytherin would, they have to be very ambitious and cunning to be able to do certain things. They also have to have a lot of discipline to live here. The colors of Slytherin are green and grey, which are the same hall colors that McCandless boasts. McCandless girls love to experience new things, being freshmen and all, and will use any means to do so. They may be a bit wild at times, but they truly add a lot of spirit to our campus! As Prefect Gemma Harley of Slytherin says, "It can be fun, having a reputation for walking on the wild side".
Le Mans - Gryffindor
Le Mans girls correlate very well with Gryffindor. To start, both groups live in a big castle, with the main feature of the dorms being in the tower! Beyond that, however, both are extremely brave. You certainly have to be a brave girl to live in a dorm as haunted as Le Mans is! Just as President Cervelli resides in Le Mans, Headmaster Albus Dumbledore, and Headmaster Minerva McGonagall after him, were both members of Gryffindor. These girls live in the building that has the biggest indicator of Saint May's incorporated into it - the Belle Tower! Because of this, they try their best to represent the school in the best way possible by standing up for what it means to be a Belle. Along with all of this, Gryffindors tend to be pretty popular, just as Le Mans is the most popular dorm to live in.
Regina - Ravenclaw
Ravenclaw is the Hogwarts house that is known for being the most studious, which makes Regina a perfect fit. The rooms in Regina are set up with a common room in the middle, if you don't live in a single, in order to give you space to study. Since they have a decent amount of space to themselves, Regina members tend to be pretty self-sufficient and independent. They use this independence as creative freedom, and I always see a cute new bulletin board set up in this dorm. The Ravenclaw mascot of the eagle suits Regina well, as they tend to stay quiet, yet "soar" around campus and see everything, just as an eagle does from the sky. This, along with the fact that they absorb information very well, keeps them in the loop of everything going on at Saint Mary's.