Private/Public dorms? Which are you choosing?

<p>Hey guys so the contract is due 2/2. I'm still really undecided about what I want. I heard that Sellery, Witte, and Ogg are the best public dorms but then there are also all these private dorms like statesider, towers, lucky. I'm just having a hard time weighing the pros and cons. The private ones seem nicer but I heard that the social life isn't as good. I'm just worried because I'm from nyc and I heard that there's a lot of tension btw kids from the coast and wisconsin kids which kind of makes me feel that I should live in the private dorms but I also want to meet other people. Any advice?</p>

<p>You can decide later. From what I understand, you just have to send in the contract by 2/2. After that, you can pick your top choices and switch them around as much as you want until sometime in march or april.</p>

<p>yeah but if you send the contract for university dorms its binding so you can't change to private housing anymore.</p>

<p>No actually you have to decide whether you want public or private by 2/2 because if you send in your thing for public dorms, you are bound to that if you are attending UW.</p>

<p>yeah... which one are you guys choosing?</p>

<p>How can the date be 2/2 when many students haven't been accepted yet</p>

<p>You can send in the contract for university housing and still back out later, even if you attend UW. As long as you back out on or before May 1 you can still get your deposit back. My friend did this and is going to UW now but living at home. The date to send in your contract by is personalized by when you got your acceptance, T BONE 10. I don't know if you can back out of the private contracts and still get your deposit back, but maybe...?</p>

<p>I'd say go with public.</p>

<p>private dorms seem a lot nicer. I'm looking at highlander and it looks pretty appealing but idk if the party scene at that dorm is as good as say ogg.</p>

<p>Ogg doesn't really have much of a party scene. The main public dorms that party are sellery and witte and lucky 101 parties the hardest out of all dorms public and private although it too has its drawbacks.</p>

<p>is ogg really supposed to be the nicest of the public ones? because you have to pay an additional fee for it</p>

<p>Well, I go to Madison and those private dorms are still basically a mystery to me, except I know they tend to fill my mailbox with ads for their apartments. I'm sure most of you guys know this much but the public dorms are split into 2 sections: Lakeshore (Liz Waters, Tripp, Adams, Slichter, Kronshage, Cole, Sullivan, Bradley, Freidrick, and the short-course dorms) and Southeast (Witte, Sellery, Ogg, Smith, and Chadbourne). Lakeshore has gained the reputation of being full of losers who don't party and sit in their rooms studying all day (which is not true, I live there and we have our fair share of drugs, alcohol, and partying). Southeast on the other hand is a lot crazier than Lakeshore. If I don't see strobe lights and people screaming out the windows when I walk by at night, I know something is wrong. This is especially true at Sellery and Witte.</p>

<p>Sellery and Witte are the 2 very basic dorms (and also the 2 largest on campus), so they'll be the cheapest on the Southeast side. In between them is Gordon Commons, so you have your food right there. The Kohl Center and SERF are nearby as well, and State Street is very close. Ogg and Smith will cost you extra, but they are a lot nicer (nice high ceilings, bathrooms shared by less people, etc.). Ogg is close to Witte and Sellery while Smith is maybe a block farther, but it has a small cafeteria in the building. Chadbourne is kind of weird, and the beds look like cribs. That's all I really know about that.</p>

<p>As for the private dorms, they are very nice, but you definitely pay a lot extra for it. In my opinion it isn't worth it. I think you'll get the best social experience in a public dorm, especially Witte and Sellery. And don't worry about the tension between Sconnies and Coasties, it's mostly just for fun (unless you actually act like a Coastie). It won't stop you from making friends, and people will forget about it once they get to know you more. And if you have a choice between Witte and Sellery, Sellery is about a block closer to classes which makes a big difference in the winter.</p>

<p>Thanks that really helpful. I was always undecided btw Witte, Sellery, and Ogg. I know sellery and witte have more parties but I was kind of leaning towards Ogg because its nicer. Does ogg also have many parties or is it really quiet?</p>

<p>S is a freshman living in Liz Waters from the coast. Really likes it. A nice balance of fun and quiet. Managed to party, etc. He felt it was important to live in the dorms to immerse himself into the campus culture and doesn't regret it. Rumor has it most ofthe "coasties" live in the private dorms! THe coastie issue seems to be overblown and has not been an issue.</p>

<p>The coastie issue is an overblown one. Most of the kids I've met at Lucky101 are from the midwest - Wisconin, Illinois, Minnesota...the typical states. Towers and Statesider used to be mostly coasties but now they're mostly just empty.</p>

<p>sorry to hijack this thread, but it seemed dead anyway and i didn't want to fill up space on such a small question. my dorm contract form was due today, and i had it all ready but i forgot to put stamps on it. is it okay if the form is postmarked a day late? doubt it would be a problem but just doublechecking.</p>

<p>i think location matters as well. where do people who are admitted to GEN business/commerce study at? is there a name for the studying hall/center?? i want to live closer to classes..anyone?</p>

<p>If you're looking to apply to the School of Business, you'll be spending time in Grainger Hall for sure, but check the pre-reqs too - I believe you have to take econ, a psych class, a high level math... I don't know where the business people study in general, but I would assume the library in Grainger. Check it out on the map, the southeast dorms are extremely close by.</p>

<p>^thanks!! im leaning towards picking ogg, is there any obvious procs and cons for ogg??</p>

<p>Pick whichever dorm you want to spend your out of class time in. Decide first if you want the lakeshore or southeast areas- some people want the high rise city atmosphere and others want the trees, lake and grass atmosphere to decompress. You don't have to worry about where you eat as anyone can eat in any dining hall, you don't have to return to the one closest to your dorm for lunch. There are many study places in various libraries all over campus- you don't need to be in the major to use one. There are places in each dorm as well. Also- as a freshman you will not be in the business school but will be taking all sorts of prerequisite courses held in other campus buildings. Think of your dorm as where you would like to live, not its distance to work. Once you get to campus you will see how there are pros and cons to every dorm- pick your priorities.</p>

<p>that sounds useful, but the thing is im an international and i cant visit the place as often as americans do. so i really wanna know abt the pros and cons of OGG since ive narrowed it down to that and the private ones. thanks</p>