UF Dorm Options for Engineering Major

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Florida
1

I am planning for Engineering major.
Can you please suggest dorm options for freshman?
I am considering below three. What are pros and cons for these? Also is there any other good option?

  1. East Hall
  2. Keys Complex
  3. Springs
2
  1. East is in a pretty good location. Super close to the Gator Dining hall. The dorm itself is nice. Typical communal dorm.
  2. Keys is almost impossible to get for even upper classmen. I classify as a junior by credits and tried to get keys for next year, logged on the first second of the first possible time, and it was already all taken. Basically, athletes get priority to live here, and it's impossible for freshman for the most part. When I signed up for freshman dorm, it wasn't even listed. It's super nice, but again, don't get your hopes up for getting it because it's very difficult for even upperclassmen to get. Kinda far from main part of campus, however, and since you're a freshman, you probably aren't in all main major classes. Might be good to look at the UF SOC and look at the buildings of classes you might want and see if you're willing to walk that far.
  3. Springs is pretty far too, but the apartment-style is super nice. You'll need to learn the bus system asap. It's not that much of a big deal to ride the bus. Just make sure you have plenty of time in the morning before class, and download the TransLoc Rider app.
3

Take a look at the comments in the thread titled “Questions about UF dorms/off campus housing”. There are some comments there that can help you see the pros and cons and things to think about when deciding. Basically, it is a trade off of convenience for comfort. The nice dorms are further away from classes and dining halls. So, you have to decide what is most important and what are you willing to give up.

4

I would eliminate Keys and Springs because they are far from the main classes/campus/dining hall. There will be a lot of engineers in East but that doesn’t mean there aren’t also plenty of them in other dorms. Personally I’d want to meet people from a variety of majors.

5

FYI: If you’re interested in joining the Gator Motorsports team (a “design team”), then I highly recommend East Hall. It’s adjacent to the workshop and you’ll find yourself spending 3 to 5 nights a week working on the car (it’s a significant time commitment).

https://www.gatormotorsports.com/

SubjuGator is also located in the same workshop.

http://subjugator.org/

UF has several “design teams”. IT’s worth checking them out. They also use an off campus facility.