<p>I was accepted to the University of Wisconsin on November 1st and plan on accepting my offer of admission very soon. I have already been emailed about housing and I thought that it wouldn't hurt to start thinking about it now. So, that's why I came here so I could hear the opinions of other accepted (or even prospective) Badgers!</p>
<p>I am so torn between the two neighborhoods. I don't want to be in a total party dorm, but I also don't want to be in a dorm where everyone is socially awkward and just studies all the time. School is very important to me, so I want to be able to study in my room and have it quiet, but not so boring all the time. I hope what I'm saying kind of makes sense, and here are my top choices so far:</p>
<p>Southeast: Chadbourne (maybe Sellery, I've heard it's not as bad as Witte)
Lakeshore: Elizabeth Waters, Dejope, Slitcher (maybe Kronshage?)</p>
<p>To be honest, I think Liz Waters and Chadbourne are my top choices, but I'd love anyone's input on the situation. Thank you!</p>
<p>I agree! At first I was all about Dejope, but since I’ll probably major in computer science or something similar, I won’t be near Lakeshore at all. Plus, being so close to the Kohl Center and Camp Randall is so important to me.</p>
<p>Please note dorm spellings- Slichter. Don’t worry about any dorm’s reputation- all will have many types of people living in them. Look at the many factors and prioritize your list. Also note that you will be able to change your rankings next spring. You may have classes all over campus and there is no guarantee your class section will be in its departmental building. Be prepared for not getting your first choice, especially if it is a popular one. Think about the style of building- highrise or low, age- new versus old (all buildings are kept up with similar amenities, it is an architectural decision), nearness of trees and the lakeshore vs big city outside your door, any of the residential learning communities… There is no one answer. UW is lucky to have such a huge variety of living spaces. Plus, you can eat at any dining facility. You might want to check past years’ threads for previous discussions.</p>
<p>SaraCo – read up on Barnard on UW housing site as well as search the posts here for info. </p>
<p>As a parent whose kid toured Chad at an admitted students day, I thought we heard that upper class students tend to get Barnard as it has more singles and that there were fewer freshman in Barnard. </p>
<p>As your final housing ranking it not due until next spring, and housing assignments are not based on date of housing app (as long as you are on time and not late with your app), it is fun to think about but does not have to be resolved now.</p>
<p>Note: Barnard does not have air conditioning and most rooms are ‘singles’ (higher cost). If you want the Chadbourne/Barnard Learning Community - you may want to pick a room in Chadbourne over Barnard for more comfort and lower cost.</p>
<p>Do not worry about which dorm is “top”. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Each year the dorm population changes as new students come in and older ones leave for apartments. All dorms will have at least 50% freshmen but the “top” dorms may have more returning students who claim the best rooms. There is a reason some floors in Liz are dominated by freshmen while others by returning students. Liz is not a highrise but the elevator will not get you horizontally from point A to B- and you will need to use stairs. Look at the lists of amenities on the Res Halls website. You can see different aspects by looking at lofting guides and with a birdseye Google maps view.</p>
<p>All of the dorms are maintained and food service is the same- except you may choose to be closer to a snack bar or dining hall for your late night or breakfast convenience- if that matters to you. Some prefer the lakeshore setting and others the highrise city outside your door atmosphere. Then there is new or old architecture and different room layouts. Cost matters as well. Count on walking no matter where you live. There will be people like you no matter which dorm you choose- after all most of them made the same rankings for the May dorm assignment lottery.</p>
<p>In the Lakeshore area; DeJope (2012) and Leopold (2013) are new dorms, and Bradley (older building) is a freshman learning community; which make these popular.</p>
<p>I would definitely recommend Chadbourne. I’m a freshman living there now, and it has the perfect mix of sociability and studying, plus no dorm has a more convenient location. And there’s air conditioning - a lifesaver in the first few weeks of school. Paying a bit extra for the learning community has been worth it because there are so many events that we get to be a part of because of it.</p>
<p>As far as I know, Barnard is nearly all upperclassmen living in single rooms. I would NOT recommend it for a freshman, as the social element there is basically nonexistent. Trust me, you want to make a lot of freshman friends, and the best way to do that is to live near as many of them as possible. Again, Chad is a good place for this.</p>
<p>I don’t know much about Lakeshore, except that it’s very far from everything (unless you’re going to be spending a lot of time in the engineering or ag buildings). Dejope has nice rooms and a good dining hall, but you pay extra to live there and have a 15-20 minute walk to many classes. I have a friend who lives there, and she says it’s basically all athletes and upperclassmen. Just like Barnard, you miss out on a lot of socializing there.</p>
<p>There is no difference between Sellery and Witte. In both you will find the same party-crazy people.</p>
<p>That’s just my two cents. Let me know if y’all have any other questions!</p>
<p>I’m in the same situation. I want a good balance, and I’ve been thinking about it a lot. I’ve heard the same things, so Chadbourne and Liz are at the top of my list. I don’t like how far a lot of the other Lakeshore ones are from campus. I’m hoping that an admitted students tour in the spring will be helpful.</p>
<p>If you want Chadbourne, you may need to decide before a spring admitted student tour, before it fills up with Learning Community people who ranked it first and were given permission through ‘rooms online’ to choose their exact room in Chad.</p>
<p>Here is some more information on how advance room selection works for Learning Community residents:</p>
<p>ALL of the Lakeshore dorms are ON campus. Some of the Southeast dorms are on the fringe of the campus- far from some parts. The Lakeshore is a nice place to live, good place to decompress from the busy parts of campus. There are pros and cons to each dorm.</p>