<p>I haven't gotten my housing application in the mail yet but I'm planning to pick among the following: </p>
<p>MC: Academic Excellence or Wellness Halls</p>
<p>A question to current students: Do these halls really make a difference? Does the hall administrators get serious about these themes?</p>
<p>I have a slight urge to go to Middle Earth because of the UROP, Academic and Career Options, Health and Safety Strategies, and Intellectual Competence halls. Mostly the UROP hall, but I thought freshman aren't able to do research. Sounds interesting though.</p>
<p>Recently, I was surprised to find out the math teacher in my Academy program went to UCI and majored in EE! She said a lot of my classes will most likely be in math, physics, and engineering first year. Should I reconsider Middle Earth? Her and I are late often ^^.</p>
<p>Mesa is more of the party dorms. Middle is more of the Computer Science people, less drinking/smoking.</p>
<p>It really depends on what you want i guess. I lived in mesa, and altho the food sucks at Mesa Commons, you can just walk to the Middle Earth eatery. </p>
<p>In terms of meeting social people, Mesa is the way to go. As a former mesa resident, the view of middle earth people was that they were a little... weird.</p>
<p>to the EE major... yes, your classes will only be phyiscs math, and intro engineering classes for your first two years. I've been here two years, and have only taken writing 37, 39c and anthro 2a, other than that, its been all MAE classes, Math, Chem, and Physics. Have fun in Chem 1a. they fail around half the class, as it's the "cutting the fat" class for math, phyiscs, engineering, and bio-sci students.</p>
<p>in my opinion, Mesa, but that's because I am a social person. If you are the stereotypical engineering student, by all means, you'd prolly fit in better w/ the middle earth crowd. </p>
<p>I do not find myself to be the most studious engineering student, altho, as you get to college, you'll realize that many people get A's and B's just fine w/o attending class and studying 24/7. </p>
<p>I assume you're asking which would be better to live in to suit your studying needs. My opinion is that housing and studying have nothing to do with eachother. If you're gonna study, do it at the library. Science library is incredibly nice, and it's open till midnight i believe. Then there is gateway, which is kinda crappy of a facility, but it's a study enviroment and open till 2am, and 24hrs durring 5th week and finals week. </p>
<p>Don't be so alarmed with all the statistics they told you. I feel like with engineering school, you're either doing it bc 1)you think it sounds cool/pay 2) your parents wnat you to do it 3)you really want to do it. The first two of these profiles tend to get funnled out in the first 2 years. As long as you're the 3rd, i wouldn't worry too much. Just get past g-chem, and you're solid. (btw, i didn't find g-chem hard at all, getting a b in hs chem, non-ap).</p>
<p>Knowing that ME is closer to many buildings on campus, learning that ME is less of a party dorm is surprising. Given the location of MC, I'd think people wouldn't want to walk over there to do much...unless you are trying to escape faculty to party.</p>
<p>Does ME still get social? Is it comfortable/calm at ME? Is it noticeably less spacious?</p>
<p>Just to let you know, I want to major in engineering =]. The weeding process will need to try hard to cut me off.</p>
<p>You can't go to the ME gym unless you're in ME. But it's a ghetto gym anyway, just go to the ARC. And yes you can go to any of the dining commons no matter where you dorm.</p>
<p>Bringing up this thread again for those who've attended this past half year (jas0n)...</p>
<p>What has been your experiences in each of these seperate dorms? Are the stereotypes of ME's being more anti social true? Is MC really more social? Are the differences really as pronounced as they say?</p>
<p>The conclusion is as follows: dorms are dorms. All those stereotypes are bull. The only thing you should be worrying about is the location and the physical qualities of the dorms. The "social" level of a dorm depends on many things. First, it's the inhabitants and the RA. If you have people that you mesh with, you're good to go. If you have a loose RA, you're good to go. From my friend's experiences (formerly my suitemate, now an RA), Middle Earth's "programs" (fun activities the leadership council puts together) is structured in a way where you will feel more connected with your hallmates or other halls in middle earth. However, it may or may not benefit you. It's all a game of luck. So, in the end, I strongly recommend you think of location and facilities since those are concrete.</p>
<p>Oh...and zomg the madness! This thread is too old! I SEE MY POSTS FROM TWO YEARS AGO.</p>
<p>I see.
I've been carefully weighing the concrete factors as you said, and I've come to a stalemate. Mesa Court by far has the better facilities and layout, but Middle Earth has by far the better location and food. </p>
<p>All concrete factors considered, both options seem about equal. That's why I've been looking for anything else that might make the decision easier. </p>
<p>I guess I'll have to visit again and really see which one feels right. Thanks for the advice!</p>
<p>Pippin is about the same as mesa court commons. And since you go to class anyways, you can eat lunch at brandywine a lot (thats what i do at least).</p>
<p>Mesa Court seems larger and spread out, but it's farther away from the campus unless you're an art/drama major. For physical science majors, prepare for a long walk or an uphill biking experience (the farthest school away from Mesa Court).</p>
<p>As for the social aspect of Mesa Court, that would depend which dorm you're in. My dorm has somewhat split into two groups of people, with some inbetween: between the people of the 3rd floor/1st floor (1st half) and the people of the 2nd/1st floor (2nd half), but I know this isn't so for other dorms.</p>
<p>I can't speak for social activity of the dorms, I'm the guy that actually loves to study on weekends and drop all social interactions for upcoming exams. Probably the only social activity for me is going out to the home games to cheer on our team.</p>