<p>Hi - my daughter will be a freshman in the fall and when we visited - she was blown away by the posh amenities in the Towers. I have never heard of " private dorms" before this. Am I crazy, or is this not how dorm life should be - anyone?</p>
<p>this is the political cafe. Restart your question in a thread in the college section if you want to get an answer, quicker!</p>
<p>Actually this is the parents forum. Yes UW has long had private dorms as do some other schools (Texas, Illinois etc). The newest private dorm at UW is the Lucky 101 and is supposed to blow away the Towers. (Oops, I see they moved this post over–nevermind).</p>
<p>[Lucky</a> Apartments: 777 University Avenue : UW Madison Campus](<a href=“http://www.liveatlucky.com/see_inside.php]Lucky”>http://www.liveatlucky.com/see_inside.php)</p>
<p>We know a family whose son goes to UW, and I was about to say that he was glad he DIDN’T choose a private dorm (at least until I clicked on the link above-- Holy Cow).</p>
<p>Anyway, he loves living in the regular dorms, and loves UW. It’s also worked out well because it’s a long distance from home (Long Island), and since he can’t travel home for all the breaks, he has many WI friends who invite him to join them. His mother said at this point he doesn’t even want to come home anymore.</p>
<p>After living in these dorms, post-college living arrangements might have a tough time competing!</p>
<p>I don’t have a problem with posh dorms per se; but if I were the parent of a freshman, I’d want to research what the population is like in the private dorms you’re considering. Your freshman dorm-mates are one of the great variables determining the course of a college student’s career. A dorm may attract a cross-section of students, or a narrow slice of the population. If you want a cross-section, narrowness can be a big problem.</p>
<p>One of my good friends lived in the private Illini Tower at UIUC (nicknamed “Israeli Tower” by its many Jewish residents). She found the population there very homogeneous, suburban, etc. Ironically, she lived with a greater mix of people after moving to a sorority! Despite the nice amenities, she wishes she’d lived in a regular dorm with more types of people, where she would probably have had better luck finding close friends.</p>
<p>Note: my friend graduated more than 10 years ago; I have no idea whether Illini Towers might be totally different today.</p>
<p>They really look nice!
How does the pricing compare to on-campus options?</p>
<p>Nice apartments!!!</p>
<p>Here’s a direct link to the actual dorm section of the Lucky and other privates. The Towers dorm at UW was known locally as the Jerusalem Hilton due to the heavy Jewish population and posh reputation… It’s most infamous resident was one Laurie Dann.</p>
<p>Pricing is more than the most expensive campus dorms but similar to public dorms at many other schools.</p>
<p>[Lucky101</a> | Campus Connect | Student Housing at UW-Madison](<a href=“http://www.sba-campusconnect.com/lucky101.php]Lucky101”>http://www.sba-campusconnect.com/lucky101.php)</p>
<p>The Lucky apartments are gorgeous – aptly named!</p>
<p>I heard that UW students from the East coast as well as from the West coast are known as “Coasties” and tend to congregate in the same dorms.</p>
<p>Even in my day, decades ago, the private dorms were an accepted part of UW student life. I lived in public dorms at the far end of campus freshman year and in the Soviet-bloc-style ugly Sellery/Witte/Ogg complex sophomore year. A lot of my friends were in the private dorms, including the Towers. If you can afford it I see no problem with it–it is certainly one totally legitimate aspect of dorm living as dorm living is defined in Madison. (I lived in an apartment on Langdon Street junior year and think it’s a great location.)</p>
<p>Yes, it’s been that way at UW for many decades. I see no particular harm or benefit from living in private housing except the privates can be nicer if you have the $$$$. Most kids are out of the dorms and into apts/houses in one year anyway.</p>