Best Dorm Choice?

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Wisconsin
1

<p>So I'll preface this my saying that there are probably a million other threads like this, but I'm curious. I need some help picking which residence hall I want to live in (or at least which should be my top choices...). I don't know if I have a preference for SE or Lakeshore, but my dad's pushing me towards Lakeshore. I would prefer somewhere known for being social and fun. I'm not opposed to living in a "party" dorm, but on the other hand I imagine I'll probably want somewhere semi-quiet to sleep. I also would like to keep in mind ameneties such as room size, air conditioning, general layout of the room, etc.</p>

<p>Any help? =)</p>

<p>Edit-Also which dorms should I stay away from?</p>

2

<p>I like the various residential colleges as they are fun but more people have a serious academic outlook too. Chadbourne is very good. After that the lakeshore dorms–especially Liz Waters are nice.</p>

3

<p>The best dorm is the one that best matches your personality. Discuss with your father his reasons for wanting Lakeshore for you. I lived there and chose dorms there despite where my friends lived. Others swear by the Southeast dorms.</p>

<p>Look at past threads from recent (4-5) years for posts about the dorms. I have many posts on the pros and cons plus other helpful info in them- key in on my dorm related posts and follow threads they appear in for a ton of information. UW students are lucky in having diverse choices to choose from. So much is a matter of personal taste- some like old, others new, etc. For every advantage/disadvantage of any dorm you can find one for any other dorm. They have kept up on maintenance on all dorms.</p>

<p>barrons has stated his opinion/preferences but, like me, he is an older alumnus. My opinions are different, based on my tastes. You need to spend some time reviewing the dorm information online and in any literature they send you. Use the chart to see the differences they find worth noting. The basic dorms all have the same amenities, some that charge more may have air conditioning, walk in closets, clustered bathrooms instead of down the hall ones- but no dorms are in disrepair.</p>

<p>Honors students can be found all over campus- there is no special housing or preferred dorm. Some like the residential college experience, others don’t. Too many equal choices so you have to eliminate many. Do not go with stereotypes and think you can only have a good time in a certain dorm, or must party if you live there. Plan on walking a lot, don’t count on your classes being close to your dorm, regardless of where you choose. A lecture or discussion section may be held in a different building than its department base.</p>

<p>Food service- the same foods and services available to both ends of campus and you can eat anywhere. Do you live in Liz or Chad with a dining hall but need to walk to the snack bar? Or do you go outside for some meals but have closer access to other food services?</p>

<p>Remember that you may or may not get your first choice so don’t have your heart set on one of the most popular dorms. There will be a housing lottery next spring to assign rooms. Everyone who has a signed contract will have an equal chance at their first choice dorm (there may be some exceptions- such as for special situations like residential colleges). Students who get accepted earlier and sign contracts do not have an advantage over later applicants (some schools go by date of housing application- not so at UW).</p>

<p>You will get a chance to revise your preference list next spring so don’t worry about the choices you submit now.</p>

<p>Stay away from dorms you don’t feel good about. For me it was old architecture, high rises… Think of it as a building you can see yourself in, others who also wish to live there will have something in common with you. You are renting, not buying so you are not signing away your life. No matter where you live you will be part of the whole campus. Some meet their long lasting friends in their dorm, others in their classes.</p>

<p>In general every dorm will have at least 50% freshmen, they limit space in dorms so returning students don’t fill up the most popular dorms. They allow you to choose a roommate who also chooses you- you both have to choose/rank the same dorms (and with a lottery system it won’t matter when each of you is accepted during the regular admission cycle), but otherwise do not do roommate matching. They found that random assignment of roommates was just as successful as relying on submitted data for matching.</p>

4

<p>You can also look at this website to see which dorms have had recent renovations.</p>

<p>For example, this link takes you directly to information regarding the recently completed 3-year renovation plan to Chadbourne Hall, including the new dining hall (Rheta’s).</p>

<p>On the left menu bar, you can see the planned renovations, and at the bottom left of this menu bar you’ll see the completed renovations.</p>

5

<p>Actually my position is based on being on the board that oversees the residential learning programs and seeing the impact it has on students. Students who go through a residential learning program tend to be more active on campus, develop higher aspirations, and develop closer relationships with faculty and staff. At every board semi-annual meeting we have a number of students from the residential colleges do presentations. They restore your faith in college students.
All the new dorms being built have been designed to have a residential learning component. In the future virtually every dorm will be a RLC just as they are at many of the most elite colleges in the US.</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.housing.wisc.edu/academics/positiveimpact.pdf[/url]”>http://www.housing.wisc.edu/academics/positiveimpact.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

