<p>OK, I am neither an all out party girl or a bookworm-- but I love having fun but want to get into McIntire (which requires a 3.5 gpa). I am from northern FL and more laid back. I want to be closer to the center of campus, in the 'thick' of things and not be in a 'dry' dorm. What would you say is the best dorm? </p>
<p>Also, I was wondering about sororities. What are the more laid back sororities? Thanks again!</p>
<p>Old dorms by FAR.</p>
<p>Any comments/suggestions for the echols scholar dorms (Are there any choices?)</p>
<p>Curious why old dorms are better than new ones!!</p>
<p>Echols, you really don’t get a choice. You’re in new dorms.</p>
<p>I don’t know if you will be able to pick between old dorms and new dorms. For the class of 2012, they stopped letting you pick (to increase diversity) and everything was lumped together in “First Year Dorms.” It was luck from then on. </p>
<p>I live in Old Dorms. And I love it. New dorms on Alderman are okay, but you can’t beat the location of Old Dorms. And having the quad in Old Dorms makes it easier to go to events because a lot of them are right there, in front/behind of your building. If you get New Dorms, you could be out in the middle of no where; new dorms are really spread out. And hilly. It’s a gamble.</p>
<p>It’s great having an 11 AM, getting up at 10:55, and still being on time for class if your class is in the chem building or gilmer. And you only need to walk. With New dorms, you would have to run and there’s still no guarantee you would get there on time.</p>
<p>All of this may end up being completely irrelevant if you can’t choose between old and new dorms. So check the housing application first and see if it says “First Year housing” or old/new.</p>
<p>So, what are the benefits of living in the New Dorms? I’m leaning towards requesting them (if I can), because I’ve heard that they are a lot nicer than the Old Dorms.</p>
<p>I’d say New Dorms are better than Old Dorms as far as rooms go but Olds Dorms have a much better location + they have the Castle (crucial).</p>
<p>Old dorms are tiny and they are pretty gross in my opinion… the interiors are old too.</p>
<p>Current students, would one of you please visit my blog and talk to a student who seems to be having a meltdown over the fact that scholars live in a specific residence hall? For some reason, the person is convinced the scholars have a better set up (which means the rest of the class is left with the dregs) and I know there are many students who don’t believe that is the case.</p>
<p>[Notes</a> from Peabody: The UVA Application Process: Yet another update from Student Financial Services](<a href=“http://uvaapplication.blogspot.com/2009/04/yet-another-update-from-student.html]Notes”>Notes from Peabody: The UVA Application Process: Yet another update from Student Financial Services)</p>
<p>Old dorms–full of frat boys and sorority girls, the rooms look like they’re bathrooms and you share your closet with your roommate (at least in Emmet)</p>
<p>New dorms–way more diverse, newer, suite-style, the rooms are way nicer. </p>
<p>Old dorms are gross and the people are loud and obnoxious. I’d pick new dorms if I were you. Living in a hall really sucks, suites are way better. And the whole “social” aspect…umm, yeah that really makes no difference once you make friends.</p>
<p>The bathrooms on the first floor in my building in the old dorms had open windows. Outside was a busy sidewalk and since the first floor was really like a basement, you had no privacy when you had to use the urinals. </p>
<p>As far as I know, no one walked by and uploaded pictures to the web. Maybe I was too average.</p>
<p>Seriously, despite the shortfalls, old dorms are best. Hallways are great and while there were a few loud people at times, there are libraries. My floor also had a room we used for a communal study hall. Considering that many of us were taking the same courses our first year, the study room was useful and a lot of fun.</p>
<p>Old Dorms are small but you can not get a better location. Here is the bad news, 42 inches of closet space divided by 2. Exactly six feet of space between you and your roommates bed. Your mini fridge and shelving unit take up all other space. I forgot to mention desk space.</p>
<p>OTOH you don’t have to walk far in the rain and cold.</p>
<p>so obviously brown college wins… 
you have upperclassmen to socialize with and drive you places, a cohort of 50 other first years to bond with, HUGE rooms, and a very accepting atmosphere. plus it’s THE CLOSEST, even closer than old dorms. oh yeah, and you get to cut in line at newcomb.</p>
<p>cons: you miss the “first year experience” and brown has a rep for being off the beaten path. you also have to apply.</p>
<p>there are at least 3 of us on CC who live in brown if you have questions. we all have varying opinions - one of us regrets not having the first year experience, one of us (me) doesn’t, and one of us didn’t live in brown until 2nd yr.</p>
<p>also if you’re coming to days on the lawn we are giving tours so you should come by and check it out.</p>
<p>plus who says you’re going to get to choose between old and new dorms this year? no one could last year…</p>
<p>Brown does win hands down, even though I didn’t get to live there. The IRC is way cool as well, but it all depends on your interests. Frat boys/Sorority girls who wear uggs vs. Hipsters and goths vs. Int’l Students who speak anything but English in the IRC. Don’t get mad at me people, but you all know stereotypes have some truth behind them.</p>
<p>Old dorms also have a weird, funny smell inside. The students who live there are not diverse. But I don’t think you all have a choice of where you’d like to live, since they enforced a new policy. I could be wrong though.</p>
<p>what do you think of alderman? it has suites i believe…</p>
<p>i’m an international student and i’m not looking for anything cheap or whatever - i want a nice room with a lot of social life. i’m also not fond of hallway bathrooms… never lived like that before and i wouldn’t be able to survive. thanks in advance!</p>
<p>Can incoming first years select between the two this year?</p>
<p>This is a debate that never ends:
Old Dorms: Closer to grounds, meet more people in a hall style, the quad
New Dorms: Quieter, tend to develop more of a “family” with your suite, bigger rooms</p>
<p>oh and don’t forget that the suite style new dorms are slowly being torn down, some of you may end up in the hall style new dorms.</p>
<p>you cannot choose between old and new dorms.</p>
<p>you have first year dorms (old+new+a couple Hereford transitioned into first year dorms)
you have residential colleges (brown, Hereford, IRC)</p>
<p>To anyone that this applies to, Echols/Rodman scholars are put in new dorms (Webb, Maupin, or Watson) which are on Alderman Rd, next to Scott Stadium. These dorms are suite style, with 5 rooms sharing one common room with a shared bathroom.</p>
<p>Old dorms are cheaper than New Dorms, and they’re closer to campus, but when I visited they kind of reminded me of summer camp–I don’t know if that’s a good or bad thing</p>
<p>So it appears as Echols scholars will pay more for housing. Is that really true</p>