This or That Questions for College Students

Press an answer to vote on dorm, dining hall and finals-week choices, then press Next question.

This or that?

1 of 73

How it works

These this or that questions for college students are quick pairs about campus life: dorms, schedules, finals, the dining hall and what follows graduation. They are for readers of 18 and over, and none is about parties, dating or money.

Read the full guide

On a dorm floor or in a first class

Read both options aloud and count hands, or pass one phone so each person presses a side. The card shows how the group split, and Next question deals another pair. With a big group, send everyone to one side of the room or the other: the two crowds are the vote.

Seven topics, from move-in day to the diploma

Press Topic to choose one. Dorm and roommates and Dining hall and late-night food suit a new floor in the first week: Tray or no tray, Midnight grilled cheese or midnight pancakes. Studying and finals fits a study group, and After graduation is for seniors: Frame the diploma or file the diploma.

Tips
  • Under Topic, Hard keeps the trade-offs, such as Hall potluck or takeout for one. Let the smaller side argue.

Questions and answers

What are good this or that questions for college students?

Ones every student on the floor can answer: Lecture or lab? Mondays off or Fridays off? Flashcards or old exams? Late-night popcorn or late-night cereal? Each takes a second and starts an argument.

Do they suit a residence hall program or a first-year seminar?

Yes. The deck is clean and written for adults of 18 and over. No pair is about parties, drinking, dating, money or grades, and no college, team or brand is named, so it fits any campus.

How is this different from the college would you rather deck?

Would you rather questions for college students are full dilemmas to talk through. These are two-second picks for a show of hands, and none is the short form of a card in that deck.

All 73 questions

Dorm and roommates 11

  • Calm hallway or chatty hallway?
  • Corner room or room beside the lounge?
  • Desk facing the window or desk facing the wall?
  • Door whiteboard or door name sign?
  • Earplugs or a humming fan?
  • Loft the bed or keep the bed low?
  • Move-in day or move-out day?
  • Overhead light or desk lamp?
  • Posters or corkboard of snapshots?
  • Rug or bare tiles?
  • Tidy but loud roommate or messy but quiet roommate?

Classes and schedules 12

  • Attendance counted or attendance optional?
  • Back-to-back classes or long gaps between classes?
  • Class with a friend or class on your own?
  • Guest speaker or field trip?
  • Lecture or lab?
  • Mondays off or Fridays off?
  • Office hours or question by email?
  • One long class or three short classes?
  • Professor who tells stories or professor who shows slides?
  • Quiz without warning or quiz on the calendar?
  • Seat at the end or seat in the center?
  • Week one or finals week?

Studying and finals 9

  • Color-coded notes or one trusty pen?
  • Flashcards or old exams?
  • Lab report or reading response?
  • Open book or one sheet of notes?
  • Outline first or just start writing?
  • Paper due before break or paper due after break?
  • Proofread aloud or proofread backward?
  • Study carrel or big shared table?
  • Walk between chapters or nap between chapters?

Dining hall and late-night food 12

  • First through the doors or just before closing?
  • Hall potluck or takeout for one?
  • Late-night popcorn or late-night cereal?
  • Midnight grilled cheese or midnight pancakes?
  • Omelet station or waffle iron?
  • Pocket an apple or pocket a cookie?
  • Salad bar or stir-fry line?
  • Seconds or dessert?
  • Table for twelve or table for one?
  • Taco night or pasta night?
  • Tray or no tray?
  • Vending machine or desk-drawer stash?

Getting around campus 8

  • Bench in full sun or bench under a tree?
  • Carry it all day or drop by your room?
  • Climb to class or climb back home?
  • Cut across the grass or keep to the path?
  • Meet at the clock or meet at the statue?
  • Rain boots or wet sneakers?
  • Through the quad or around the back?
  • Tunnel or footbridge?

Clubs, games and weekends 10

  • Craft night or therapy-dog visit?
  • Farmers market or late breakfast?
  • Hammock nap or flying disc game?
  • Improv show or a cappella concert?
  • Intramural team or pickup game?
  • Movie on the lawn or movie in the lounge?
  • Museum afternoon or thrift-shop afternoon?
  • Open mic or talent show?
  • Swing dance lesson or pottery wheel?
  • Trivia league or jigsaw swap?

After graduation 11

  • A dozen coworkers or a campus of coworkers?
  • Alumni sweatshirt or alumni mug?
  • Commute by rail or commute by sidewalk?
  • Desk job or always on the move?
  • Find a mentor or be a mentor?
  • Frame the diploma or file the diploma?
  • Home-cooked graduation dinner or restaurant graduation dinner?
  • Learn on the job or train before you start?
  • Shelve your textbooks or give textbooks away?
  • Throw your cap or hold onto your cap?
  • Write a cover letter or build a portfolio?
How this list was compiled

Written for this site by the editors on 2026-10-01; nothing was copied from another list. Every card is a pair of options of one to four words, so both fit on a button. The deck is for college students, readers of 18 and over, and keeps to seven lanes: dorm and roommates, classes and schedules, studying and finals, the dining hall and late-night food, getting around campus, clubs and weekends, and the years after graduation. No card is about alcohol, parties, dating, money, phones or grades a player has earned, and no college, team, app or brand is named. Each pair was compared by script on 2026-10-01 with every other deck on this site, and read by idea against our would you rather deck and our icebreaker questions for college students and our this or that deck for teens: no pair is the short form of a card there. No card has a right answer and no fact is stated. Easy, Medium and Hard are an editor's judgment. Licence: own work