<p>These are the things that are important to me:
Nice location
As close to the gym as possible
If possible, close to the boathouse</p>
<p>Which dorm would be the best for me at UW Madison?</p>
<p>Since all of your things can be determined by looking at a map, here you go. University</a> of Wisconsin-Madison: Campus Map</p>
<p>But I'll give my input anyway. :> There's two gyms, the NAT and the SERF, and the lakeshore dorms are close to the NAT, southeast are close to the SERF, and the SERF is nicer and newer. I think the lakeshore is in general a nicer location, but that's a matter of opinion, and really, the only lakeshore decently far away from classes are Bradley and Friedrick. Lakeshore dorms would be closest to the Porter Boathouse.</p>
<p>So, give your criteria, I'd suggest somewhere in lakeshore, and I'd say anything in TAS first (Tripp, Adams and Slichter, although if you're a freshman exclude Tripp) and then something in KroCS (Kronshage, Cole, and Sullivan). </p>
<p>I guess you could throw in Liz for a very nice location, and it isn't that far from the gym or boathouse. :P</p>
<p>Technically KroCS is closer to the gym and the same distance from the boathouse as TAS, but it's only a block's difference or so. I hate to give conflicting advice, but I would advise KroCS over TAS. I also think KroCS would be easier to get into than TAS as a freshman, mostly because Adams is almost all singles (a good chunk already claimed by upperclassmen), so there's a lot more available space in KroCS.</p>
<p>^I would say KroCS is actually slightly farther from the boathouse especially because Adams and Slichter are literally right there, but it's a negligible distance. The distance to the NAT you're right, KroCS is closer, particularly Cole and Sullivan.</p>
<p>saxophonegirl, really, just anything in KroCS or TAS seems to fit the bill for you. I won't lie, I probably said TAS because I live there and will live there next year, so I'm a bit biased towards it. :)</p>
<p>I agree, you can't really go wrong with either of the areas.</p>
<p>And secretly, I'm biased towards KroCS because that's where I live.</p>
<p>Any of the lakeshore dorms, except Liz, would be convenient for boathouse access and closer to the Nat also. You don't need to nitpick the final yards distance- go over the building/room descriptions to rank your best fit to your other criteria.</p>