Has anyone had experience with the Lucky Dorms or the Lucky apartments in Madison? Are they worth it for freshmen?
Worth it in what sense? Parent of OOS UW junior here, who lived in Sellery/Witte. My kid wanted the busy party central life of Sellery/Witte, and made great group of friends that first year on his hall. When it was time to look for sophomore year housing (sooner than you think), he mentioned that he would not consider Lucky or Statesider or other private dorms, as they had the reputation of being “snobby.” He said it was an attitude rather than a question of where those students were from.
If a kid wants to be in southeast, and puts Sellery and Witte as their first and second choices – that covers 2000 spots – chances are awfully good the student will get one of those dorms.
I had heard that it was a little more quiet out of the dorms and just as friendly. I think the dorms have RAs too. Just wondering if the atmosphere is less social and isolated as compared to the UW dorms.
btw-at UW RA’s are called housefellows and dorms are divided into houses. Some houses are a single floor, others are two or more- eg Liz Waters, Adams and Tripp, and some entire buildings- Kronshage. All are around 60-70 residents so the number of floors is dependent on the number of residents per floor.
Consider the cost of food. Anyone can eat in Res Halls facilities but dorm residents get a 60% (?) discount since part of the dorm fee includes money for that. Think about where the student will eat. Will s/he need to grocery shop and cook? There are places to get groceries close by and anyone can eat in Res Halls. Res Halls has a ZERO dollar food requirement- students put money into a food account as they need to for the discount.
Do you want the extra luxury? Res Halls maintains its dorms and most do not object to sharing a room. Dorm life is a unique part of the college experience. Res Halls fills every year.
I’d go with Chadbourne over Lucky.
Thanks for the replies. I guess we have more research to do.
Chad is excellent all around choice.
I personally do not like Chad- it is a high rise on a busy corner. There are many different dorm styles and locations to suit many different preferences. Remember that it is the student, not the parent, who will be living in Madison. Your future UW student is perfectly capable of figuring out what matters to him/her and doing his/her own research. Your job is to be supportive and give advice if asked. Otherwise it is nice to check the rankings chosen to be sure a dorm that should be at the bottom of the list slips into a high position. Usually students prefer Lakeshore or Southeast and will rank only dorms in one area or the other highest.