<p>Just wondering if anyone had any opinion on the housing at Minnesota? Which one is the most fun, closest to the city, etc? Thanks!</p>
<p>I’m also interested on this, anyone has info?
Is it also suggested to make the 25$ deposit even before confirming acceptance?</p>
<p>If you wait to send in the $25 you might not get housing or get housing in St. Paul when all your classes are in Mpls. If you search this forum you will find many threads discussing housing options. If you are in honors a large percentage of honors students live in Middlebrook. A little time spent on the U’s housing website would be most instructive also.</p>
<p>live in a superblock, there are more people to meet and it’s easier. or a all freshmen dorm, which is a couple of the superblocks i think</p>
<p>actually it’s already quite late to send in the $25
and super block is better than middlebrook considering the location.</p>
<p>Here’s my analysis of University Housing (I currently live in it)</p>
<p>Superblock: (this includes Centennial, Frontier, Pioneer, and Territorial) If you want to make friends, be in on the parties, and have a closer community, pick one of these dorms. As a freshman, I would definitely try to be in a freshman only dorm, which will be either Pioneer or Territorial. They may be cramped and loud, but the fact that everyone in the building is a freshman gives it more of a close community feeling, and my friends that live there now love it and have met so many more people and made more friends than I have in my dorm. Pioneer and Centennial are good too. Can be just as cramped as Territorial and Frontier, but they’re still nice. You end up meeting alot of freshman who are walking around the superblock and older kids living in Pioneer and Centennial. The dining hall in Centennial isn’t too awful, but not a lot of choices. The only major downer (for me at least) is that superblock is a little farther from most of the classes and Northrop Mall so you may have to walk a little more (and in the winter weather, it blows), but on the other hand, you’re literally A BLOCK away from stadium village (full of restaurants) and 2 blocks from the stadium. It’s pretty nice. Just be careful at night. Plus, superblock is always doing fun stuff, and the people are always trying to put together a party or something at a friends house. Also, if you do end up in a freshman dorm, remember that you may end up having 2-3 other roommates. The U of M’s “freshman housing guarantee” causes this.</p>
<p>Yudof & University Village (aka UV): These are the most expensive university housing complexes (they’re apartments, that’s why). However, I also highly suggest yudof. If you don’t feel the urge to make tons of friends and want it quieter around your room, yudof is great. You can have your own kitchen, fridge, separate rooms within the apartment, friendly people. Its a lot of studious kids living there. Also, it is RIGHT behind coffman, so you’re close to alot of the class buildings. Plus, you’ll only be guaranteed to have one other roommate, and not be squished into a 3-4 person room (it sucks, trust me). I don’t know much about UV since I don’t personally know anyone who lives there, but I hear the apartments are really nice. They are a good distance away though (past the stadium I believe), so if you live there, leave early for classes or invest in a bike, the buses aren’t always reliable to come and get you on time.</p>
<p>Sanford & Roy Wilkins: Ahh we have now come to where I live. Sanford is probably one of the least connected buildings to campus. It sits right on the edge of 35W and at the edge of the university, so you will also do a fair share of walking, but its really not that bad. We supposedly have the best dining hall in this building, so if food location is where you’re looking at, then I guess here would be the place. It’s alot of athletes that live in this building, so it can empty out quickly. Sanford is broken up into two sections. There is the “tower” (where only freshman live) and Reno. Older kids live on the reno side, but there are a few freshman there. Also, the people don’t really interact much with each other in this dorm. It’s kind of like yudof during weekdays. However, Sanford is right across the street from a frat house, and is on University Ave (aka frat row) so come weekend nights, expect to hear countless screams and shouts of drunk college girls and frat guys, and the blaring sounds of police sirens. But if you want to party alot, then here is a good place to be. Sanford is also about 2 blocks from dinkytown where there’s some restaurants, shops, couple bars, etc. It’s pretty fun (if you have the money) so Sanford I would probably rank one of the more fun dorms. Wilkins is only for returning students, so freshman dont live in them. I hear they’re nice though.</p>
<p>Middlebrook: This is the dorm no one really wants to live in. While it has the nicest actual dorms, it is on the west bank, so you will have to trek it quite a bit back and forth across the Washington ave bridge, which will make you late if you don’t plan your time and classes right. Also, the west bank has a history of having problems with assault, armed robbery, and other crimes (especially this year. It’s probably going to get worse as time goes on). So alot of kids tell me they feel unsafe walking to Middlebrook late at night from a party or dinner or something. I wouldn’t suggest living here. But, a lot of honors kids also end up here as well so if you’re in honors, just be aware you might end up here. </p>
