<p>I've been looking around and researching all the dorms and i have heard good things about Simpson Hall. Any feedback on that?</p>
<p>My son is currently at Simpson. Great dorm! It was renovated a few years ago. Wood floors, custom closets, great lighting. And there’s a huge pool. Close to both stadiums. He loves the location and will probably go back there next year.</p>
<p>Without exception, the best dorms in the entire school and possibly the best dorm at any school in the State of Florida goes to both Buckman Hall & Thomas Hall. Both dorms have state of the electronics, entirely recently refurbished, overlooking a lovely lake, it has its own gym, indoor pool and parking garage, climate control and all the rooms are singles with a separate living room and small kitchen. You can’t go wrong with either dorm!</p>
<p>once (and if) you are accepted how long do you have to choose your dorm? i understand it is in order of deposits - how does it work?</p>
<p>I thought room selection was based on what date you applied for a housing contract… if not then how does the deposit system work? Maybe a current student could help out…</p>
<p>i meant in order of housing deposits.</p>
<p>drewsma: Thank you! Ive been hearing good things so to have some confirmation is comforting :)</p>
<p>ilovethe47: I’m really looking for double rooms(I’m applying for honors, but if i do not end up in Hume i would like a double room)so singles aren’t really on my radar! Thank you for the info though!</p>
<p>Oneoffonetogo: I’m not sure when housing opens up or closes, all i know is that it’s based on your number that is decided from when you payed the housing fee!</p>
<p>I don’t know how it works anymore, since I’m an old lady these days, but when I applied to UF three years ago all accepted students were given a “housing date” where they could log onto a secure link and click on a map and pick from available rooms in that dorm. Rooms were “released” in batches that way all the good dorms didn’t fill up right off the bat, but still some dorms were basically all full by the time I got to log in. The housing date is straight up determined by when you send in your housing info - I sent mine in in December, and my friend sent hers in in January, and I got to pick my housing a full week before her, which is a big deal when it comes to getting prime real estate.</p>
<p>As for dorms…
Buckman and Thomas ARE wonderful, but I don’t really think they’re worth it. For one thing, it is quite rare for freshman to get in there. They’re part of the Returning Gators program, and cater specifically to upperclassmen. Not to mention, only HALF of Buckman are singles…the rest are very cramped doubles! You do get your own “room”, so to speak, but they are much smaller than other single-rooms on campus (in places like Lakeside) and not worth the hassle of getting in. Also, many floors do not have central air, so you’re responsible for bringing in your own. But because the building is classified as “historic”, you can’t install a wall unit, so you’ll have to buy a pricy floor unit instead. </p>
<p>My FAVORITE dorm is Jennings. 
Jennings, Broward, and Rawlings are all basically interchangeable but they’re awesome. Great freshman dorms. Just social enough. I met lots of friends there. The community bathrooms, while weird at first, are actually awesome - you never have to clean, it’s always open and available, and you’re not going to wake anybody up if you want to shower or blowdry your hair in the morning! I am Honors and lived at Hume for awhile, and my biggest complaint was the suite bathrooms. My suitemates always left the door locked, which meant I had to run down the hall and use the guest bathroom in the middle of the night a lot. And I had early classes, and my showering/blowdrying would wake everyone else up. It was also a huge pain to try and shower at night, because all four of us sorority girls were trying to vie for bathroom time…it was a conflict, and a mess. In Jennings, I could take a shower and sing at the top of my lungs at 4am if I felt like it and nobody would leave passive-aggressive sticky notes on my door about it. ;)</p>
<p>If you’re looking for bigger rooms than the traditional freshman dorms (which are ALL doubles or triples basically and quite cramped), three great options are Lakeside, Beaty, and Springs. Lakeside is “apartment-style”, which I’ve heard lots of good things about. You get your own (fairly large!) room, and two people share a bathroom. You get a living room and a kitchen in your unit. One drawback to Lakeside is that it is located in BFE…literally, it’s the furthest you can get from the main part of campus. You could theoretically get to campus quite easily on a scooter or on the bus, but it’s a pain because you don’t get the typical experience of walking from Jennings to Beaty Market (or from Hume to Graham Oasis) at the wee hours of the morning on a study break to get ice cream, or other cool campus traditions. Also, Lakeside is quite expensive and has electrical limits, which is annoying. It breaks down to about $600/month, and for that rate you can just get an apartment closer to the main campus (but not ON it). </p>
