New York – Would you rather live in a single-sex or a mixed-sex dormitory? If you aren't necessarily thrilled with boy-girl housing, get used to the idea because a majority of college housing in the US is coed. There are some single gender dorms but fewer all-male dorms than all-female.

Now, to the astonishment of some South Asian parents, a growing number of US colleges are crossing the final threshold, allowing men and women to share rooms.

You don’t have a lot of choice when it comes to where you’re going to live. You will probably be asked to fill out a form indicating your housing choices. You can list your ideal dorms on campus (if you’ve visited or done some research online by checking out your college dorm site), but there’s no guarantee that you’ll end up there. Some campuses set aside dorms for first-year students only.

Single-Gender Floors

Some dorms are coed, but split the girls and guys up by floor. Depending on dorm rules, you may or may not be able to mix after certain hours. There is no nudity in the hallway of coed dorms, people do wear robes or boxers, but you need to be comfortable being seen by the opposite sex when you're not looking your best!

Photo by: NomadsHostels (Flickr)

In dorms that house only one gender, the rules may not allow you to have the opposite sex there at all.

Would you rather live in a single-sex or a mixed-sex dormitory? If you aren't necessarily thrilled with boy-girl housing, get used to the idea because a majority of college housing in the US is coed.

In the prim 1950s, college dorms were off-limits to members of the opposite sex. Then came the 1970s, when many US colleges moved from having only single-sex dormitories to providing coed residence halls, with male and female students typically housed on alternating floors or wings. Then male and female students started crossing paths in coed hallways and bathrooms, further shocking traditionalists.

Some students say coed dorms eliminate the mystique of the opposite sex. When you’re living with both guys and girls, everyone becomes just another person in the hallway.

“It's a helpful "real life" experience because the world isn't separated into same-sex spheres. Men and women need to learn to relate to each other, especially in the workplace, and a dorm can be good practice,” writes Naomi Rockler-Gladen in a post on campus life.

Coed Rooms

Now, to the astonishment of some South Asian parents, a growing number of US colleges are crossing the final threshold, allowing men and women to share rooms. At the urging of student activists, many US schools have adopted coed rooms or what colleges call gender-neutral rooming assignments.

Some students say coed dorms eliminate the mystique of the opposite sex. When you’re living with both guys and girls, everyone becomes just another person in the hallway.

About 50 US schools, including Brown University, Stanford, Cornell, Dartmouth, Sarah Lawrence, Haverford, Wesleyan, the University of Michigan, the University of Pennsylvania, Oberlin College, Clark University, UC Riverside, UC Berkeley and the California Institute of Technology allow students to share a room with anyone they choose — including someone of the opposite sex.

The National Student Genderblind Campaign, which encourages gender-mixed rooms, estimates that at schools where the option exists, only 1 percent to 3 percent of students living on campus, choose a roommate of the opposite sex.

International Dorms

Some college campuses have international dorms for students from foreign countries. Domestic students are allowed to live in these dorms too, but priority is given to those students coming from abroad.

Sexual Orientation

Many universities in the West have floors devoted to gay, lesbian and transgender students, as well as anyone else who identifies with these orientations.