<p>I know this is a really general question but what is the best dorm here? Do any have dining halls inside them where you don't have to change to go eat?</p>
<p>McMahon on north campus and Lander on west campus both have dining halls in them. The west campus dorms are very nice but also very expensive. Honestly I don’t think they are worth the extra expense and I prefer north campus. I like Haggett and McCarty the best.</p>
<p>Depends on your desired amenities and target cost. West Campus has private bathrooms which is a luxury. West Campus is also closer to the Ave. and has Cultivate as well as the District Market so food wise I’d say It’s superior. That said, West Campus is significantly more expensive. If you want a single room, you’ll most likely end up in Hansee, but you will be forfeiting a social life. Every dorm has Its pros and cons.</p>
<p>It really depends on your financial situation. Since you asked for the “best”, I’ll let you in on my opinions.</p>
<p>First of all, the West campus residence halls have the best dorms because they are the most recently built. The only thing that the North campus dorms (such as Haggett, McCarty, etc) have that may be more appealing to you is their prices. North campus dorms will always be much more cheaper than West campus dorms.</p>
<p>(Keep in mind that I mentioned it depends on your financial situation. The West Campus dorms are the most expensive out of the residence halls at UW but they’re not extremely expensive for some people and their financial situation.)</p>
<p>Of the West campus dorms, the only one that has a dining hall inside of it is Lander. That being said, the other West campus dorms are equally nice but just have no dining hall. This means you’ll have to go to Lander for that commodity. </p>
<p>To my knowledge, Poplar, Elm, and Alder (the other 3 West campus halls) are nearly identical in layout and design. Lander has the same feel but there are few notable differences on the inside and outside. But these are minuscule things that have to do with interior design which I’m sure is not a big factor in anyone’s housing decisions.</p>
<p>If there is one drastically different about the rest of the West campus dorms, it is that Alder has a marketplace on the first floor (it’s a grocery store that has a beautiful interior that looks a lot like Whole Foods) while Elm has a restaurant called Cultivate. I’m pretty sure Poplar has nothing in it’s hall so you’ll have to make your way to the other three to use your meal plan for food. All the West campus dorms are right across the street from e/o (about 200 yards max) so unless your extremely lazy, being in Poplar isn’t a huge disadvantage. </p>
<p>Also, the West campus dorms are basically on The Ave, which is a bustling street full of restaurants and cafes. You have the closest access to this extremely popular hub of food and social gatherings. </p>
<p>In terms of distance from the important parts of the campus, the West campus is a little farther than most North campus dorms. You have to take into account where a lot of your classes are (which you won’t know so it doesn’t really matter) but the walk from Red Square (considered the center of the campus) to the West campus dorms will be just a tad longer than your walk to a North campus dorm. </p>
<p>If you have the money, I personally think that the West campus residence halls are worth it. Even if it’s a little stretch, if you want a comfortable living environment, West Campus is the way to go. I’m not a current student at UW but I was born and raised in Seattle and so the UW is like the college I always go to. I visit it often (maybe every other weekend) because I have a lot of college friends there that I socialize with Their dorms are like their houses that I just come over to all the time. I have a friend in Lander, two in Alder, and one in Poplar. They all love it and are staying on West campus next year. I can say without a doubt that the residence halls on West campus are the best dorms at the school. </p>
<p>As I laid out to you more specifically, Lander is the best of the West campus halls in my opinion, then Alder, Elm, and Poplar are equally great choices. </p>
<p>If you want information regarding the best of the North campus dorms, let me know. I’d be happy to let you in on what I’ve seen/experienced/heard.</p>
<p>Thanks so much! That was really helpful. I couldn’t really find anything useful on the housing website so that was perfect. And yes would you mind telling me about the North campus dorms? That would be so great thanks!!</p>
<p>Also which ones are mostly freshman?</p>
<p>Since the UW allows all students to make housing choices without restriction, this freedom has led students to make choices based on their needs and financial situations. You’d think that freshman would tend to flock one side of campus or to one dorm but that isn’t really the case except for one or two residence halls.</p>
<p>The biggest difference between the North campus dorm and West campus dorms (other than price) is that North campus dorms are not all double rooms. This means that you can choose a to live with more people. Many, if not all North campus dorms, will offer three-person or four-person suites. </p>
<p>The first is McCarty Hall. McCarty Hall is really the only undergrad dorm that has a majority of one grade over another. It’s popular with upperclassmen. If you’re looking to choose a housing option that has more freshmen, McCarty wouldn’t be the best choice. I personally have no friends that live in McCarty so I’ve never been inside of it, but I think you should avoid going to McCarty because from what I’ve heard, it’s just not a fun place to be as a freshman.</p>
