<p>OK I figured since the end of march has come and everyone who is going to UCI knows by now, I might as well start a thread about Housing!</p>
<p>Middle Earth - </p>
<p>Mesa Court - </p>
<p>I personally am going to be a Freshman Computer Science and Engineering. I was looking at the map and saw that Middle Earth is INSIDE the engineering block, very good for me.</p>
<p>But I heard that Mesa Court is a better place to stay</p>
<p>Can any current UCI students shed some light on this? I would love to know more about each housing location.</p>
<p>yeah, i'm debating between middle earth and mesa court. i'm leaning towards middle earth b/c their cafeteria is opens earlier and closes later than the other ones.</p>
<p>I'm a Lord of the Rings fan, so living in Middle Earth has always been appealing to me :P</p>
<p>I've narrowed it down to hopefully living in one of the Philosophy and Ethics themed houses in Middle Earth (Harrowdale, Grey Havens, or Isengard). I'm going to apply for housing this weekend though, so we'll see how it goes!</p>
<p>Arroyo Vista is farther away from campus(you have to take shuttle), and it's normally for upperclassmen and transfer students.</p>
<p>Both MC and ME have old and new phase dorms and based on what I heard, it goes ME old phase < MC old phase < MC new phase < ME new phase in term of size. </p>
<p>I stayed in MC last year and I really liked it, I like the surrounding and community better than ME, but ME does have Brandywine common which is the best dining common on campus, and ME is closer to campus.</p>
<p>choose Mesa Court!!!
Will elaborate later after i go watch Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Teenage Mutant Turtles, heroes in a half-shell, Turtle power!!! yeahhh boy</p>
<p>Arroyo Vista:
-I actually don't know much but I do not recommend going here</p>
<p>Middle Earth:
-close to campus
-slightly better food (now that MC has a cutlery section with whole meats sliced when served)
-close to brandywine (I actually don't normally go to brandywine but sometimes brandywine serves something that I really like...I just walk to pippin (ME commons) from campus). this is particularly useful from 2 to 4:30 when ME commons are closed. when MC commons are closed I just stay hungry until 4:30...
-older phases in middle earth can feel a bit ghetto and small compared to all MC dorms.</p>
<p>Mesa Court:
-further from campus (it kills me the most since i'm in Barranca)
-ok food; university town center is accross the street
-bathroom in older dorms feel a bit ghetto
-dorms are bigger and closets are bigger</p>
<p>If you want specific questions answered I'm going to start a Q&A thread so ask me there.</p>
<p>What is a good theme house in arroyo vista for transfers? Also would one recommend that over campus village (again for a junior transfer)? Thank you mucho!</p>
<p>Haha, it was A TITE MOVIE. It was really kick-ass.
I'm going to write briefly why Mesa Court > Middle earth (IN MY UNBIASED OPINION), but if you got more specifics ask jas0n in his Q&A, cos hes also in Mesa Court. I often go to middle earth as i have a lot of friends there so i practically live there as well.</p>
<p>Mesa Court Pros
-Really chill/down to earth people compared to Middle Earth (its something i cannot explain, ME has different people, stuff like this happens.)
-Commons is good food, branches off into 4 sub-commons with different caterings.
-Closer walk to UTC than ME
-Seems cleaner and more modern
-Rec center has big screen TV, pool tables, pingpong, etc.
-Get to rent a plethora of movies from the Activity Center
-Close to art and humanities classes.
-Bigger ROOMS, DESKS, CLOSETS regardless of phase(omg this is a huge HUGE +)
-Structuring better than ME (We have a square suite with a study lounge, compared to ME's hall-like suite with no study halls)
-Seems like you have more mature people living in Mesa than Middle Earth
-Two bball courts instead of one.</p>
<p>Middle Earth Pro
-Closer to classes (especially social sciences)
-Brandywine
-The halls in general know each other better
-Closer to the gym
-They have their own mini-workout area</p>
<p>My general consensus of the dorms is that Mesa is more private and secluded while Middle Earth is right in the middle of campus and its very loud and you aren't entitled to much privacy, sort of like a bustling city or something. Mesa Court is a lot quieter and calm during the day, but not at night when people go out to have a social life. Also, sure, ME has Brandywine, but HONESTLY, living in Mesa, even i got sick of that after eaten it often. personally, i would chose Mesa over Middle Earth. I actually didnt find walking to be a problem because a lot of my GE classes were held in the humanties halls. Plus, walking loses freshmen 15 anyways.</p>
<p>i'm a first year living in Arroyo Vista.
they house you according to a theme, for me it was my major.
it's nice to have other people who have the silimar classes as you = study buddies!
and as for the buses, it gives you tive to study a little bit before class.
ohh, we're also a walk away from the gym. </p>
<p>it gets a bit noisy during rush week cause we live with all the frat houses but it's pretty much calm for the rest of the year. it's not as crackin' as the usual freshman dormitories (MC/ME) but i've taken a liking to it :)</p>
<p>Don't use food as a reason for choosing ME or MC. In all honesty, I've had it with Mesa Commons, Pippin and Brandywine. You won't like any of it after fall quarter anyway. </p>
<p>Middle Earth DOES have study rooms just as Mesa Court halls do. Middle Earth is close to everything, this is definitely a big plus. Mesa Court is pretty isolated. Middle Earth also has its own workout/gym area, and generally it's easier to meet people in Middle Earth, as its all close together. Not a bad place to live.</p>
<p>That being said, I actually live in Mesa Court- Isla. It's definitely more quiet and relaxing. One big plus that I didnt have this year is the Student Center. It is opening this upcoming Fall and Mesa Court is a short walk away. Study centers, restaurants etc galore will be nearby...definitely a huge advantage over ME that I wish we could've had this year.</p>
<p>You'll be happy wherever you end up...each has its advantages and disadvantages.</p>
<p>I am a recent UCI grad, and I have to say...looking back, Mesa Court is one of the best dorming experiences of the UCs. Over the years, I have been to UCB, UCLA, UCSD and UCSC and in my personal opinion, Mesa Court is the best out of all of them. It can be a walk to certain places, but you are right by the new Student Center, the Bren Center and Back Bay which is awesome for its trails for running, biking, etc into Newport Beach.</p>
<p>I'm majoring in bio.. so which one of the dorms would be closer to my classes. Is there any specific phase thats better in either of the two. Lastly, is it hard to get a room to yourself (if you dont want to share.)</p>