<p>Comstock: The forgotten hall. It’s right next to Yudof, and I believe it houses alot of honor kids (I could be wrong, but that’s where alot of my friends in the honors program live). Its kind of an “ehh” hall. Nothing really special about it, except its close to coffman again and it has the BEST dining hall (in my opinion). Its also not as super crowded as the other dorms. </p>
<p>Bailey Hall: this is on the St. Paul campus, and you do NOT want to live here unless you are in CBS or CFANS. Even though the dorm is way chill and everyone is super relaxed and nice and open, commuting from St.Paul to the Minneapolis campus is difficult. The campus connector (the bus that will take you from St. Paul to Minneapolis campuses) is frequently late and doesn’t always stop at the time it is scheduled to. Lots of times, people are late to class and miss alot of things. So try and avoid Bailey if you can, or unless most of your classes are on the St.Paul Campus. Then its not a big deal. </p>
<p>Overall, if you’re looking for safety, anyone but Middlebrook will be fine. For fun? Either Sanford or the Superblock. Quiet area? Sanford or Yudof. </p>
<p>Oh and I don’t remember when the housing deposit deadline is, but I would suggest sending it in ASAP. Once university housing fills up, they resort to putting 4 people to a room that is really only made for 2 people, so you will be cramped, have no space, and eventually be moved out because most likely, if you send in your deposit late like I did, they put you in expanded housing, which is the WORST. So send it in when you can!</p>
<p>Hope this helps!</p>
<p>^ Silly09er, The Superblock freshman only dorms are Territorial and Frontier.</p>
<p>Silly09er - Thanks for your informative post. What makes predict that crime around Middlebrook will get worse as time goes on? Also it will be very useful if you could provide links to articles that establish Middlebrook is more susceptible to crime than other dorms. Thanks.</p>
<p>D lives in Middlebrook and has never said a word about crime. If you are in honors then the push will be on to get you to live in Middlebrook. Middlebrook is also convenient to west bank classes which include the business school, social sciences and the arts. It is not an especially party hearty place, however, from what she reports.</p>
<p>Here’s a rundown from my experiences with the dorms:</p>
<p>Territorial and Frontier: Ideal places to live if you’re a Freshman. Very social (T-Hall more so) and great for meeting other Freshmen. T-Hall is also very party focused as well as some of Frontier. I live in T-Hall and don’t know as much about Frontier, but normally Frontier is more for the “chiller” kids.</p>
<p>Pioneer and Centennial: Good because they’re in the Superblock and have their own dining halls. Pio usually gets leftover Freshman living in it and is mildly hard to be social in because of strange hallway configurations, but normally has some partiers. Centen. is quieter. I have a few friends who live there and hate the anti-socialness compared to when they come to T-Hall.</p>
<p>Comstock: Similar to Centennial. Kind of forgotten hall (as stated above) with a nice view of the Mississippi River gorge. I would suggest only to Sophomores and up.</p>
<p>Yudolf/Roy Wilkins/University Village: All apartments in various locations around campus. Normally have a large amount of athletes. Like Comstock I would only suggest to Sophomores and up.</p>
<p>Sanford: Best dorm food on campus. Nice dorms with cool views of the skyline. Kind of out on its own. If you’re a Freshman it’s an OK option.</p>
<p>Bailey: Who knows. It’s in St. Paul. You like farms, go there?</p>
<p>Middlebrook: If you’re a quieter/quirky/artsy/honors kid check out Middlebrook. It’s full of “artsy” kids, international students, and honors kids. If you’re a more mainstream, outgoing kid don’t choose Middlebrook just because of “location.”</p>
<p>Hope this helps!</p>
<p>Also, none of these dorms will regularly see crime at all. I would not put that into a decision for attending this school or specific dorm at all.</p>
<p>I think my D would like Middlebrook. She isn’t a party-er. She likes artsy people although she isn’t that artsy herself. She does like to have fun and would be interested in the Big 10 sports scene. Would she feel left out of that if she was at Middlebrook? Also, how inconvenient is the location? I thought most of the general Freshman classes are on the other bank. Would most Middlebrook students walk to class or take the bus? How much time would it take?</p>
<p>If she decides on the super block area, it sounds like she would like Frontier more than T-Hall. If she is social but not a party-er, would she be happier at one of the non-Freshman only halls? </p>
<p>Thank you for your help.</p>
<p>I listed my housing preferences this way:
-Territorial
-Middlebrook
-Frontier</p>
<p>Territorial was top choice because of it’s superblock/all-freshman status, along it’s Carlson LLC (Living Learning Community) from which I would greatly benefit since I’m in Carlson Management.</p>
<p>Middlebrook was second because I might have a chance of ending up in honors and since Middlebrook has the Honors LLC, it probably offers many opportunities to take full advantage of Honors status. Besides, the quiet environment and culture (the International students LLC is also located here) are appealing. Carlson Management is also located in the West Bank so the distance would be actually a benefit to me for this hall.</p>
<p>Finally, Frontier because it’s also an all-freshman hall just like Territorial. Simply chose Territorial over it because of the Carlson LLC.</p>
