Does a freezer really matter in a dorm fridge? You don't put beer in a freezer although you can with vodka :-)

Good point Weissman, however, obviously MY kid won't be drinking in college, perhaps his roommate will have bad habits though. ;-).

Hot pockets and frozen pizza are both good with beer though, if you are a college kid.

Teach him about defrosting.

Hey all: I'm resurrecting this post since we're also in the market. For me, issues are mainly price under $200. Don't think a full freezer is a must. Looking at AJ Madison I see these brands:
Avanti, Danby, GE Spacemaker, Frigidaire, Supentown. Summit. Add Magic Chef and Haier from Home Depot. Kenmore from Sears.

Is there any demonstrable advantage to any of these? I suspect they probably all come out of the same factory in China anyway. Or, any reason to spend more for either greater reliability or performance? Or just grab one and hope for the best?

We bought one at Lowes last summer that was $99 on sale and it did the job. I wouldn't pay a lot for one. It was a 3.3 cu foot model. They should be going on sale shortly if they haven't already.

Just buy one off craigslist. There are tons of those little things floating around. Can't be hard to find one for $50 bucks barely used.