Undergrad Housing?

[myjetplane]

Hey you guys. I just got my ID for the UW Seattle Campus (i haven't recieved the acceptance letter yet, but i'm pretty sure i'm in because of this). I also found out that I can access the dorm application form. I am currently in the process of filling this out and was wondering which dorms are the best and which ones are the worst. I heard Mcmahon

Comments

[hrhobo]

haggett is ugly

[vavarazzi]

The international community is Haggett 3/4 North, which is where I've been living this year. It's a really great community! There's really nothing super international about it other than that there are a lot of Chinese students, but all the people seem to be much closer with one another than other dorm floors I've noticed and we do some fun floor events sometimes.

I think Haggett and McMahon are the "top tier", while I've heard that Mercer is the worst from several people. The rest of them all seem to be kinda in the middle.

It really depends on what you're looking for, but if you can handle the cluster-style living then McMahon is really amazing, it's got the best dining hall on campus as well as a 24-hour quiet study room, a music practice room, and an exercise room. I'm always kinda jealous that they have like everything. XDD But hey, Haggett has an ice cream cafe at least!

[slimey_limey]

Mercer is a brick pit miles from everything else.

[raginsouthasian]

McMahon is great, if you like your cluster-mates.

[myjetplane]

What does cluster mean exactly?

[raginsouthasian]

A cluster is a suite of 4ish 2 person rooms that share a bathroom and a common room. They have auto-closing, auto-locking firedoors (i.e. you get in trouble if you prop them open) from the hallway into the suite, so you see the people in your cluster all the time, and the people not in your cluster when you're waiting for the elevator or if you make an effort (bleah effort).

[vavarazzi]

Hmmm, unless it closed halfway through this year, then no, since my friend stayed in Mercer for Fall quarter.... I'm not really all that up-to-date on the construction on that side of campus though, so maybe!

[ffjunkie42]

A lot of it, I think, boils down to whether you're someone who loves the social scene or someone who prefers a quieter environment.

McMahon and Lander are the more social places, I felt from whenever I was around those dorms. McCarty, from the two years I lived there, was definitely on the quieter side of things. I can't really say anything about Terry or Haggett's climate.

Also, McMahon and Haggett may be the only two dorms where you'll definitely have only one other roommate. In McCarty, Terry, and Lander (and I think Mercer, but I don't know if that dorm is still around anymore) you may have 1-2 (or even 3, if you're male) roommates. Lander's rooms are pretty small, and having 3 people per room was a nightmare for me. McCarty's triples were way more spacious. (I'm assuming you're a new freshman who isn't over 20, so I'm not including anything here about Hansee; it's a pretty awesome dorm, though).

If you live in Haggett, I recommend you or your roommate bring a little rug to cover the non-carpeted floor.

[myjetplane]

I'm going to be a junior because I will be a transer student. How difficult is it to get the dorm you want? Is it a seniors get first pick kind on thing? I think I am most interested in mcmahon, but it seems like it would be difficult to get into since everybody wants to live there. Do first year students generally get into mercer or lander?

[ffjunkie42]

Seeing as you're a transfer student, you won't be put into Lander (except possibly as overflow housing which you'll be eased out of as soon as space becomes available, but as long as you've applied by now I don't think you have to worry). I also don't think Mercer is available as an option, since I believe the UW is tearing it down (I may be wrong, I've since graduated so I don't know the current status).

There are a lot of rooms in McMahon (there are 2 wings with 11 floors each, I believe) so you may very well get in. It is on a returning-students first-pick basis, but I'm not sure where transfer students fall into that sort of thing. I think, as a transfer student, you'll probably be put in McMahon, Terry, or McCarty (possibly Haggett).

Really, the best way to get the dorm you want is to room with a friend and have the exact same preferences (that's how I, as a freshman, got to live in McCarty though it's a popular dorm), but I don't know how viable that option is for you.