Choosing your first dorm to live in as a college student is one of the most exciting parts about preparing for your freshman year. But with so many different dorms at Michigan State University, how are you supposed to know which halls are good or which one is right for you? Well, hopefully with this list, you will be able to know which halls are the best, and which ones are least from perfect!
Topping off our list of dorms at Michigan State University is a favor to many students, which is Snyder-Phillips Hall (Sny-Phi). Home to the Residential College for Arts and Humanities, this hall has many amenities to offer. Such as, a fitness center and a Sparty’s. Sny-Phi also includes The Gallery, a dining hall that is open for all meals, including late night. It is also known to be one of the best dining halls on campus. The location is convenient and has a bus stop right in front of the hall.
Coming in second is another North neighborhood beauty, Landon. Both the outside and inside of Landon are absolutely gorgeous. This hall is located right next to the Union, which means you’re closer to Union Late night. Along with Union Late Night, is Heritage Commons. Heritage Commons is Landon’s dining hall and the food there does not disappoint. The rooms here are decent size and considering the community-style bathrooms, they are surprisingly nice.
Brody neighborhood is home to six halls: Armstrong, Bailey, Bryan, Butterfield, Emmons, and Rather. All of these dorms at Michigan State University are grouped into one ranking because with the exception of a few design changes and what the halls offer, they’re all pretty much the same. These halls are usually accommodated by freshmen, which can make meeting people easier. The main reasons people love Brody is their dining hall, Brody Square. The food at Brody is usually good with minor complaints. The only major complaint Brody seems to get is the location. Unless you have a car or a bus pass, be prepared for long walks to most places on campus.
This hall is very similar to its next door neighbor Snyder-Phillips. The location is great and hall itself is absolutely beautiful. While there are no dining halls or Sparty’s inside this hall, you’re only about a minute walk to Snyder-Phillips. This dorm is also located near a few of the fraternities, if frat parties are your thing.
To some people’s surprise, Holden has made it into the top five on this list of dorms at Michigan State University. The rooms here are suites, which means you’ll have a more private bathroom. One nice thing about this hall is that it tends to have a mix of both freshmen and upperclassmen. This hall also has both the South engagement center, a Sparty’s, and health clinic. The health clinic specifically can be very convenient especially if you’re sick and don’t want to leave the dorm. The downsides to Holden are the dining hall, which serves sub-par food and is not open on the weekends, and the location is a little inconvenient. However, there is a bus stop in front of the hall.
If this list were to be ranked by dorm location, Shaw would have definitely made it as number one. Not only is it right across from the main bus station, but it is also in the middle of campus, which makes it not far from most classes. Shaw also contains a dining hall, The Vista, which most students seem to like. One of the main disadvantages of Shaw though is that this hall is mostly made up of upperclassmen. This means that not only will the hall be harder for freshmen to get, but it may pose as a challenge to make friends there if you’re easily intimidated by them.
Another dorm in north neighborhood has yet again taken a good spot on this list. The exterior of Mayo hall is just beautiful beyond words. Although, there isn’t a dorm in North Neighborhood that doesn’t look stunning. The rooms in Mayo are of pretty good size. Similarly to Landon, the bathrooms are decent for being community ones. Legend has it that the ghost of Mary Mayo still haunts this dorm, so let that be a deciding factor for you.
Wilson is one of those halls that isn’t the best but not the worst hall you could live at. While this hall has suite style bathrooms, the rooms are smaller. Yet, all of the rooms in South are not that big. Wilson also has a dining hall, but know that it only serves during dinner and late night. The food there is known to be okay. Wilson is also where most of the engineering students live, so if you’re planning to go into that major, this is where you’ll most likely be staying anyway.
Conveniently located near many sports complexes such as Spartan Stadium, Munn, Breslin, and many more, Case hall will give you a short walk to a lot of the game day actions. This includes tailgates! As home to the James Madison College, this dorm will mostly consist of either James Madison or Poly-Sci student. Some students who aren’t either of those major may not like that. South Pointe, Case’s dining hall, is also okay, that is if you like eating the exact same food everyday.
Located in the outskirts of Michigan state, also known as East campus, many people don’t want to live here due to the fact that it feels far from everything else on campus. One big thing that makes the rooms at Akers a little different from others is that these are quads. In other words, there will be four people to a room instead of two. This could be either really good if you’re outgoing or a total nightmare if you’re the more introverted type.
There’s honestly nothing bad about Campbell but it is also nothing special. I’d only recommend this hall is you can’t get into Mayo or Landon but still want to live in the West Circle neighborhood. This one also faces the Union so it does mean more late night, which is never a bad thing.
Wonders Hall is a basic carbon copy of Wilson. Instead of a dining hall, there’s a small Sparty’s that barely has any type of selection. The rooms and bathrooms are just about the same as Wilson or Holden. The only decent thing about Wonders is that they have a really nice gym in their basement.
To be honest, William’s is in no way a bad hall. It’s just as beautiful as the other halls in North Neighborhood. If you live there, you also have your own refrigerator in your room. The only reason it is low on this list is because this hall is mostly upperclassmen,and will most likely be really hard for freshmen to get in to.
Something needs to be done with McDonel. It’s just a boring hall. Besides having an engagement center, there’s nothing else really to it. It’s in “River Trail” but technically for its location it should be part of East Neighborhood. Many people have said that they also had a hard time meeting people while living here.
On the outside, Yakeley looks beautiful like the other West Circle halls. The inside, however, will contradict that statement. The interior of Yakeley is unimpressive to say the least. The walls are boring and the furniture looks like something that the colonists would have had in their homes. The showers are not so nice and there are only four washers total which are also shared with Gilchrist. Yakeley is basically beautiful trash. This hall is also only females, which some girls will love while others will hate.
If you like to take long walks to both classes and the bus stop, Hubbard is the perfect hall for you. Located right on the edge of campus, this hall is far from a lot. It’s even the farthest hall from the East Neighborhood bus stop, which may not be a problem until it’s cold and you don’t want to walk. People have also said this hall is a little dirty. So basically, Hubbard is nothing but twelve stories of trash.
Just barely making the cut for last on this list, Holmes is probably one of the worst halls you could choose. It’s located on the edge of campus and does not even have a convenient bus stop in front of it. There is a dining hall but the food there is sub par at best and not worth it. The main problem with Holmes is that it is home to the Lyman Briggs College. Most people, unless you’re an LB student, it’s hard to meet people and the hall itself is overall not worth it.
Gilchrist starts with G and so does the word garbage, so that’s why it has made the bottom. The hall is attached to Yakeley, so for a while you may not even know that it exists. It’s also really small in size so not a lot of people live there. The bathrooms there are horrible. It shares its “laundry room” with Yakeley and the inside of the hall is nothing to brag about. There are many wonderful halls you can live in, Gilchrist is not one of them.
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