I think it might partly depend on the culture of the school. I went to somewhat of a party school, and though that wasn't what I was looking for or why I went there, it's highly likely you'll be living with people who are looking for that kind of experience. I had a friend who was in the substance free dorm, and was very serious about not being around people who did anything she didn't approve of. One problem she encountered was that some people were assigned that dorm, or in come cases I suspect placed there by parents and really pushed the limits. My friend was also very religious, and ended up with a roommate who had zero respect or tolerance for that and went out of her way to be disruptive. Now, it was a substance free dorm and not a dedicated religious dorm, but the point is you may also encounter people who have their own quirks or rules in any kind of specialty housing situation and you may end up having to deal with a lot more personality conflicts than you might in a more, anything goes situation. The other thing is that if it's just a substance free floor, but the common areas are otherwise shared throughout the dorm, I don't see how much impact that rule would have.