<p>The rest was just randomed.</p>
<p>I recommend visiting this website and reading about each hall:
[University</a> of Minnesota Housing & Residential Life - Halls and Apartments](<a href=“http://www.housing.umn.edu/halls/index.html]University”>http://www.housing.umn.edu/halls/index.html)</p>
<p>I recommend reading about the Living Learning Communities and where they are located to have an idea of the POSSIBLE environment in each hall.</p>
<p>Actually, the reason that Middlebrook is so dangerous is due to its close proximity to the largest housing projects concentration in Minneapolis. The Cederview Plaza area is known as the “Crack Stacks”, and you can do a google image search on that, and it will come up as the first option. Great, huh? And that’s literally right next to the West Bank. The neighborhood, Cederview-Riverside has always been a rather “diverse” neighborhood. It used to be the heart of Scandinavian America, but it’s now known as “Little Mogadishu” or “Little Somalia”, due to the LARGE increase of North-East African immigrants. The Twin Cities, specifically this area, has the largest concentration of Somalis in North America. The unprovoked shooting on campus just a few weeks back is generally attributed to Somali teens living in the Crack Stacks. </p>
<p>But that’s exactly why there is so much crime on the West Bank. You wouldn’t really be able to avoid it if you were coming back at night, because that’s generally when things occur. </p>
<p>The arts quarter is right there, though. And there is another private school right next to the U, so the neighborhood is quite variable. I personally didn’t want to be in Middlebrook because of all the arts majors and honors students who have their egos wrapped too firmly around themselves to actually form any kind of meaningful relationships with anyone.</p>
<p>The Superblocks are generally the same. There are a massive amount of people, so you’ll always see people coming and going. Pioneer is the oldest hall, and doesn’t have air conditioning. Territorial and Frontier are freshman only, and you’ll have to room with someone. This is how the U guarantees freshmen housing. Centennial is my favorite of the superblocks. I like the courtyard in the back, and how it’s setup. Centennial has mostly singles, though. So the likelihood of you rooming with someone is low. But this forces people to reach out and make connections with the people around them. You generally don’t hang out with people in your classes. You hang out with the people you live next to, the people in your frat/sorority, and the people in your academic clubs, in that order. So for first years, Centennial can be great, but you probably won’t get a room mate. </p>
<p>Standford hall is out by Dinkytown, and feels off-campus. It’s quite nice, and it has a video tour up, so check it out of the housing site.</p>
<p>Comstock is personally where I’d live if I lived in the dorms. The learning communities are quite liberal, though. So keep that in mind. It’s right next to the art museum, and is one of the closest dorms to the mall. It’s right outside the Union, which has more than you’d ever want to keep entertained. The rooms are mixed between singles and doubles, so you’ll probably get what you want. </p>
<p>The apartments offered through the U, like University Village and Yudof, aren’t as great as some of the “off-campus” housing options. You get more from the off-campus complexes, and the rooms are much nicer. Try The District on Delware (my choice, really upscale next to the stadium. Great rooms.), University Commons, 1301 University (in Dinky town, but actually closer than Stanford 
), Keeler Apartments (THE CLOSET HOUSING YOU CAN FIND. Across the street from the Armory), Dinnaken House (in Stadium Village).</p>
<p>I’d avoid any of the apartments in the heart of Dinkytown. There’s also a housing project there, and the neighborhood is subject to student riots around Spring Jam and if we win the NCAA Hockey championships. A lot of the Greek life is in Dinkytown along 5th Street and 12th avenues. But still, Dinkytown is in the city. Not the campus. It’s not the best to walk home at night.</p>
<p>The apartments are probably a better bet, but they’re only better if you know some people to room with. If you’re a first-year, and don’t know anyone, I’d go with any of the dorms. They’re all different, and you just have to decide what suits you.</p>
<p>Also. You’ll have to call the majority of the apartments to see what amenities are included, and
what the monthly lease is, along with what lease terms are available. Most force you to use a 12 month, and if you don’t live there over the summer, you’re essentially paying for 3 months of non-use. They do sub-letting, but that doesn’t really factor in, because you probably won’t find someone to take up your lease for those 3 months. District on Delaware is currently offering 9 month leases. University Commons does too. All the others that I talked to do 12, but you should give them a check. </p>
<p>Remember that there are almost nothing but students in the apartments, so it’s comparable to a dorm environment. You’ll still meet people, but there won’t be as strong an emphasis on it. </p>
<p>I personally would go for Stanford, Comstock, or Centennial if I lived in the dorms, but you might like Frontier or Territorial.</p>
