Ultimate Ranking of Dorms at ISU

Now that you have finally committed to ISU, it’s time to choose where you are going to live for the year. For freshman, there is really only 3 options when it comes to where you live unless you commute. Keep reading for the ultimate ranking of dorms at ISU!

admissions.illinoisstate.edu

#1 Dorm: Watterson Towers

I lived in Watterson last year and I am going to be living there again this year and I absolutely love it. The rooms are a pretty decent size compared to the other 2 dorms. Every 5 floors are broken into a house and between the 2 towers there are a total of 10 houses. Jefferson/Smith consist of the first 5 floors. Monroe/Randolph are the next 5 followed by Adams/Pickering, Clay/Marshall, and finally Madison/Van Buren being the last 5 floors. Between the North and South towers there is approximately 2,000 people living in the dorms.

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The Layout

The layout of the floors might be really confusing at first because it is not set up like a traditional dorm building where there is just one long hallway. There is a ton of turns and corners and you probably will get lost a few times your first week here. Also, the elevators stop on the 3^rd floor of the houses and the towers are connected by a breezeway. And with 2,000 people living in the dorms, getting an elevator isn’t always easy. You might end up having to wait 10 minutes for an elevator so I recommend leaving for class early just in case.

Pros & Cons

Probably one of the most convenient things about living in Watterson is that the dining center is connected by a breezeway so in the freezing winter, you don’t have to bundle up to go and get lunch. One major downside, in my opinion, to living in Watterson is that you are literally a 2 minute walk from the train station so that means all day and night you will have trains blasting there horns. But, a huge plus is the lounge/laundry room because it’s on the 28^th floor so you have an amazing vie

#2 Dorm: Manchester/Hewett

I personally haven’t lived here but I did spend a night here during preview and I have come to a few conclusions. The buildings themselves are pretty nice. They have a very big entry way which I am pretty jealous of. Then there are 2 sides with a key swipe so you can get into your appropriate building. They have like a lounge near their elevators with a billiard table and a foosball table. On each floor, they have a lounge which is a pretty decent size. The hallway basically goes around in a giant circle since it is like every other traditional dorm where they have a straight hall.

wikipedia.org

#3 Dorm: Tri Towers

Tri Towers is located on the west side of campus and consists of 3 buildings (hence why it’s called Tri) Haynie, Wilkins, and Wright hall. Now, I have never set foot in a single one of these so I know pretty much nothing about these. A lot of athletes tend to live here because it is super close to the basketball arena, field house, and football stadium. I believe that the rooms are around the same size as the ones in Hewett/Manchester but I could be wrong. In Tri, the laundry room is located in the basement of the buildings and not on the top floor.

wikipedia.org

#4 Dorm: Cardinal Court

This isn’t a dorm and it isn’t available to freshman. Cardinal Court is basically an apartment style residence hall mainly for sophomores. The plus side is everyone gets their own room, you don’t have a communal bathroom, and you have your own kitchen. The downside is that unless you have a car, it’s not necessarily a convenient place to live. It’s located even farther than Tri so walking to campus isn’t really an option many students opt for. However, if you don’t have a car, there is a bus that comes and picks students up and takes them to and from campus. There is also still an RA.