<p>I lived at SRD all four years. I knew I was lucky to live there!</p>
<p>Hi! I’m beginning to look into housing and I couldn’t be more lost so if you guys could help me out I’d really appreciate it!!</p>
<p>I’ll be a freshman in the McCombs School of Business next year. I’m not really into partying but I’m not in anyway a nerd. I enjoy having fun, I just prefer to do it without alcohol, drugs & sex. I don’t want to stay in a dorm that’s always quiet but I want one where it’s really easy to meet people!! I don’t have a problem with community bathrooms & I may even prefer one. Above all, I want to be with a roommate who is normal and that I get along with. Does any dorm have a reputation for, oh, I don’t know, normal people?! Hahahahaha, I’m joking. But really, what is a good dorm that I would have a good chance of getting into at this point in time? I’ve considered Jester but the talk of bad food turns me off as does the rumors of it’s alleged parties. I want a fun dorm but not one where the students are throwing parties every night! </p>
<p>I guess I kind of just want to spark this thread up again. Help us incoming freshmen out, y’all!!</p>
<p>@sdremely: Live in Jester. The food on campus will suck regardless of where you are, but at least J2 is all you can eat. Plus JCL (though a bit more expensive) is a lot better. I know of like 3 people in my hall (of around 50 rooms) who play loud music, and no one is stupid enough to have parties in dorms anymore… (there’s always an RA on call.) Plus Wendy’s is downstairs, what could be better?</p>
<p>I was starting to feel a bit jealous that nothing like SRD or Hardin exists for males. So, I started looking for affordable housing with perhaps more of a home feel to it. As a result, we plan on checking out some off campus alternatives when we are up there in a couple of weeks. I’ll post back our observations as parents.</p>
<p>^Thanks, eaglemom, I’ll look forward to what you discover.</p>
<p>Hey, thanks for the great info. I was just wondering if you could tell me the difference between jester east and west and which one you would prefer and why. Also what differentiates east campus from west? Thanks a lot</p>
<p>Does an incoming freshman have any chance of getting into Duren or San Jacinto? Or are these mostly sophomore/junior dorms (if any juniors)? I put in my deposit in November and i dont care about the price</p>
<p>^Same question…</p>
<p>Oh and if it is possible for a freshman to get San Jac, should I? I’ve heard on other sites that it’s too quiet or hard to meet people cause everyone just stays in their rooms. Is that true? And we can still change our housing preferences up until June correct?</p>
<p>I’ve been told by a ton of my friends that go to UT that San Jacinto is not as social but it does look nicer than the other dorms as does Duren. Though I also know a lot of people that stay and Duren and love it, it’s just a little further from most of the classes. Freshmen occupy most of the dorm space on campus not upperclassmen from what I’ve been told. Oh and yeah you can change it till June:) </p>
<p>Im an incoming freshman as well so these are all things I’ve gathered from other people:)</p>
<p>Hey so I have just been accepted to UT out of state so I am a little late to the game. I have my SRD housing contract but unfortunately I called today and they already have a wait list of 35 there so I need a plan B, any suggestions?
I would like a private dorm if possible, not too expensive though.</p>
<p>I haven’t submitted my $50 fee yet. I will mail it to UT on Wednesday and it should get there by Monday/Tuesday of the next week. How late am I and how likely is it that I get to dorm somewhere of choice?</p>
<p>Also, I <em>think</em> San Jacinto and Duren fit my needs, but what dorm would be ideal for me based on the following:
-quiet place to study
-not much partying, but instead people just chill together, etc.
-private bathroom
-2-person room…I want to share with just 1 other person
-not very far from ‘premed’ classes
-preferably with good food and/or near a street that has great restaurants
-preferably near the gym
-preferably near a good library to study at
-preferably near the football stadium</p>
<p>@viggyRam: </p>
<p>Wow, now that’s a list. Duren and San Jac are very expensive. They are out for my S. In fact, it’s looking likely that he may skip on-campus dorm in favor of a (near to campus) co-op dorm. It doesn’t take much to run my son. </p>
<p>Austin has many good restaurants. UT students travel for free (with student ID) on city public transit. So, whatever you want is likely in reach. </p>
<p>Housing priority is set by the date you mail in your $50. You don’t have to be accepted to UT to mail in the $50, you just had to have sent in a complete admissions application. So, lots of students have priority over you. Does that mean you won’t be offered housing? Who knows? Its a roll of the dice. </p>
<p>If money is not an object and you are a girl, I’d check into Hardin House and Scottish Rite Dorm. I think you’d find a nice mix of accomodations and food. </p>
<p>Hope it goes well for you!</p>
<p>Well, mom, if you peruse and reflect on his exhaustive criteria/list, I think most people would conclude (like you) that He is probably a girl.</p>
<p>Sorry about that Viggy, I couldn’t help myself!</p>
<p>But I had a lot of fun with post.</p>
<p>Hope you have a good sense of humor!</p>
<p>lol, it’s fine. I don’t mind being at the end of a joke or two. I am sort of picky when it comes to things like this though. 
(and I’m a guy eaglemom lol, I know that may be hard to believe after seeing my list :D) </p>
<p>Do San Jac and Duren fill up quickly? How popular are they? </p>
<p>Also, if I don’t housing or an option I don’t like, how do I find off campus housing with other students? Is it difficult to do as a freshman? I know that I want to stay with others my first year and would’ve loved to be in a dorm, but it’s pretty late now.</p>
<p>Viggy…San jac and Duren are two of the hardest dorms to get into. I would go ahead and turn in the $50.00 deposit ASAP. You will most likely get housing , but it might be Jester. There are a few privatly owned dorms that will not be full yet…such as Doby, Castillian, and Towers, although my D says that Towers is a MAJOR party scene with lots of obnoxious frat guys. All of the private dorms have websites. I would check them out just in case you are not able to get on campus housing.</p>
<p>@Eastcoast92…have you looked into Hardin House? It is an all girls private dorm like SRD. It does not fillup as quickly as SRD because the contract is more binding so most girls dont put one in unless they are 100% sure they are going to live there. My D lives there this year…like you, she was on the waitlist for SRD and we decided to try Hardin. She loves it there. feel free to pm me if you have any questions.</p>
<p>Viggy, you may want to check out the FIG program at Whittis. </p>
<p>Probably best to stay on campus in your Freshman year. Dobie Center looks good, but have not seen it yet. Hope to, maybe this weekend.</p>
<p>Daughter will be going to McCombs.</p>
<p>I would suggest increasing your personal flexibility and leveraging that flexibility to max your college life experience.</p>
<p>Viggy, I don’t know how hard or easy it actually is to get into San Jac, but that seems to be the dorm that fits pretty much all of your criteria. Right down 21st from Gregory, right across the street from the stadium, close to Jester and the PCL, etc, etc. Dorms on the north side of campus (honors and especially Duren, Whitis and Kins) are great but kind of far from some of the things you listed. In any case, you NEED to send in the 50 dollars ASAP. I would suspect that the most in-demand dorms are filling up already.</p>
<p>San Jac is difficult to get into because housing assigns assignments on priority–returning students pick first, and then entering freshman. Jester is a lovely place to stay–it’s right in the middle of campus. Private bathrooms aren’t all their are cracked up to be (you have to clean them yourself and buy your own TP whereas community baths are cleaned 2 times a day). AND you meet a lot more people in Jester, AND it’s right across the street from the PCL.</p>