Hey Huskies! Since most of you have heard back by now and are probably wondering about where to live next year, I thought I’d put together a quick updated summary of the different housing options you’ll have as a first-year on campus.
** North Campus **
McMahon Hall
This hall has a cluster-style layout, which basically means that several rooms share a living room, bathroom, and balcony. Depending on which tower and side of the building you’re in, you might get an incredible view of the stadium and Lake Washington (or a construction site). McMahon is really close to central campus and is home to both The 8, which is the dining hall for North Campus and a small convenience store called The Nook.
Haggett Hall
This hall is also composed of two towers and has hexagonal rooms and triangular closets. The lounges are two stories tall and very loft-like, and because the elevators open out into the lounges, you’ll always see people you know on the way to your room. There is Rick’s Cafe, a student-run ice cream store that’s open evenings during the quarter (the ice cream is really cheap because it’s supposedly subsidized by lockout fees…shh 
)
Hansee Hall
This is the oldest residence hall on campus and has the Gothic architecture to match—it honestly looks like a castle. It’s almost entirely composed of single rooms, but there are a few quads on the first floor. There are pianos and fancy furniture in every lounge, and it is the closest dorm to Greek Row and the U Village. It also faces Denny Field, which is great for recreational sports.
2104 House
This one often gets left out of these lists because it’s so small and not very many people know about it. This used to be a fraternity house until it was shut down and replaced with a language immersion house. After that also ceased operations, HFS took over and made it a residence hall that now accommodates 30 people. This is probably the closest thing to a co-op at UW but I’ve never heard of any freshmen living here. With that said, there’s your history lesson for today haha.
** West Campus **
Lander Hall
This hall is home to Local Point, the dining hall for this side of campus. There are kitchens on each floor for the culinarily-inclined and also large lounges with TV’s. There are a lot of doubles and possibly even more triples, but each room does get its own bathroom.
Alder/Poplar/Elm/Terry/Maple Hall
These dorms are the “tree” dorms and I’m not going to go into too much detail about each one because they’re pretty similar. Suite-style rooms, mostly doubles and triples, lounge/community spaces on the first floor. Alder has the District Market, Poplar is the sustainability-themed dorm, Elm has the fitness center, Terry I believe will have Eleven 01 Cafe, and Maple is supposed to have a crafts center with Maker Bots and other supplies. (Maple and Terry are brand new and will open in Fall 2015)
When you’re walking towards the West Campus dorms, remember that Elm and Poplar are on the right and Lander and Alder are on the left.
Mercer Court
Mercer is composed of five buildings (A-E) and is home to both undergrads and graduate students. This is the apartment-style dorm where several rooms share bathrooms, a living room and a kitchen. Buildings A and B are all doubles, building C is all singles, and buildings D and E are for grad students. There’s the Husky Grind in one of the buildings and is a nice place to grab a snack. The UW Farm is also here and students are welcome to help harvest and plant things—produce is sold at the District Market so you will literally see the fruits of your labor!
Stevens Court
This is the other apartment-style residence hall where each suite has their own entrance. Every room in Stevens is a single, and some suites are split-level. Like Mercer, Stevens suites get their own kitchens and living rooms. Students living here don’t need a dining plan.
Cedar Hall
I left this one for the end because it’s a 12-month residence hall and relatively few freshmen live here. It has a similar setup to the apartment-styled dorms listed above, but looks like the rest of the “tree” dorms and is a little further away from campus. Residents here don’t have to have a dining plan either.
Hope this helped! Go Dawgs 