Dorm selection help

[clones26]

Yea, but that's not gonna seem so important if this kids doing engineering or design and has cross all of campus everyday to get to class.

Orange bus stops by every 2 seconds over there to get to class so I dont think thats too much of a problem. Either way I wouldnt live on campus, but that was my personal choice.

[MNCyGuy]

too each their own. I hated living in MWL and loved Friley. It was way easier if I needed to meet groups for homework and I had activities on-campus half the time when orange didn't run. Plus MWL rooms are prison cell-esque.

[zumbro clones]

I lived in Friley but that was a long time ago. I haven't been there lately. I have been to Larch for a summer camp with my sons and they were OK. We'll look into Martin and Eaton.

[cstrunk]

Friley: atmosphere, location, room size.

Good place to live as a freshman/sophomore.

[Clone5]

what the hell do you think MWL is close to?

1. The Rec (where I spent most of my time as a freshman)
2. Jack Trice
3. Hilton
4. Orange Bus Stop
5. New Dining Center
6. Hundreds of freshman girls

[MNCyGuy]

well, ok, apparently lots of people have fonder memories of living on the east side than I do. I always thought it was like the ISU ghetto and couldn't wait to move.

[IcSyU]

I lived in Larch and loved it, and that was before Seasons Marketplace was finished. That dining center now >>>>> UDCC. Being close to Hilton was GREAT during hoops season and being close to the Jack was nice. If he likes hoops east side is the place to be because State is closed and Beyer is generally packed. Library is a long walk, but if a study place is needed, the Hixson-Lied is reallllllly nice. Additionally, Orange route goes from the front of Maple to the east side of the library quite frequently.

As a freshman, living near the engineering or design buildings for example isn't that important. Most of their classes aren't in those buildings yet. Most freshman spend 3-4 classes around Central Campus.

[Al_4_State]

I had a blast living in MWL (just stay out of the Third Reich, er Maple). As someone mentioned, but hasn't been pointed out enough. It is close to a high number of female students. This is a major plus.

[cycoOJfan89]

My son's best friend was just accepted to ISU and he would like help in selecting a dorm. It's been a long time since I graduated so I'd like to get some ideas for the best dorms for him. I'm assuming he'll just get a standard double.

What are the best dorms to choose?

Here is my take...

I think all the dorms at ISU have their own unique advantages and disadvantages except for towers.

Maple, Willow, Larch - Willow and Larch are not nice dorms by any means but through my personal experience they are the most fun and probably have a better male/female ratio than that of Friley or any others. Maple was remodeled and used to be Honors dorms when ISU did the Honors dorm thing. Maple is "quieter" than the others. I lived in Willow, my brother lived in Maple when it was Honors, and my other brother lived in Larch. These probably have more Pre-Business students. Probably a little bit more drinking going on too. Maple also costs a little bit more per year. Also MWL is the closest to the athletic facilities.

Towers - Do they even house kids here anymore? My mom lived there in the 70s and she said it was horrible then too. My brother who lived in Larch his soph yr, lived here his frosh year in 2002. It was really bad then too.

Roberts, Welch, Linden etc. - These are classy old school looking dorms. Rooms for the most part bigger than MWL too, but due to the architecture of the building some rooms are huge and some are really small. No A/C units, so late August and Sept can be a bit of a pain. Have had a lot of fun with friends in these, but probably not as much going on as MWL (can be a good thing!).

Friley - Very unique historic building. Never had very many friends who lived there so I haven't been there much. The most famous dorm on campus and for awhile the nation, as it was the biggest dorm in nation for a number of years. I believe it ranks #3 today. Through my limited experience in Friley there isn't any A/C and the rooms seem to be of standard size and some parts are getting a little run down but what can you expect for a college dorm? You will probably see more engineering/architecture students here and I don't think the male/female ratio is all that great.

Helser - I like to think of it as "Hell"ser! It's really not that bad, it's a poor man's Friley, old and run down. I believe some of it has been remodeled, my sister was slated to live here before she opted out and found a room in the all female dorms across from Linden (forgot the names). She later transfered to Iowa (traitor, I never let her forget that). Have nothing more to say about these dorms as I have been in there once or twice.

Eaton/Martin - The nicest dorms on the entire campus and maybe the nicest of all the state universities. I have known some people who lived here and it feels more like a hotel than dorm to me. Quiet and everyone has their doors shut. They are VERY nice though and I heard that some units have 2 floors? They will cost quite a bit more though too. If you want the true "dorm experience" stay away from here. But if he is a bookworm and isn't all that social, this is the place for him.

Buchanon - Known as the "sophomore" dorms since most graduated the other dorms and come here as sophomores, I believe that you can still get a room here as a freshman with special conditions. My friend's sister is there as a freshman but she is on the dance team for the football games (not sure if that played a role for her getting a room there or not). Very nice like Martin and Eaton but will cost you more.

All in all, my pick is for MWL I lived there with my best friend from high school (Saxaclone13, I don't think he knows I recently joined CF yet haha) and wouldn't trade my freshman year experience for anything else. They aren't the nicest but they aren't the worst. They have A/C, best male/female ratio, great location and now has a kick *** dining hall.

[ISUKoolaid]

As far as I know most rooms in Friley have AC. As far as my opinion, I would agree with everyone that says not to live in Maple. I lived there freshman year and hated it. Everyone had their doors closed and there was no sense of community on the floor. Soph year I lived in Friley and thought it was great. The rooms were much bigger and it was a heck of a lot more fun. Also, Friley is much closer to the buildings that I need to get to for class (engineering), even when you take the orange route into account.

[aeroclone]

Friley. It has bigger rooms, ac, and a great location. With the new suite buildings over there the female population is a little better now too.

[LeSchmick]

I'm going to go out on a limb and say willow and larch are just as terrible as helser. They are very underrated on the ****** scale.

[Al_4_State]

I'm going to go out on a limb and say willow and larch are just as terrible as helser. They are very underrated on the ****** scale.

They aren't nice, but what do you want? To live in the lap of luxury or a great college experience? Willow and Larch are in poor condition, but they were a blast to live in. If you want to be a pampered little priss, live in Eaton or Martin, if you want to have a good time, live in MWL.

[Flag Guy]

Friley is the only acceptable answer!!!


Now personal biases aside... I'd say it depends on what his major is. For Engineers / design people, UDA is more convient (Friley, Helser, and the Suites Martin and Eaton)

For most anyone else, RCA/Old RCA are more convient.

[Sy4Cy]

I don't know why a guy would want to live somewhere there weren't any girls. I never lived in any of the dorms but I never heard anything good about Helser. Depending on how much he trusts his kid and how much he is willing to pay there are plenty of decent apartments around the campus.