ercmilla

hey - Im going to move on-campus next year for the experience. I am unfamiliar with the dorms tho and wanted to get some of yalls opinions. Could I get a list of the best places to live - I was kinda thinking gooch/dillard.

Heres what im looking for: I want my own bedroom so that I have a bit of privacy. Id also like it to be in a decent spot on campus close to central grounds. Im the "wake up 5 minutes before class" kinda guy.

hazelorb

gooch/dillard isn't 5 minutes from classes... unless you're: a first year, live on the lawn, or live in brown, you're not 5 mins from classes in on-grounds housing.
also didn't you already have to submit your request to live in on-grounds housing?? like... in the winter?? i'm sure there are rooms but your choices are going to be limited.

ercmilla

im a transfer student, so I wont be able to apply for housing until I get my Student ID (coming ina few days).

Well, I just want to be able to walk to my class. 5 minutes isnt really the cutoff.

tweety43

If you want to live close to grounds:
Brown is good. It's possibly the closest to grounds but they are not single rooms, they are portals. You will have to fill out a separate application form for brown in addition to the housing form.

IRC is also not far away from grounds. It is a few minutes walk from the bookstore and across the steet from mem gym. There are some single rooms in IRC. Again, because this is a residential college, you will have to fill out an additional application.

For residential colleges you can only live there if you are accepted by the residential college but mark them down as your choices in the housing application if you decide to live in one.

For upperclass/transfers, there's Bice or Lambeth but these dont have single rooms.

So the only place I can think of that is single room and closest to grounds is probably gooch/dillard, though it may not be the best place to meet many people as most upperclass who live on-grounds choose bice/lambeth.

Dean J

Last year, housing started setting aside spaces (I think it was 150 last year) just for transfers in Gooch/Dillard. There should be plenty of upperclassmen transfers to meet there.

tweety43

Its definitely good to know that. A very close friend of mine is living in G/D for the same reasons that OP mentioned i.e. single room, close to grounds etc;
So if there'll be more students in G/D then its probably the best recommendation for the OP.

ercmilla

the only problem I see with living with all the other transfer students is that the blind are leading the blind. Im sure that there are regular upperclassmen there, however. Thanks for yalls advice - g/d is looking like the best option. Im just so hyped im accepted that where I live isnt the biggest deal. Im freakin going to uva!!!#!#$

HopefulHoo'sDad

That's the (Wahoo) spirit! You'll do just fine with that attitude and approach.

powderpuff

ercmilla,
You made me giggle when I read your last post! I heard that Lambeth is a lot of fun to live in, but you don't get a single room. Nonetheless, living on-Grounds, at least one year is important.
I have a friend at Brown College on Monroe Hill. The word "portal" is confusing, but to me, it's kind of like a little apartment that roommates share. One person gets the first/entry room, and the other get the back room that leads to a bathroom. There is a door between the roommates rooms, so technically, one can close a door and be alone. But the roommates have to enter each other's rooms to either go to the bathroom or exit/enter their shared space.
I've heard that G/D can be a little isolating, but I don't have first hand knowledge. Most people, second year choose Lambeth or Bice, or move off Grounds. I'm moving to an apartment with friends, but there are pros and cons to that too, like: expense, off-Grounds, year lease, lack of UVA security, distance (though the walk is a nice one), new experience and fun, single bedroom. Good luck.

k_jo

Check offgrounds.com hoohasit.com and onthegrounds.com
A lot of people have signed leases on apartments and want to get out of their University Housing Contracts, so try going this route instead of just waiting to be placed in Gooch/Dillard. That way you have a better shot at getting bice or lambeth, and some people offer incentives to take their contract like $100 or whatever. I got rid of my contract one year after I decided in January to live off grounds (current students have to decide in like October if they want University housing for the next year)

brkr

where would you rather go...brown or IRC?? what are the main differences? (i'm an enrolling freshman)

hazelorb

brown is closer to classes and the application process is much more competitive. irc has a lot of international students (hence its name) so it's a very different experience. brown is a lot of geek/artsy/music snob/not-the-norm people.

as a first year [uva has special terms for everything, one of which is that there's no freshman/etc just first-year/etc; another one of those is grounds instead of campus] please be sure you won't regret not living in 1st yr dorms though. i personally never regret living in brown my first year but there are plenty of people (some even on this board!) who wish they could have had a first year experience like everyone else.

brkr

the thing is..IRC doesn't have A/C...nd i really need A/C (if it's hot, i sweat a lot ) so i thought Brown would be the alternative...maybe not

hazelorb

Don't apply to Brown just for A/C, that's stupid. You'll be upset in the long run (the many months where A/C is not needed) and people in Brown will be upset too. Really, after August and until April A/C is not an issue. Just get a good fan.

Some of the new dorms have A/C, you need a doctor's note that you have asthma or something and you can live there.

shoebox10

That and the new new-dorms building is A/C.

Frankly, I think it's part of first-year experience to live without A/C. Yeah, it sucks sometimes, but if you have a fan, it's kind of nice.