Any freshman would agree, their dorm is the most important part of shaping their college experience. From the almost disastrous showering situation, to sharing a cramped living space with a stranger, living in a dorm transforms you into a more open minded person. More importantly, meeting people from different backgrounds, and forging strong relationships can make transitioning into college a lot easier. However, it is important to know exactly what each dorm offers, so you can make the most of your housing experience! Without further ado, here is the 411 on all the freshman dorms at the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign.
Florida Avenue Residence Halls are a good choice for anyone who wants to live on the South side of campus. The building comprises of two adjoining halls, Trelease and Oglesby. The hall is diverse, and has two LLCs: WIMSE and Health Professions. Apart from LLCs, FAR also has a decent sized library, a gym, and lounges for students to unwind after a long day. Dining at FAR is never an issue as it is located right across the street from PAR(which has arguably some of the best food on campus), along with its own dining hall.
Every Monday, the FAR dining hall has FAR out pizza which is a fine-dining pizza specialty restaurant. Most often, you will hear people say that “FAR is too far away from the quad.” This maybe true, but it isn’t a problem! The MTD buses are so frequent and literally take you to any part of campus from FAR/PAR.
Busey-Evans the all-women, historical, yet ageless dorm on campus. It’s beautiful English-Style, vintage architecture and its close knit communities make it an excellent choice of living. Busy Evans is also located right off of Nevada Avenue, a mere 3 minute walk away from the quad, and on rainy, or snowy cold midwest days, that turns out to be a blessing. The Busey-Evans dining hall pretty decent food, nothing out-of-the ordinary. On Fridays though, their specialty lunch restaurant is something to look forward to. So if you’re ready to live that dynamic, all-girls life, then Busy-Evans is the dorm for you!
PAR has the best food on campus. People from all around campus try to grab a taste of their famous ‘stir-fry’. They are also the dorm that serve late-night dinner from 9pm to 12 am and as a broke, starving college student, sometimes that’s all you need. The dorm is diverse, has a high population of international students, and also has an LLC called Global Crossroads. Whenever I am at PAR, I hear cultural events and shows being organized. The dorm is as social as you make it, and there are many activities you can get involved with. Penn Station at PAR is another perk to living there. Similar to Chomps, Penn Station lets you buy coffee, frozen food, and many other things with cafe credits.
Par is not air-conditioned, so if that’s a requirement for you, I suggest you weigh that in carefully. And like I said before, don’t worry about the distance, the MTD buses can get you anywhere.
Allen Hall is a fantastic freshman dorm. I may be a little biased because I lived in Allen my first semester of college, but it is a dorm that lives up to its expectations. It is filled with artsy, creative people who are always looking to make a difference. From the absolutely genius “zombie-mob” on Halloween to the annual “Yule Ball’, Allen Hall is a special dorm for anyone who engages in creative things. They have free music lessons, workshops by influential people, and open mic nights. It’s pretty close to the quad, literally five steps away from CRCE, however a bit far from the engineering side of campus.
LAR has one of the only all vegetarian dining halls on campus. The only downside to this dorm is the lack of air-conditioning. The dorms can get claustrophobic, if you’re not ventilating them well enough. A great perk to living here is that you can take classes for credit right in your dorm, and most are offered every semester.
A pro-tip: Participate as much as you can in the Allen Hall Orientation. It’s a great way to know people, and you get a T-shirt!
If a dorm can have literally everything, it is ISR. From its own exercise room, to Chomps( an on-campus store to buy food and drinks with cafe credits), two laundry rooms, multiple study lounges and a 3-D printer, it’s got it all. One of the biggest perks to living in ISR would be the location. It is the closest a dorm can be to the engineering quad. It is true that most of the people that live in ISR are engineering majors, but that doesn’t make it any less social. Of course, there are people who like to keep to themselves, but if you put yourself out there, social interaction isn’t impossible. I’m also pretty biased to ISR because I lived here my second semester of college. The convenience that this dorm provides is unparalleled, and if that’s what you’re looking for, ISR is the place to be.
The six-pack consists of six (surprise,surprise) main dorms, and are by far the most social dorms on campus. They are located in close proximity to the ARC, so it is convenient to stop by the gym after classes. The 6 pack is not very close to the quad, or the engineering quad for that matter, but they are close to the fraternity houses, and people say that’s what makes them the most social dorms on campus. I think that just the fact that there are so many people living around you, a sense of community is bound to be formed. Although the “party” culture is very visible, the dorm is so diverse that you can find groups of almost any kind.
One of the newest Halls in the Six-pack is Wassaja hall, and is the best dorm on campus. The rooms are more spacious, and have semi-private bathrooms. The Ikenberry commons dorms have many LLCs to choose from if you’re interested. In general, the Ikenberry commons dining hall serves a wide variety of food, and is also home to 57 North (an A La Carte location on campus) and ‘Caffeinator’ to help with all your late-night study sessions, or early morning classes. All in all, there is always something going on the 6-pack, and if you like to be right in the middle of all the action, Ikenberry commons in the place to be.
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