<p>Okay, so I just got my acceptance into UW Madison a few days ago and I'm supposed to come up with a decision by the end of this week. So I have a couple of questions for you guys regarding food and dorms in order to help me make my decision.</p>
<p>I am wondering what the dorms are really like to live in (went on a campus tour but they didn't show us the dorms), are the rooms decently sized, are there temperature controls for each room? How hard is it to share a bathroom with like 6 or 7 people? Are the communal bathrooms kept pretty clean? Are there any dorm buildings that I should definitely try to avoid?
These may seem like total noob questions, but at Emerson I've lived in a single, within a suite so I only have had to share a bathroom with 4 other people, so I've never had to use communal bathrooms. </p>
<p>Also, how is the food on campus? The site says that their food has consistently gotten great feedback on surveys, but I still wonder because I can't really say I have actually liked the college food I've had so far. At Emerson we had Aramark providing the campus food for a while, but I didn't like the food; now we have Sodexo and the food has gotten better but still, not the best.</p>
<p>All dorms have been well maintained. Using a hall bathroom means you don’t keep any personal belongings in the bathroom, they have private stalls for showering and are cleaned routinely (any weekend messes are the fault of residents). You quickly learn when amenities are busy and plan accordingly. Dorms vary in age and architecture- look at individual ones on the Res Halls website. There will be very limited availability for spring semester- rooms coming from students who leave UW.</p>
<p>Food service- excellent. Students do get tired of the options, just like at home. You put as little or as much into your food service account (which gives you the dorm resident discount) and can use it at any Res Halls facility on campus. This includes dining halls, snack/coffee bars and convenience stores. The food is cooked by Res Halls staff and is better than food at the Unions. They try to use locally grown foods whenever possible and you can find dietary info online- eg vegetarian et al. Facilities are open to the public- they pay more. Check out the website for menus. There is even a pizza/sub delivery service to dorms ordered online. You generally pay a la carte and will likely find your costs less than other schools’ meal plans. You can eat off campus or at the Unions whenever you like without still paying for a Res Halls meal.</p>
<p>Make your decision based on the excellent UW academics, not the housing options. Many upperclassmen live in apartments close to campus so you will find you are not expecting to live in dorms the rest of your college career.</p>