<p>I am currently in the middle of my housing rankings for UW Madison and I was wondering how the new dorms are? Are they social? Quiet? Are they really that far away from everything? I was attracted to the Lakeshore area because of how serene it seems, however I don't want to live in a completely dead area nor do I want to live in a crazy dorm like Sellery or Witte. How do Dejope and New 32 compare? Thanks!</p>
<p>Without giving myself away, I can tell you that this response is actually being typed from the 5th Floor west-wing lounge of Dejope, so I think you’re asking the right person. ;)</p>
<p>In my humble opinion, you’d have to be an idiot (or a naive freshman) to pick anything <em>but</em> Dejope (the “Taj Mahal” as it’s been rightly dubbed), Liz Waters, or the new dorm (which I don’t know much about because it’s still being built) if you’re planning on living in Lakeshore.</p>
<p>Dejope is gigantic. It features large lounges with surround-sound TVs, a firepit, spacious elevators, and a nice open field where rec sports are played in the fall and snowmen are made in the winter. It also has its own dining hall with multiple TVs, a coffee shop, a convenience store, a computer lab, a medical clinic, a “great hall” for movie nights and banquets, easy access to both the Natatorium (big rec center that’s literally across the street), and the Temin Lakeshore path (for running and biking), along with tennis courts. It’s basically a mini-union. Or, if you prefer, an actual union. It also has some beautiful views of the city and lake.</p>
<p>The downside is that, like you say, it’s pretty dang far from campus. You can expect 10 to 15 minute walks to Union South which is itself pretty far from a lot of stuff. It’s also tends to be a “sophomore dorm” (which can be good or bad, I guess) and is slightly more expensive.</p>
<p>Liz Waters also has its own dining hall (with really bizarre hours) and is much more central to campus. From what I hear, it’s quite nice, but it is an older dorm. It (might) also have some group-living arrangements but I’m not sure.</p>
<p>The New 32 building is under construction. It’s not quite so big as Dejope but it’s due to have many of the same amenities and is marginally closer to the main, “downtown” campus area.</p>
<p>Finally, the difference between Lakeshore and Southeast is, put succinctly, that Lakeshore parties (at most) 3 nights a week, while Southeast parties 7 nights a week. It’s an over-generalization, but it’s an easy way to look at it. My understanding is that some of the SE dorms are just as crazy as they are touted to be, but that Lakeshore isn’t a “dead” zone. On weekends, many people leave the dorms in groups to go chill on state street or go party hopping in the frats or apartments (which are, respectively, faaaaaaaaaar East and faaaaaaar South of Lakeshore). If that’s you’re thing, you’ll have to walk or take a bus, unless you like partying with the grad students up in Eagle Heights. I can’t imagine those are particularly exciting for an undergrad though. Ha</p>
<p>And you’ll find people in Lakeshore who are both studying on Friday night, <em>and</em> people with their door closed keeping an eye out for the RA/Housefellow. ;)</p>
<p>…and that’s all I got for now. Hopefully, you find this of some value.</p>
<p>Haha I think your bias is helpful in this case! That sounds perfect, I have no need to party 24/7, but having a life on Fridays and Saturdays would be nice 
The distance thing worries me though… Would you say it is far from classes? Or just far from State street and the union? Thanks for the detailed post, it was very helpful!</p>
<p>Depends on where your classes are. It’s relatively close to most of the biotech, agricultural, medical buildings and research labs. It’s pretty far from chemistry, computer science, Van Hise, Van Vleck and the WID and it’s quite far from humanities, zoology, educational sciences, educational sciences (like, ~20 minute walk far). You can do it though. I mean, I do it almost every morning.</p>
<p>The key point I want to make is that only Liz Waters gives you a locational advantage in terms of closeness to classes. That’s why I say that if you’re going to go Lakeshore, you might as well go with Dejope. Kronshage, Slichter etc. are only just across the street. Bradley is probably further away from things than Dejope.</p>
<p>You are aware there is a free, public bus system that almost all students use to get around, yes? It has a stop in front of Dejope.</p>
<p>Dejope’s location has its advantages too. It’s directly across the street from the “Nat” (which is a free-to-students gymnasium with two weight rooms, a pool, racquetball courts etc.), has its own dining hall, convenience store and is close to Temin path which leads you around beatutiful picnic point (I could better convey this message with a map. If you look one up you’ll see what I mean).</p>
<p>I don’t think it’ll be a huge issue. If you choose to be in Chadbourne or something and have a class in Biochemistry, it’ll be a long walk as well. Pros and cons all around. Have you visited yet? You can get a feel for it if and when you do.</p>
<p>A correction- all Res Halls dorms, including Dejope, on ON campus. UW has a large campus, one of its pros. One of the choices in housing to be made is whether you constantly want to be in the thick of things or want to be able to back off from a busy lifestyle. Some people are energized by quiet and want the downtime. Once you head off to classes you do not need to return for any free time and you can eat in any Res Halls facility. btw- my mother and my son lived in Liz- built in 1940, first coed in 2006 (my era it was basically women only even though men could eat there so I eliminated it).</p>
<p>Thanks for all the info! I did visit the campus, but it was not constructed when I visited so I did not get to see it unfortunately. Thats so convenient that it has a bus stop right outside of it, that definitely makes the long walks more doable. I think I will try to head up for another visit so that I can get a better feel for it, for now I will put it near the top of my list :)</p>
<p>You can do a Google earth or Bing maps birdseye view, plus a street view of many areas of campus to help you. Harder to judge hills this way, however.</p>
<p>Keep in mind very few people get their top choice unless you go into a Learning Community. Of my friends last year, most got their 2nd or 3rd choice. Kind of a long-shot to get into Smith, Ogg, or Dejope. Certainly, some do because there are many that don’t want or can’t pay the 20% premium.</p>