6

<p>Link:</p>

<p>[UW-Madison</a> Division of University Housing Master Plan](<a href=“http://www.housing.wisc.edu/masterplan/chadbourne/index.php]UW-Madison”>http://www.housing.wisc.edu/masterplan/chadbourne/index.php)</p>

7

<p>Does Lakeshore or Southeast tend to fill up faster? Or is it specific dorms that are harder to get into than others?</p>

8

<p>Generally Lakeshore are most popular as well as the newer dorms.</p>

9

<p>Some students do not get what they want from the residential colleges and are highly motivated Honors students. One size never fits all. It is good not all science students are restricted to one dorm or area- people are much more complex/diverse than their choice of major. For students undecided about their goals and who see courses/programs within the Residential colleges these are a good choice. Some have already found a niche for themselves by virtue of their proposed major.</p>

<p>The Lakeshore dorms offer smaller buildings in general and this may be more inviting for some. Think of how you destress- some are energized by a short walk to the liveliness of State St with its city vibe. Others prefer being close to the Lakeshore and the ability to get away from crowds. Everyone can get to both regardless of which dorm they live in, it is a matter of what is outside your dorm door versus a short walk. BTW- living in Liz may put you close to most of your classes but it has a horizontal layout (built into a hill) requiring stairs and corridors to get to the main entrance, unlike the ease of an elevator. The best rooms in any dorm will be taken by returning residents- don’t assume you’ll get that prime location within any dorm.</p>

<p>For any dorm you can counter a positive feature with a negative and vice versa. Which dorm you prefer depends on your priorities. You will be among your fellow UW students no matter which dorm you choose. You can use Google Street view or another site for additional information on dorms. Also look at various UW Res Halls subsites, such as the lofting guides for pictures of dorm rooms.</p>

10

<p>Ogg and Smith are the two newest dorms and are located in the Southeast area - next to the SERF and the Kohl Center. Also located in the Southeast area are Witte and Sellery - son’s friend recently described these two as the ‘slum’ of the dorms.</p>

<p>Merit House (across Park Street from Ogg) is a nice, smaller dorm (3 stories) which was recently renovated (Aug 2010) and features many single rooms, or double rooms with en suite bathrooms.</p>

<p>Sullivan (Lakeshore area) has a ‘substance free’ floor (4th floor - 65 residents). </p>

<p>There are many choices.</p>

<p>Coming in 2012: A new Lakeshore dorm is planned for construction and will open August 2012 - helping alleviate the high demand for the Lakeshore area (next to the Natatorium, near the tennis courts).</p>

11

<p>My two cents:</p>

<p>I live in Witte and while it’s definitely not the nicest (I spend a lot of time in Chadbourne and when I first went there I was shocked by how nice it was compared to Witte) it’s definitely livable over here. Nothing is in disrepair, it’s just not specifically “nice.” If you think of your basic “college dorm” you have Sellery and Witte. </p>

<p>Witte does have more of a partyish atmosphere and it’s not very strict, while in Chadbourne they are very strict on noise and drinking. They once knocked on our door and tried to look around because we were simply talking about drinking (they can’t actually come in your room though). You will meet many more people who are interested in going out in a Southeast dorm than in Lakeshore or Chad (although I do know several exceptions to the rule and the people I go out with every weekend are in fact in Chadbourne) and if you live in Lakeshore or Chad you will meet more people who do not drink if you are into that.</p>

<p>Also, Witte is a little farther away from class buildings than most dorms, it’s not a lot but it’s enough to have you wishing you were a little closer. If you want a prime location to class buildings check into Barnard or Chadbourne or Liz Waters. I don’t know anything about the Lakeshore dorms as I have never been over there, but I do know that if you want to go to any parties or anything like that ever, then prepare to walk quite a ways. And walk home quite a ways. This might be okay with you in August, but think about what it will be like in November. (Hint: I live relatively close to a lot of happenings and it sucks to walk. Like, it really sucks.) Another nice thing about Chadbourne, Barnard, and also Liz Waters is that they have cafeterias inside their buildings (Chad + Barnard have the best cafeteria on campus and Liz Waters has a cafeteria with lots of healthy/veggie/vegan options) which is a lot nicer than walking outdoors to a cafeteria when it’s 30 degrees out and you just want to grab something quick. Smith may also have something in it too but I’m not sure since I’ve never been there.</p>

