Can someone help me in choosing a residence hall? I’m deciding between Nugent, Barton/Lundgren, Bousfield, Lincoln Avenue and Illinois Street. Someone tell me their reputations and stereotypes. Which are the social/party dorms and which aren’t. Thanks
If you’re an incoming freshman, you can forget Nugent and Bousfield because those are usually filled the 1st day they open with upperclassmen. Anyways, even if you did get into those 2, you’d be surrounded by returning students who already have their own groups and friends, and you’d have a tough time meeting new people. Illinois Street Residence Halls (ISR) are only good if you’re an engineering major or want to live very close to the Main Quad. It’s pretty quiet and filled with mostly engineers and Asians, or so I’ve heard. They have a good gaming community too, I’ve been told. Lincoln Avenue Residence Halls (LAR) are farther from the Main Quad than ISR, but closer than PAR, FAR, and the 6 Pack. It used to be single sex, but now it’s coed. It’s close to Allen Hall and I’ve heard it has relatively big rooms. Honestly, I don’t know much about LAR, so you would have to ask someone else. Barton/Lundgren are both single sex. That’s all I know about those 2. But if these are your only choices, and you’re an engineering major, go for ISR. I don’t really know why you’ve omitted the other Ikenberry dorms like Scott, Hopkins, Snyder, and TVD. Or even PAR, FAR, and Allen. You should consider those in your decision too, unless you’ve already crossed them out for some reason. By the way, most of my information is from current students. Look around the UIUC subreddit, and you’ll find tons of info from current students about dorms and life at UIUC in general.