Can any one give a summary of the atmosphere, pros, and cons of all the freshmen on-campus dorms?
Any input is helpful. Thanks!
Your questions are very very broad. All dorm atmospheres will be somewhat different from year to year, depending on who is living there. I would recommend that you look into the housing website and look through the dorm pages, especially the learning community pages, before coming on here to ask questions.
Here: https://www.housing.wisc.edu/residencehalls-halls.htm
What kind of academic, social, and location atmosphere are you looking for? Do you have a preference for Lakeshore vs Southeast?
Thanks @silmaril but I ve already checked out the university’s homepage. At this point I do not really know what kind of personal preferences matter so I would definitely value some personal experiences with freshmen dorms
Over 20 diverse dorms on campus. Check the Res Halls info. Think location, special programs, extra costs (amenities), architectural type/age. All available freshmen with at least 50% freshmen.
Two basic areas- Lakeshore and Southeast. Both with old and new buildings- all maintained. 4 story max Lakeshore, tall towers in Southeast. All close enough to a library if that’s where you want to study. Some with dining halls within them, some closer to snack bar services than others. Some urban/city feel (SE) others suburban feel.
Figure out YOUR priorities. Pros and cons to every dorm. No one else can tell you what bugs you, appeals to YOU. For me, eons ago, it was Lakeshore to avoid the noisy streets and towers. For friends it was Southeast so we trekked from each others places. If I were to choose again I would likely make different choices within the area.
Remember if you favor one area you are best off ranking all of those dorms before the other area. Location is likely your first priority.
The general split between Lakeshore and Southeast is that Lakeshore is more quiet and academically focused, while Southeast is more social/loud and into partying. I currently live in Lakeshore, and it is always VERY quiet on the weekends, but if you like partying, plenty of people in Lakeshore will take the bus down to Southeast or the frats on Langdon. It’s not that Lakeshore residents don’t party, but that they go elsewhere to party. I would also say that in Lakeshore, it’s much easier to find people who don’t like partying and prefer other activities- as a non-partier like myself, I’ve definitely enjoyed this aspect of Lakeshore.
That being said, there are plenty of academically driven people in Southeast, and I imagine that if you’re serious about academics but want to let loose on the weekends, Southeast will work just as fine as well.
Lakeshore’s natural surroundings are also almost unbeatable- the trees, open spaces, lake, and nature/running paths are all amazing, and I will be very sad to part from it next year.
Again, you should be deciding what personal preferences matter to you. Does distance from classes matter to you? Do you want an urban vs suburban feel? Do you often want peace and quiet? Do you like to party? Is cost a factor? Do you have any special interests that would align with any of the learning communities, or would you like to make friends through a learning community? Ask yourself these questions, and it should be pretty easy to narrow down what area and dorms you want. Your first step should definitely be to figure out if you like Lakeshore or Southeast better.
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