<p>ive heard some bad things about some of the umass dorms, sylvan in perticular. is there anyway to request a dorm location??</p>
<p>I don't know why you have heard bad things about Sylvan. The Sylvan suites are acctually pretty nice. Perhaps the person you heard it from did not like their Suite mates, if that happens, it can be a very unpleasnt expirience.</p>
<p>The best dorms are in the Northeast Living area: Thatcher.
Plus Northeast arn't to far from anything which is good, trust me, and right next to a dining hall.<br>
Southwest is the place you do not want to be. It is the biggest living area and you can get stuck in a tower on the 20-somethingth floor. The best way to keep from being the majority of freshman that are dumped in Southwest, is to join a RAP or a TAP. you can go to the umass website to find out what they are.</p>
<p>if you're new to the school, you can pick an area...but you will probably end up in sylvan..which i dont like as with many of my friends..tho i never lived there, i only visited, but it's like a prison cell :( so hopefully you have good dormmates..who make it fun, thats why some of my friends choose sylvan again...cuz they liked their dormmates. SW is nice actually..i lived there last year and it was fun. They have the BEST dining........I would go back to SW anytime, I live in northeast right now..and the dining here stinks!!! I guess it depends on the type of person you are.</p>