What's the best dorm?

lyndak
Thu, 23 Jan 2014 01:57:38 +0000

Since the UW allows all students to make housing choices without restriction, this freedom has led students to make choices based on their needs and financial situations. You’d think that freshman would tend to flock one side of campus or to one dorm but that isn’t really the case except for one or two residence halls.

The biggest difference between the North campus dorm and West campus dorms (other than price) is that North campus dorms are not all double rooms. This means that you can choose a to live with more people. Many, if not all North campus dorms, will offer three-person or four-person suites.

The first is McCarty Hall. McCarty Hall is really the only undergrad dorm that has a majority of one grade over another. It’s popular with upperclassmen. If you’re looking to choose a housing option that has more freshmen, McCarty wouldn’t be the best choice. I personally have no friends that live in McCarty so I’ve never been inside of it, but I think you should avoid going to McCarty because from what I’ve heard, it’s just not a fun place to be as a freshman.

The second is Haggett Hall. Of the North campus dorms, Haggett has these really interestingly laid out rooms. A lot of them are not square or rectangular. Instead, the rooms have really abstract shapes that I find really strange. I personally think Haggett is an okay dorm but it’s fairly old. The inside can be kind of depressing at times especially because on each floor, the dorm rooms are blocked off of the elevator with doors. It’s really weird and feels depressing at times. The social environment is really nice, however. There are a lot of activities that go on to build community. One thing about Haggett that’s a fairly nice plus is that Rick’s Cafe is located at the bottom level. A lot of freshman students, or students in general, will flock this cafe at night because it’s an ice cream parlor. The ice cream isn’t amazing, but because it isn’t amazing, it’s also extremely cheap. When you’re studying late an night and don’t have the money to splurge on something nice, Rick’s is the perfect place to go. You’ll have it right downstairs if you choose to live in Haggett. It’s a nice commodity.

McMahon Hall has amazing views of the lake. It’s also the biggest dorm on North campus. I personally didn’t like it at first because the exterior of this hall looks like the crumbling buildings in ruined city that Leonardo DiCaprio finds himself in when he goes into limbo in “Inception”. The inside is a different story and is actually pretty nice. It’s nicer than Haggett. McMahon is really interesting because it has something called clusters. Now, this could be a good thing or a bad thing depending on what kind of dorm you’re looking for but the important part is that clusters will help you make friends. Clusters are when 8 or so live in the same living area. Basically it’s a huge dorm that leads off into rooms. You can think of it like a small apartment. There’s a living room/common room area and four dorm rooms attached to it.

Hansee Hall is not a great place to live for freshmen. It’s a quieter dorm that’s close to University Village and is a housing option that I would just look over if I were you.

In general, the North campus dorms are a little closer to campus, and MUCH closer to the HUB (the welcome center that has a huge dining area on the first floor with a bookstore, grocery store, etc. You’ll be going here a lot!), the Intramural Activities Building (IMA), and shopping at the University Village (basically a huge strip mall). University Village is pretty long walk for students living on the West Campus. They’d probably take the bus since they have to walk across the entire campus to get there. However, you won’t be going to UVill often. At least most students don’t unless they work a retail position at one of the stores. But the close proximity is still an advantage you could consider.

So there you have it. North Campus dorms can be worthwhile. They’re definitely not luxurious like the West Campus dorms are but you get a more affordable price.

If you have any other questions, let me know. :)