<p>The second is Haggett Hall. Of the North campus dorms, Haggett has these really interestingly laid out rooms. A lot of them are not square or rectangular. Instead, the rooms have really abstract shapes that I find really strange. I personally think Haggett is an okay dorm but it’s fairly old. The inside can be kind of depressing at times especially because on each floor, the dorm rooms are blocked off of the elevator with doors. It’s really weird and feels depressing at times. The social environment is really nice, however. There are a lot of activities that go on to build community. One thing about Haggett that’s a fairly nice plus is that Rick’s Cafe is located at the bottom level. A lot of freshman students, or students in general, will flock this cafe at night because it’s an ice cream parlor. The ice cream isn’t amazing, but because it isn’t amazing, it’s also extremely cheap. When you’re studying late an night and don’t have the money to splurge on something nice, Rick’s is the perfect place to go. You’ll have it right downstairs if you choose to live in Haggett. It’s a nice commodity.</p>
<p>McMahon Hall has amazing views of the lake. It’s also the biggest dorm on North campus. I personally didn’t like it at first because the exterior of this hall looks like the crumbling buildings in ruined city that Leonardo DiCaprio finds himself in when he goes into limbo in “Inception”. The inside is a different story and is actually pretty nice. It’s nicer than Haggett. McMahon is really interesting because it has something called clusters. Now, this could be a good thing or a bad thing depending on what kind of dorm you’re looking for but the important part is that clusters will help you make friends. Clusters are when 8 or so live in the same living area. Basically it’s a huge dorm that leads off into rooms. You can think of it like a small apartment. There’s a living room/common room area and four dorm rooms attached to it. </p>
<p>Hansee Hall is not a great place to live for freshmen. It’s a quieter dorm that’s close to University Village and is a housing option that I would just look over if I were you.</p>
<p>In general, the North campus dorms are a little closer to campus, and MUCH closer to the HUB (the welcome center that has a huge dining area on the first floor with a bookstore, grocery store, etc. You’ll be going here a lot!), the Intramural Activities Building (IMA), and shopping at the University Village (basically a huge strip mall). University Village is pretty long walk for students living on the West Campus. They’d probably take the bus since they have to walk across the entire campus to get there. However, you won’t be going to UVill often. At least most students don’t unless they work a retail position at one of the stores. But the close proximity is still an advantage you could consider.</p>
<p>So there you have it. North Campus dorms can be worthwhile. They’re definitely not luxurious like the West Campus dorms are but you get a more affordable price. </p>
<p>If you have any other questions, let me know. :)</p>
<p>Lyndak, I’m not sure where you’re getting your information but a lot of what you wrote is simply wrong.</p>
<p>The biggest difference between West Campus and North Campus is the fact that West Campus dorms have private bathrooms for each room, while North Campus dorms do not.</p>
<p>Almost all of North Campus dorm rooms (except for in Hansee) are double rooms. There are some triples, but those exist on West Campus as well. Occasionally you will come across a weird room like a three-person or four-person suite, but these are very rare.</p>
<p>Upperclassmen rarely live in any of the dorms. In general, the vast majority of students move off campus by the time that try reach their junior year.</p>
<p>All the rooms in Haggett are the exact same hexagonal shape, except for a couple singles and triples. Haggett also has very good views, depending on which side of the building your room is.</p>
<p>Although I live on North Campus I rarely visit the HUB. There really isn’t that much reason too unless you’re getting lunch.</p>
<p>I would concur with what Ulianjay said. Biggest difference between W. and N. Campus is definitely the private bathrooms. Upperclassmen don’t usually live in the dorms.
And I don’t know any people who visit the HUB with any regularity. In my opinion the food sort of sucks, but I have a pretty high standard when it comes to food (I go to Cultivate like 4 times a week).
I have the extreme fortune (sarcasm) of living in Hansee and I would not recommend it unless you have no desire to meet other people at UW and only want a single room and only want to study. On the brightside, I destroyed all my classes in Fall Quarter!</p>
<p>Upperclassmen don’t USUALLY live in dorms but the original question was: “Which dorms are mostly freshman?” I’m not saying that the majority of upperclassmen DO live in dorms, but if you had to pick one, it would definitely be McCarty that has the most. Also, JuanitaRebel already mentioned the private bathrooms in his/her post before mine so I did not reiterate that in order to minimize redundancy. But yes, the bathroom situation is a huge pro for West campus dorms. </p>
<p>Where would you want to live if you wanted to play a lot of Ultimate? Does the team practice in a place that makes any dorm complex closer?</p>