UCI offers three types of dorms for freshman to live at: Middle Earth Housing, Mesa Court, and the Mesa Towers. However, no matter what dorm one lives at, they all give fresman the ability to meet new people. While every person values different things in where they live, I hope this ranking gives prospective or incoming freshman a better idea on what UCI’s freshman dorms are like. Keep reading to find out what the best freshman dorms at the University of California Irvine are!
I believe the Mesa Towers are the best freshman dorms at UCI. I currently live in the Mesa Towers and absolutely love it! The Mesa Towers were built summer of 2016; therefore, they are brand new! There are three Mesa Towers and they are called: Playa, Cabillo, and Mariposa.
Each tower has 5 floors of student housing. Two floors share one common area, but the top floor has their own common room. The common room consists of a laundry room (four washers and four dryers), a kitchen (fridge, stove, oven, and cabinets), a large table with chairs, and a couch which a TV.
The Mesa Towers have a hotel-like vibe as they are contemporary looking. The rooms are either triples (3 students in each) or quads (four students in each).
Each student is given a bed (twin xl), desk (with drawers) and wardrobe. One of the reasons the Towers are so popular compared to Middle Earth or Mesa Court is because of the bathrooms. Two rooms – of the same gender – share a common bathroom that consists of two stalls, two sinks and two showers. The bathroom is connected between the two rooms.
The Mesa Towers is just a two-minute walk to the “Anteatery” dining hall, the recreation center, and the fitness room, which makes everything very convenient. While, the Mesa Towers are a five minute walk to main campus, it is only a two minute walk to the Claire Trevor School of the Arts.
Overall, I believe the Mesa Towers are the best freshman dorms at UC Irvine due to being brand new and convenient to the dining hall and other common locations.
There are 32 dorms in Mesa Court — all which have a home-like feeling within them. Each dorm has a unique name to it, as well as a theme. Some themes range from “Performing Arts Interests” theme to “Leadership” theme, ect. The Mesa Court dorms range from two to three floors with a kitchen area and small area for socializing on each floor. Each dorm hall has about 60 students.
I really enjoy the feeling of the Mesa Court dorms because you are able to get to know everybody in your hall. Each dorm has one big common room with couches, and the “Prado – Performing Arts” and “Otero – Music” Theme ha
lls have a piano in the common room as well.
The rooms in Mesa Court range from singles to quads – however all of them are spacious and give plenty of room fora comfortable living space. A set of 4-5 rooms share one small common area and a bathroom. Each bathroom has two showers, two sinks and two stalls.
Living at Mesa Court allows for a comfortable and cozy dorm life and the feeling of going home after a day at school. While, these dorms are also a five minute walk to main campus, they are close to the “Anteatery” dining hall, the recreation center and the gym.
If you’re looking for the ability to get out of bed 10 minutes before your class starts, then Middle Earth is the place for you! Middle Earth has a completely different vibe from Mesa Court and Mesa Towers because of the fact that the dorms are right on campus.
Middle Earth is located between Social Sciences and Engineering – making it very convenient for those who like that extra five minutes of sleep. There are 24 dorm halls in Middle Earth, and much like Mesa Court, each dorm hall has a unique name to them. Those who live in Middle Earth are close to two dining halls on campus – “Brandywine Commons” and “Pippins,” as well as a recreation center and gym.
Each dorm hall in Middle Earth range from two to three floors with roughly 60-80 students in each dorm hall. The reason I rank Middle Earth as my last choice in freshman dorms at UC Irvine is because the rooms are smaller, and not as nice as the Mesa Court and Towers.
However, Middle Earth is great if you are looking for somewhere close to campus, a feeling of knowing your hallmates, and convenience to two dining halls nearby.
Overall, all three dorms for freshman at UCI are comfortable and wonderful places to meet new people! I favor the Mesa Towers; however, no matter where you live, take advantage of all that it has to offer. Even if you didn’t get your first choice in dorm preference, trust me, you’ll get used to it and learn to love it!
GO EATERS!
Thanks for reading!
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