<p>Also, Ogg and Smith are very nice but many sophomores live there and I have heard it is not very social for freshmen. Certainly many freshmen do live there and like it but if you want a “social” dorm you can’t really beat Sellery or Witte. Everyone is very friendly, but be prepared for pressure if you don’t drink. </p>

<p>Also Witte does not have air conditioning!!! I know it’s only an issue for a few months, but you will care. And you will care when they don’t turn on the heat in November. Being from Florida, this was a big problem for me, mainly because there isn’t a whole lot of airflow going on and I can’t handle the lack of humidity. I am going to have to buy a humidifier because I wake up every morning with a very bad sore throat and cough. I don’t know about Lakeshore as I said, but Chadbourne, Barnard, Ogg, Smith, and Liz Waters all have air conditioning and heat that I believe you can adjust yourself. It matters!</p>

<p>I’m sorry I can’t give any info about Lakeshore as I have literally never been over there, but hopefully this is helpful. I really like Chadbourne, as I said I spend a lot of my time over there. The way it is set up with a nice den in the center really encourages a bond within the floor and it is very nice. You also get a kitchen for the floor. The people I know there are all very close (all on the same floor) and I wish my own floor was like that. I think there are also a lot of programs that you get with that. The only downside is the strictness. And sometimes there are weird people there.</p>

12

<p>Glad to hear that Chad has a more serious disciplined atmosphere. I look forward to spreading that all the UW dorms in the future. There is nothing wrong with the UW maintaining some standards of behavior on its properties and actually having dorms encourage studying and being “weird” in that intellectual sort of way. People might actually pick up some good habits for when they move off campus and have total freedom.</p>

13

<p>Good article on new RLC and plans for more. </p>

<p>[New</a> GreenHouse for sustainability nurtures community (Nov. 15, 2010)](<a href=“http://www.news.wisc.edu/18666]New”>New GreenHouse for sustainability nurtures community)</p>

14

<p>sellery or ogg?</p>

15

<p>Ogg over Sellery</p>

<p>There is a $749 premium to pay for Ogg (over Sellery).</p>

<p>All dorms are at minimum 50% freshmen.</p>

<p>My sophomore son lives in Ogg this year. On his floor there are very few sophomores, therefore mostly freshmen. The RAs organize many structured social activities.</p>

16

<p>The “RA’s” (resident assistants) are called housefellows at UW, btw. Also, many activities in all dorms- none required for those of you who don’t wish to participate. Choosing a dorm is tough because there are many good choices, no matter where you end up you will be among fellow UW freshmen.</p>

17

<p>Thanks! I knew RA wasn’t quite right but couldn’t remember what to call the housefellow.</p>

18

<p>My son is a freshman living in Ogg (his first choice even though I tried to persuade him to live in a lakeshore dorm). He loves the location of his dorm (like Madison85 mentioned near the Serf and Kohl centers) and is very happy he did not listen to my opinion! His floor has mainly Sophmore students but he’s made friends with his fellow dormmates. His Housefellow even made sure that his desire to change classes his first semester was done to his satisfaction. Boy, I’m really impressed on how well UW Madison is run. :)</p>

19

<p>Thanks for all the help! It’s much appreciated. I took a look at the dorm buildings the other day while in Madison and I really like the atmosphere surronding the Lakeshore dorms, but I’m a little worried they may not be as social as I’d like them to be. So far Liz Waters is my top choice. I like the location, bigger rooms, dining hall, and how it’s much prettier than the SE dorms… Witte and Sellery interest me for the social aspect and close proximity to State Street. I’m really torn to be honest. Can anyone offer some insight to which is the most social of all the Lakeshore dorms? I think I’d prefer their location, views, etc… I know it probably changes from year to year but any thoughts would be awesome. Also, I’m aware that I probably won’t get my top pick anyway, so I’m sure I’ll be happy with whatever I get. Thanks again!</p>

20

<p>My D (traveling as we speak back home for the first time :slight_smile: ) is in a learning community. It has a lot of advantages, and for the small amount of extra money (200 maybe?) it has been well worth it! She is engineering and is in Sellery in the WISE community. So she has the fun atmosphere (and love being hear Kohl and other action) but has a studious/academically directed generally group of floor mates.</p>