<p>Hey all,
I’ve recently applied to ohio state, and if accepted will likely attend. I was wondering what the best (extremely subjective, I know) on campus dorms are in each section of campus (north and south). So if anyone could provide input on maybe the top two or three dorms on north and south based on the following criteria it’d be appreciated.
–Age of building/Renovations (which buildings are in the best repair, and overall quality of the rooms)
–Proximity to non-academic buildings (food, fitness centers etc)
–Proximity to academic buildings (engineering major)
–Type of community (I know this can vary, but what is the general stereotype for the dorm community)</p>
<p>Go to the Ohio State section on **************.com. Students review things about their campus and you will see a lot of information there. </p>
<p>It has been three years since my DS was in a dorm freshmen year so I will try to remember what he told me. South tends to be the more “partier” side of the dorm campus. Some students like North for this reason-they party in the South but study in the North. </p>
<p>How nice a dorm can be depends on several factors. My DS was in honors housing and thought his dorm Taylor Tower was pretty nice. He had air conditioning and nice drapes/carpet. Taylor is a quad; one small room for sleeping; one small room for desks and private bathrooms. Another honors dorm that students like a lot is Stradley.</p>
<p>With the new institution of students having to live on campus for two years you will be seeing a lot of renovation of dorms. Look up dorms on the student newspaper “The Lantern” and you can get an idea of what dorms are being redone. My DS thought Taylor was good for location because it was near high street and the stadium. </p>
<p>Part of where you live may depend on if you are in honors or scholars or part of a living community.</p>
<p>I think I know which site you are talking about, but unfortunately that seems to be more of a place people go to whine about things rather than post constructive/coherent comments (seems to be a problem on all univ. Sub sections not just osu). </p>
<p>Anyways, what I am really hoping for is a site that has many pictures of the rooms and showcases what the dorm offers. I have found a PDF on osu’s site that has a lot of good information, but pictures are lacking. If I go on an accepted students visit will they showcase more dorms? On my recent visit we only got to see one dorm (smith-steeb). </p>
<p>Thanks for the input so far, any more insight is greatly appreciated!</p>
<p>Unfortunately there really isn’t a site that shows what the dorms are really like. For south campus I would say the best ones are Smith - steeb and Park - Stradley because they are the most renovated ones and air conditioned. All south side dorms are pod style bathrooms shared by the floor which is the only down side compared to north campus. North dorms are a lot closer to classes especially engineering, but if you plan to be really involved south side is closer to the Union which a lot of meetings take place at. North is being renovated soon, but if you are coming in next year you would have to deal with the construction going on there.</p>
<p>South campus has a wide range of dorm types. Park-Stradley and Smith-Steeb are the newest and nicest dorms on campus. They are all doubles and have one side of the room as a closet/organized space. The bathrooms started out coed this semester but there were some problems on certain floors so depending on the floor, they have reverted back to being separated by gender. There are nice study areas in the lobby and basement and overall the dorm is very social. For me personally, I couldn’t deal with it as the first few weekends get crazy. Lots and lots of people were written up for alcohol the first few weeks, including some of my friends. Overall the dorms are nice and great for meeting new people. Other south dorms vary widely. Many of the dorms do not have AC, are older and smaller, including Baker, Bradley, Paterson, Canfield, and Mack. Dorms like Siebert and Morrison have AC however and Siebert in particular is very nice (recently renovated).</p>
<p>North campus has a more “homey” feeling. The smaller dorms (Nosker, Barrett, Houck, Blackburn, etc) are often quiet and laid back. Many students there are STEM majors in scholars or LCs and do not party as much. The dorms are air conditioned quads and have a separated study area and sleeping area. The dorms themselves are not great, most are older and will be torn down in the next few years to be rebuilt into larger towers like Park-Stradley. You are close to classes which is very, very nice. Trust me - being far from classes is a big temptation to skip and is not worth it. Dorms like Drackett and Taylor are great IMO. Based on the few times I’ve been in Drackett, it seems like most are very social and friendly.</p>
<p>Morrill and Lincoln are much different than the rest of the dorms. They are both identical in setup. There are suites for 10 people. 10 people share a bathroom (2 showers, 3 toilets, 4 sinks) and living room, and there are 3 doubles and 1 quad room. The rooms have a study area and a separate sleeping area. The doubles are VERY roomy. Quads are tight but are comparable to a quad on North. The atmosphere is great. Also, because the towers are a bit isolated from the rest of campus you begin to recognize people fast and you make a lot of friends with the people on your floor.</p>
<p>Good luck! If you need more info check the housing website.</p>