<p>I got my housing application in the mail today, and from what I read, Middlebrook Hall is the honors dorm, and that's on the west bank!</p>
<p>... Not exactly prime real-estate for me, a CSE applicant.</p>
<p>Is what I've read and stated accurate? Oh well, if that's the case. Biking is good for a person, anyway.</p>
<p>Enough of my slightly disappointed rant. Honors housing is still probably better than regular housing (yuck!)...</p>
<p>ademuth93…You are correct, Honors housing is indeed in Middlebrook Hall on the West Bank. Our D1 debated whether to apply for Middlebrook or one of the Superblock dorms and ultimately decided for Middlebrook for several reasons. She preferred to have a semi-quiet and comfortable place to study without having to go to the library, etc. and from what we’ve heard and read the Superblock dorms stay pretty rowdy a lot of the time. As far as the social side of things, you can find a party on a college campus anytime and anywhere you want whether it’s in Middlebrook or somewhere else. Second, Middlebrook is air conditioned which many of the other dorms are not. Third, rooms in Honors housing are either doubles or suites and 4 people sharing a semi-private bathrooom is a heck of a lot nicer than 14-18 sharing a common bathroom. We also wondered about the trip back and forth to East Bank (she’ll be in CBS) but we PM’d a current U of Minn freshman living in Middlebrook (wasn’t their first choice BTW) who loves it there and says they’ve never had an issue catching the bus and often enjoys the walk (about 13 minutes). They also said the food in the Middlebrook dining facility is much better than the other dorms on campus. All in all, a little inconvenient perhaps but the plusses definitely outweigh the negatives in her opinion.</p>
<p>My daughter is applying to engineering, and we thought it would be better to go for the CSE living/learning community (CSE House, in a superblock dorm) rather than honors housing - largely because Middlebrook is on the west bank. Does anybody have an opinion on the relative merits of CSE House vs. the honors dorm?</p>
<p>HoComom…For what it’s worth, the other option our D1 was considering was Bio House in the Superblock dorms. It would be nice to have all the other students in her dorm hall belonging to the same college she does, although they wouldn’t necessarily be in the same major as hers. She opted for Honors housing for the reasons we listed in the previous posting, but also because Honors housing will also have plenty of students from her college and her major. Just her opinion, but she doesn’t really feel like she’s missing out on anything by not being in the Superblock. Honors housing offers a better study environment and if she wants a rowdier social setting it’s only a short walk across the river.</p>
<p>All of the dorms here are modern. I can’t really think of one without AC? Anyways if you don’t like the honors location at Middlebrook go to the CSE living community in Frontier Hall. Freshman only dorm in the superblock with a fairly quick walk to most of you engineering classes.</p>
<p>As far as studying the CSE floor is super quiet. It’s on the top floor of the dorm and normally avoids the rowdiness.</p>
<p>Plus right across the street from the Superblock is the BioMed library which is open until about 3 AM and is the quietest library on campus.</p>
<p>^ That sounds pretty nice. Do people from the CSE floor still get involved with stuff in other parts of the Superblock when they want a little more lively atmosphere? As a guy, I’m a little concerned about the ratio in that community… ;)</p>
<p>Also, how fast do the better housing options fill? I wouldn’t mind being out the $25 if I decided to enroll elsewhere, but I’d rather see the different halls when I visit in the first week of march prior to picking one. But if they fill before that, maybe I should just request one now?</p>
<p>noimagination,</p>
<p>I would highly suggest applying now. Housing will fill up rather fast. Just because you are on the CSE floor in Frontier doesn’t mean you won’t meet people from the rest of the hall or the rest of the Superblock. I had a few friends on the CSE floor and they didn’t mind the quietness at all (great for studying), but the guys were also social enough to go out on the weekends. It won’t be that boring haha.</p>
<p>Middlebrook is the honors dorm, plus other students from different years, plus a large amount of international students. As a sophomore one of the best things I did my freshman year was choosing an all freshman dorm. I love seeing a lot of more old dorm friends whether randomally on campus or out on the weekends. However, I also know quite few Middlebrookers (most loved it, other more socially outgoing weren’t really fans). But, it’s all up to you!</p>
<p>^ Agree with jotajota…get your application in early. U of Minn will track the date that your application fee was received and and earlier date will give you a better chance of getting your choice of dorm. In your app, you’ll rank order the dorms and room types but once your app is “processed” initially (took about 2 weeks for D1’s) you can go online and update your choices. That way, once you visit in March if your preferences change you can update your app but still take advantage of an earlier deposit payment date. I’m sure you’ll enjoy whichever dorm you choose. Good Luck!!</p>
<p>Okay, thanks. I’ll apply soon.</p>