Housing Questions? (Hume, North Hall, and more!)

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Florida
1

<p>I know it's kind of early, but I'm starting to think about what dorm I'll want to live in. My top two choices as of right now are Hume (the honors dorm, assuming I get accepted into the program) and North Hall (the pre-med dorm), but I'll consider others.</p>

<p>I'm a girl, I'm entering in fall, and I'm a pre-med student. I have the scores and awards for honors so it's just a matter of getting into the program at this point.</p>

<p>HUME</p>

<p>Hume is roughly $2,000 more for the year than the other dorms, but my family is willing to pay it since it'd mean having the benefits of living in the honors dorm (and, also, I can use scholarship money to mitigate the cost a bit... hopefully, lol). </p>

<p>It's the newest dorm, so it'd probably have less bug problems (a big deal for me) and be somewhat cleaner than some of the others. There's other honors students there that I could study with, and also the honors residential college, which "assists honors students in their college transition" and has programs that "promote involvement in leadership opportunities, community service, study abroad, undergraduate research, and internships." (from the UF website) </p>

<p>I'd be spending a lot of time there anyway as an honors student, there's plenty of honors advisors on-hand to help out with studying and research, and I've heard lots of group activities are planned so that'd make it easier to get to know people. Hume's somewhat farther from central campus than a lot of other dorms, but they have buses that stop right in front of the dorms to take you where you want to go (though a con is that you'd have to wait for/rely on these buses).</p>

<p>Also, I like the idea of only sharing a bathroom with three other people, and having it essentially in your room instead of down the hall. The only cons with this would be a. if someone's using the toilet or shower, none of the other three people could use it (unlike in a communal bathroom with multiple showers/toilets), and b. I've heard people tend to make more friends in the communal bathrooms (awkward as that may sound lol) since they're shared by like 40-50 students.</p>

<p>I feel like Hume would have less "partiers" than some other UF dorms. I like being social and I like the idea of partying once in a while, but I don't want a roommate that, like, stumbles in drunk every night lol. Hume would also probably be less loud at night so it'd be easier to study/sleep there. I'd probably be surrounded by like-minded people since honors tends to attract the most academically-focused students. Not that UF students aren't academically focused in general, but Hume students would be less likely to sacrifice their studies for parties. They know what comes first.</p>

<p>Oh, and Hume has walk-in closets. Nice. And sinks are in the rooms so I wouldn't have to carry my toothbrush across the hall lol.</p>

<p>NORTH</p>

<p>North is mostly pre-meds and similar things (pre-pharmacy, pre-vet, etc.) so, like Hume, it'd have like-minded, studious people, as well as academic advising and such. They have "study buddies, exam review sessions, and on-site tutoring" available (from the UF website). It's a little closer to central campus than Hume, and less expensive. It's co-ed by floor, which I like (Hume is co-ed by suite which I also like), whereas some dorms may have mixed-gendered floors (and especially if you have mixed-gendered floors + communal bathrooms = me no likey). </p>

<p>"Residents can develop the academic skills needed to succeed as a student and as a future medical professional." (from the UF website)</p>

<p>It's not too far away from Hume, so even if I'm in the honors program I could probably walk over to Hume if I need assistance with academic things.</p>

<p>A con could be the bunk bed setup... I don't mind sleeping on the bottom bunk, but I wouldn't want to sleep on the top bunk, and really I'd prefer just having normal beds altogether lol but bottom bunk's something I could live with.</p>

<p>North has communal bathrooms, which might be annoying, but the pictures on UF's website show that there are mirrors in the rooms at least. It'd mean carrying all of my bathroom/shower stuff over every time I need to take a shower or brush my teeth, though.</p>

<p>I don't know anyone that lives/has lived in North, and I feel like it's less popular than a lot of dorms, so I don't have much info on it aside from what UF gives.</p>

<p>OTHER DORMS</p>

<p>I know that Broward, Jennings, and Rawlings are SUPER popular for freshies. But they might be kind of loud at times, they all have communal bathrooms (unlike Hume), and they're older. They're closer to central campus, which is a plus. I've eaten in the dining hall near Broward before on a visit to UF, and I liked it (forget what it's called, it's the one next to where Burger King used to be, I think "Fresh Foods" or something?). These dorms are a hodgepodge of people with different majors, interests, and priorities, which is a pro since the diversity would be interesting but a con because it could mean more conflicts between roommates/floors/etc. due to disruptions and such.</p>

<p>I've heard that those three dorms are very social, which I like, at least in concept. </p>

2

<p>It is never to early to start looking at housing at UF! The application process can be really overwhelming, so it is awesome that you are getting on top of it. I was looking at dorms at this time last year, and ended up in a really great dorm.
If your parents are willing to pay the extra, I would definitely recommend Hume. It is a lot newer and nicer than the other dorms. I didn’t realize how big of a pain it would be to not have a sink in my room until I got there. It gets really annoying after a while to always have to walk down to the bathroom to brush my teeth or get water. Plus the closets in other dorms are teeny tiny and you would have much more space in Hume. I don’t think it would be a problem to share a bathroom with 3 instead of 50 as far as meeting people. If you want to meet people on your floor, you would probably meet them when you’re hanging out in the lounge, which Hume does have. I’ve heard so many of the tour guides at different schools try to tell students that you’ll meet more people living in a communal-style dorm, to try to get students to be more enthusiastic about living in them. Really, you’ll meet friends by getting involved in different activities on campus. Other than your roommate, you probably won’t meet your best friends in your dorm.
As far as bunk beds in North Hall, I would think that you can choose to un-bunk the beds. In all the other dorms I’ve seen you can choose to keep your beds separate or bunk them. I’ve never been in North, so I can’t say that for sure though. North would be a lot older than Hume and personally I would recommend Hume.
If you want a dorm without a lot of partiers, I would avoid Broward and Rawlings at all costs. And same for Jennings, but it’s probably not as bad. I think Mallory, Reid, and Yulee would be the best dorms that are close to classes. There are also Sleed, Murphree, and Fletcher which aren’t too bad. They would probably be a little more social than Hume, but not as bad as Broward/Rawlings. They would also be cheaper, but older.
I wouldn’t worry about being close to a dining hall. They charge so much for a meal plan and the food can be really bad and you will very likely get tired of it by the end of the semester. It is a lot easier to just buy groceries or eat at different places on campus. And then if you decide you would rather have a meal plan, you can always get one later on. </p>