<p>As a current freshman living in Middlebrook, I would like to say that some of the opinions listed about my hall are quite unfounded. Saying that the honors and arts students “have their egos wrapped too firmly around themselves to actually form any kind of meaningful relationships with anyone” is downright false. Most honors students (myself included) actually love getting to know people and making new friends. However, be aware that if you live in Middlebrook, most of your friends will live in Middlebrook as well - it’s hard to meet people from other dorms unless you really put yourself out there, simply because of the distance. I think Middlebrook has a great combination of studying and fun, but it definitely is more quiet than some of the other dorms. On the plus side, I’ve never heard of people throwing up in the Middlebrook hallways - not true for some of the other dorms…</p>
<p>As far as safety goes, saying Middlebrook is more dangerous than superblock is like saying a wet noodle is more dangerous than a marshmallow - neither one of them is dangerous (it might be a little easier to choke on the noodle I suppose, but you’re a big college kid now; you can handle it). Living next to “Little Mogadishu” is actually really cool. It is, quite possibly, one of the most unique neighborhoods in all of the U.S. Living so close to the “Crack Stacks” might give people the wrong impression, but you don’t need to get close to Riverside Plaza (its true name) unless you want to. Heck, you don’t even need to venture off the U of M campus on the West Bank if you don’t want to, but living here has given me a very special chance to experience different cultures and ways of life. It might be worth noting that although no one knows for sure who committed the unprovoked shooting on Jan. 25, the fact remains that it happened in front of Centennial Hall on East Bank, not Middlebrook. Serious crime on West Bank, when it happens, usually happens off campus in areas where college students don’t normally go. </p>
<p>Transportation from Middlebrook to class: it can be a pain, no doubt about it. I usually leave 20 minutes before my classes on East Bank and either walk or take the bus, depending on my mood. Most of my friends walk to class though. In the warmer months, riding a bike can make a huge difference - I’ve personally gotten to class in 5 minutes from Middlebrook by bike, but it’s not guaranteed because the bridge can get pretty crowded at times. Also, walking over the bridge in the morning or at sundown can be extremely pretty, if you’re into that sort of thing (I might also add that I LOVE the view from my dorm window of the river, and I’m not even an arts student!). Finally, Middlebrook is within walking distance (if you really like walking) of downtown Minneapolis. It’s almost a moot point though, since most people just take the bus during the winter. </p>
<p>Sorry if I don’t have anything much to say about the other dorms, but really, all of them are pretty good. I just wanted to make sure no one gets the impression that Middlebrook is full of boring people and located in the middle of a war zone or something. Definitely go for one of the dorms if it’s your first year though, not an apartment. You’ll meet more people.</p>
<p>Do you guys remember when you hear back after you fill out your preferences and pay the deposit? I know you don’t get your assignment until July but is there a notification sometime between then and now? I got a confirmation that my application was recieved a few days after I sent it, but that isn’t a guarentee of anything. Also, I have not made up my mind if I’m attending or not, so I haven’t paid the enrollment fee, if that even effects anything.</p>
<p>@fishnschool: My Bad, you’re right. Freshman only dorms are Frontier and Territorial. I guess I wasn’t paying very much attention when I wrote that lol.</p>
<p>@southernalps91: I should have clarified that this was a quote from a security guard I was walking with. He told me that crime NEAR the west bank has risen over the past few years, and that he thought it was most likely it would keep going up. Didn’t say why though. As for articles, I don’t have any because most of the crimes I hear about are either through the University police alert emails (you could try going on the UMPD website. They usually have updates about these crimes.) or through word of mouth from friends of mine. Sorry!</p>
<p>And in general, I think Middlebrook kind of gets a bad rap. I personally don’t think it’s that bad at all, I just don’t like it because its too far away from my classes and is kind of far to walk back and forth from. I have walked to Middlebrook with friends and felt a little nervous at times, but I never feel totally threatened or anything. I said Middlebrook can be dangerous because of the nearby surrounding area, which is where most of the crime happens. I’m not saying it’s compton or anything, but just use common sense and youll probably be fine.</p>
<p>And I agree with jotajota218 that dont factor the crime into where you wanna live. Most of the things I typed are the opinions of others I have talked to. Crime is on every campus across the nation, so it doesnt really matter where you go. If you choose Middlebrook, it’s not like you’re gunna get shot right outside the door or anything. Just look at what other people wrote, check out the website, and decide whats best for you, and I’m sure it will be fine!
Hope all goes well!</p>
<p>
Yeah, that only happens at Centen.
…</p>
<p>But yeah, Middlebrook is great. I think if it was in the East Bank, I would totally live there. I’m currently in Sanford and though the food is fantastic, it’s still far. The walk is nice, though.</p>
<p>If I pay the $25 in late December-early January, will I mostly likely get one of my first choices? (those being Territorial or Frontier)</p>