<p>Is housing difficult to secure at Iowa? Should we plan to put our deposit in now even though my daughter is still undecided on which school to attend? She has been accepted into the honors program but has not decided for sure if she will participate until we've had a chance to visit. If we do submit a deposit now, can someone please offer insight as to which dorm might be the best choice for her? She's a good student but very social. Also plans to rush and is very involved in school sponsored events. She plans to major in business and has been accepted into the business program. Thanks!</p>
<p>You definitely want to apply for housing asap as her position in the queue will determine her chances of getting her first choice. Wait too long and she’ll either have fewer choices or wind up in one of the dreaded “temporary living” arrangements.</p>
<p>My recommendation would be that she seek out one of the honors dorms or LLCs as this will surround her right off the bat with kids who are similarly bright and motivated. From our experience with my son a few years back I can say that while some kids in the honors dorms are extremely studious to the point of being anti-social, the majority are very mainstream and fun-loving. It makes for a good group to study with as well as socialize with.</p>
<p>Do you know the names of the ones you are referring to? I haven’t opened up the housing app so I’m not sure if this will be a question, but just want to be prepared to put down first second and third choices. Thanks so much!</p>
<p>Her honors dorm option would be Daum which is not a new dorm but is centrally located and adjacent to the Blank Honors Center (which houses the honors program, its advisors and other cool resources like lounges and computer labs just for honors students). </p>
<p>If she’s a business student the logical LLC choice apart from the honors dorm would be BizHawks, the LLC for business students. It exists in 4 different dorms and is explained in detail here: <a href=“http://housing.uiowa.edu/living-learning-communities/bizhawks”>http://housing.uiowa.edu/living-learning-communities/bizhawks</a>. Of these I recommend Currier as it is on the side of the river where she’d have 90% of her classes. Hillcrest and Quadrangle are on the other side, and Mayflower is completely separated from the rest of campus for reasons which I cannot imagine.</p>
<p>Note that this LLC not only places students on the same floor in a given dorm but it also can enroll them together in a number of first-year courses, which is a huge help in making a big school like Iowa manageable for a freshman. Even if she has two classes in common with a handful of other students (who live on her floor) it is a huge leap towards her feeling comfortable and happy on campus. </p>
<p>As a parent like yourself I strongly recommend you look at these options. The value of hearing your kid tell you, on about Oct 1 of their freshman year, that they are having a great time and have a group of friends whom they also study with is about $1 million. On the other hand, hearing them crying that they are lonely and don’t know anyone is devastating, and at that point there will only so much you can do to help them facilitate change. Additionally, the LLC would provide a nice balance to Greek life.</p>