<p>Springs is also really nice, it’s known as the “athletes dorm” though so it’s quite difficult to get a room in. Once you do get a room, though, get ready to meet basically the entire UF football team, since a huge proportion of them live there! My boyfriend lived there during the Tebow years and knew a ton of the players, which was awesome. Springs is probably the best value on campus; the rooms are HUGE (compared to other dorms) and even though you share it with a roommate, you have PLENTY of your own space. You also have enormous bathrooms that you share with another suite of two people (be careful about the bathroom issues that I mentioned above, though!). Springs is more centrally located, but still a little ways out from the main drag on campus. It’s worth it if you can get a spot, though.</p>
<p>Beaty towers are pretty cool as well. Like Lakeside, they’re “apartment living”, but instead of getting your own room, you split two bedrooms between four people (two to a room, but you could also decide to live three in one and one in the other, if you have a roommate you really hate I guess). Beaty has a little kitchen and tiny dining area, which will save you money by allowing you to cook. Unless you go Greek, in which you pay for a house meal plan anyway…so the kitchen kinda ends up being extra storage space for things that don’t fit in your room. Beaty is rather run-down, in my opinion, and a little out-dated. It’s very popular with freshmen and upperclassmen alike, though, due to its central location and the unit-kitchens. </p>
<p>Whew! This turned out a lot longer than I intended!
Best of luck with admissions!</p>
<p>Ilovethe47…are we talking about the same Buckman? Maybe I am mistaken, but I don’t recall Buckman having an indoor pool or a parking garage…are you being serious? The Buckman/Murphree/Thomas Halls I know are all historic buildings, do not have central AC, and are only worth it because of their proximity to midtown and the stadium.
Did I somehow miss out on the best dorms on campus?</p>
<p>alovestori - thank you for that detailed explanation. we paid the “fee” in november so are “in line” but no where near the front. now dd just has to get in. i’m sure the waiting is starting to get difficult for everyone since we’ve heard from so many other schools so this is at least something to think about to occupy the time.</p>
<p>Well maybe no pool, AC, or indoor parking, but Buckman/Murphee/Thomas are located on the nicest part of campus and they have a lot more ghosts roaming the halls. Boo!</p>
<p>I’ve lived in Beaty and Rawlings the last 2 years, so I’ll give you my 2 cents on those.</p>
<p>The nicest thing about Beaty is the private bathroom (no walking down the cold hallway with only a towel on at 6:30 in the morning) and kitchen (full fridge and oven/stove, no microwave though). The downside is that you won’t meet nearly as many people as you will in one of the “freshman” dorms (Rawlings, Broward, Jennings). Also, there is very little desk space to be had. Each room has a small desk area by the window that’s about 2.5 feel wide
and 1.5 deep and a larger one in the common area the other two residents share. So if you have a TV you want to bring, it’ll be hard to study. Beaty is pretty far from where most of the main classes are held (about 5 minutes farther than Rawlings and Broward). This might not seem like much, but you’ll notice the extra time.</p>
<p>Rawlings was an awesome experience, mainly because my floor (3rd) was a coed floor, meaning one side was female and the other male. This really encouraged people to spend a ton of time in the common area and I knew almost every person on the floor. The 3rd floor male side had 5 shower stalls, and I never had to wait, and the restrooms are cleaned every morning (except weekends and holidays). The rooms are on the small side even for dorms, and if you’re in a late app triple (like I was) it’s gonna feel packed. I thought I would prefer the central air in Beaty, but the wall units are actually far superior, because you have actual control over how hot/cold it is in your room. Also, there is one quad on every floor in Rawlings iirc. The rooms are bigger, you have one roommate and share a kitchen with two other people.</p>
<p>One final disclaimer, I hate the roommates I had in Beaty and had awesome ones in Rawlings, so that might be influencing my opinions somewhat.</p>
<p>since the e-mail on housing came out today thought this was relevant</p>