<p>I need to submit my housing app for spring and am looking to hear people's opinions of which dorms would be the best.</p>
<p>Thanks</p>
<p>There is no "best" dorm. What do you want from your dorm? They all are different, some being quiet, some being spacious, some being sceinic. </p>
<p>Perhaps you should instead ask what are the different dorms and how do their personalities differ.</p>
<p>The things I would like out of a dorm would be that it be quiet at night so I can sleep. I would prefer modern, upkept, and clean living space. I assume that all the dorms are pretty close to campus so I don't think distance is a factor. I'm an econ major from the college of L&S. Where do those students usually end up? Is there a dorm where there are mostly transfers?</p>
<p>Distance isa factor, ie CKC</p>
<p>I'm not sure. Most people would say the quietest dorms are Clark Kerr and Foothill, but Clark Kerr is relatively far from campus, about twice as far as any other dorms. It's quite nice, but to some people, the distance makes it quite undesireable. I live in the newest dorms, the mini-swuites. They are amazing, but the units are just louder, on average, than other dorms. Sometimes at night it is loud, but it is usually fairly quiet. The higher you are the quieter, and I am on the second floor. I think the housing websites gives fairly good descriptions of the various options, including shots of the dorms. You will most likely end up with more living space in Foothill or perhaps Clark Kerr than anywhere else, but I don't know what your options are (as in what is available to you).</p>
<p>Foothill might be what you're looking for. It's nice and quiet, you have more space than in the Units, and it's close to Evans Hall, where you'll inevitably have at least a few classes as an Econ major. The only drawback? Socially, Foothill is a bit...dead. But it's not to say that you don't have fun. It's just a little longer trek for you to get to the Southside hotspots to join your friends that live in the Units.</p>
<p>Okay, I think I've experienced the atmosphere at all of the options on campus. This may be long...</p>
<p>Clark Kerr: This is where I currently live. It's a 'spanish mission' style building, so I suppose it isn't very modern but I do find quite pretty. it's also not a high rise building, so most living units are only about two stories. There are fountains and large stretches of grass all about the property (a lot of people tan or read in these enclosed areas), and the Rec Center is right up the hill. It's pretty quiet most of the time, but the people here are also very social. I can usually study, read, or rest about 80% of the time with no distractions. However, it is louder on the weekends (thurs-sun). The food here is the best by far, and the dining staff is really friendly and accomodating. The rooms are very spacious, with high ceilings and large closet spaces. You can choose between traditional hall style rooms, or suites. (f.y.i. a lot of cal athletes live in the ckc suites, and they seem to be pretty nice)</p>
<p>Foothill: Located above the greek theatre, foothill is tucked away near the top of campus. It kind of reminds me of a cabin style hotel you would find in tahoe or something of the sort. Foothill is either entirely or mostly suites (only visited students with suites). The dining hall is decent, but some people complain about the staff. You are relatively closer to some of the science and math buildings, which is cool if you frequent them. Foothill is fairly quiet, so I'm sure you would get a lot of studying and sleep done in peak hours. However, it does have the reputation of being the 'anti social dorm'.</p>
<p>Stern/Bowles: Stern is the all female dorm, and Bowles is all male. Bowles is a very old dormitory building, and can be dated back to the begining of UC Berkeley. It appears to resemble a haunted mansion. The rooms are all quads, with two people sharing the middle room, and the other two getting singles on the sides. Noted for being rather rowdy, bowles has recently been converted to 'the freshmen experience'. I think you noted that you were a transfer, so I guess that's out of the question. Come to think of it, I don't know your gender, heh. If you're female, stern could be kind of cool. The girls I know who have lived there grew attached to it, despite it's rep for being kind of weird because of its' all female population. The rooms are decently sized and the main lounge is very pretty. Both Bowles and Stern share Foothill's dining hall, and are in that same general area.</p>
<p>Units (1,2, and 3): These are all high rise buildings, and are probably the most traditional looking dormitory buildings on campus. They are also the most modern, in appearance and in age. Rooms in the units are known to be smaller (i.e., if you're in a triple, generally only two of you will get closet space), but I've heard that because of the close quarters, you are able to meet a lot of people rather quickly and easily. They can also get a bit noisy because of the large population of residents. Unit 1 and 3 are both in close proximity to the main campus, and unit 2 is not too bad in distance either (but closer to clark kerr). Also, if you're a transfer and want to be living with a large population of other transfers, you could look into the new mini suites or on-campus apartments, all located either in or nearby any of the three unit buildings. </p>
<p>Socially, the atmosphere is more fun here on southside (ckc, units 1, 2, and 3), but really, if you're not opposed to a bit of walking, it really doesn't matter where you're stationed. </p>
<p>Good Luck!</p>
<p><3,</p>
<p>Izzie Bear</p>
<p>Everything you hear about Foothill is true. We're antisocial GPA whores and damn proud of it.</p>
<p>IzzieBear, when do you start doing campus tours?</p>
<p>:)</p>
<p>I honestly LOVED CKC. I would've stayed another year or moved to the units. CKC is a lovely place to live but I find it more fun to live at the units where more people live? Higher denisty? Easier to find people and go visit others? Heh.</p>
<p>That brings a point... while dorms in the units are smaller, it's easier to walk into someone else's door because the doors are so close to each other.</p>
<p>Indeed. I think a double at the units is REALLY nice. Triple = BLAH....</p>
<p>If y ou get a triple, make sure it's CKC at least, not like Foothill or Unit1/2/3. Foothill is ok for studying, but you can definitely still make friends there. It's a lot more engineers and asians though. CKC is a lot more white =P while Units are a good mix of people.</p>
<p>Thanks a lot for the detailed responses!</p>
<p>Sure thing. I have guided tours Mondays and Wednesdays from 1:00-3:00 pm.</p>
<p>...just kidding</p>
<p><3,</p>
<p>Izzie Bear</p>
<p>Within the units, there are some distinctions: Unit 3 is generally thought to have worse rooms than units 1 and 2, and also is said to be the loudest. Also, the Freeborn alcohol-free building in unit 1 is on the quieter side.</p>
<p>Oh, and I recommend against Bowles. I've visited, and the quality of the rooms and stuff there is quite low.</p>
<p>clark kerr also has rooms right next to each other for easy social accessibility - it all depends on your building. i love ckc</p>
<p>To the people in Unit 1 Freeborn: how are your roommates and everyone around you? Are they antisocial like the people in Foothill? Do they sometimes get loud? How do you like it overall? I'm thinking of moving there next semester. </p>
<p>Yeah...I don't like Bowles too much</p>
<p>yeah Unit 3's quality is way worse than Unit 2 and Unit 1, crappier furniture, crappier lighting, etc etc</p>
<p>I love Bowles.</p>
<p>Actually, I would agree Bowles is underrated. The environment just isn't for me.</p>