How do you stay focused on studying if your dorm is loud?

I experienced the loud dorm issue and found that if I wanted to stay in my room then noise canceling headphones with study-friendly music such as classical or jazz helped a lot.  Most of the time I would leave the dorm and go to a place that offered a quieter place to study and work.  I tried to stay away from the library study rooms because they were usually more crowded and I found that distracting so I would search out quiet spots in buildings or sometimes an empty classroom was available for study use.

Earplugs are an AWESOME investment! :)

Dorms usually have designated study areas, and if that doesn't work, since you are on a dorm, you must be near the campus. Most college campuses have a library (or several) with designated study areas, and there might also be a student union with the same resources. You don't have to study inside of your dorm all of the time, so don't hesitate to go outside with your book under a tree if the weather is nice or to a public library, if you are trying to get away from other students. You can also ask your student adviser in the dorm or other students where the best, quiet study areas are.