Someone at UT Austin tell me about public/private dorms

[beer]

As my leading option for my first year of college in '02-'03, I need to seriously start considering how I am going to be housed in UT.

First of all, I want a nice place - but I don't want to be given the image of daddy's rich boy because I'm not.

What I want to know is, what dorms on campus are best, and what private dorms are affordable and nice as well? Security is going to be important - I will have at least $2K of audio stuff that I would need secured somehow. I would like to either have two roomates and two baths, or one roomate and one bath - something like that. I know the private dorms I looked at online seem to have bath setups like this - what about the public dorms? What kind of cost are we looking at for the private dorms as well?

Also how is parking? Due to many problems with 3 year old ford, I may end up taking down a 97 Prelude or another somewhat decent car. Is there adequete parking and is vanalism a big issue?

 

[bigd480]

UT dorms- wouldn't ever be considered "nice" but i'll be living in them for the third time this fall and i like em alot... mainly cuz price and convenience are my main priorities... i would recommend any freshman to live in the dorms their first year... you'll meet a ton more people, they'll be more diverse, and it's very convenient and relatively cheap ($2-2.5k/semester including meals)... parking garage for jester is really convenient and much cheaper than parking anywhere else...

Dobie - i had to live here my soph year because i didn't get housing lottery... this place is full of rich spoiled freshmen who act like they're in their freshman year of high school... costs anywhere from $8k-$15k a year depending on room choice... they have a parking garage across the street that's more expensive than campus but don't know the #'s... not very safe cuz the half the spots are narrow and ppl are a-holes... meals are better than campus dorms...

Towers - just like dobie but "nicer", and more expensive... farther from campus...

Other private dorms - not many great ones, most ppl would rather get:

Apartments - i wouldn't do this unless your goals for college don't include anything about academic performance - especially in the first year...

There are also co-ops, which are cheaper than living on campus, but can be rundown... You live there and also do some work around the place... Like a dorm slash apartment complex that maintains itself, you cook and stuff...

 

[beer]

Nah I don't want to get apartments. I've seen enough people get screwed over by having apartments first year in Austin. I want a dorm...I just want a nice one too....

 

[xyion]

one of my good friends lived in Dobie freshman year, and he hated it. He said the people weren't nice at all, they kept complaining about the noise whenever he used his computer (playing mp3's, games, etc.). This year, he got into San Jacinto, which he says is really nice. I would try there.

.xyion

 

[bigd480]

oh yeah - san jac is the newest UT dorm... very very nice... coulda lived there but am staying w/ a friend of mine who's going to be an RA @ jester...

 

[ElFenix]

san jac is the newest dorm, little more money than the others, but there nice leather couches (gotta see if i can "get" myself one of those) big conference room study areas, the whole works.

next up i would say brackenridge, roberts, and prather are all really good choices. brack/roberts is coed, prather is not. after that... well, you're looking at moore-hill, which is across the street from brack/roberts, and simkins, which is right next to engineering and is ass-far from anything else. if you like living in BFE with a bunch of engineers, its your place. both are better than jester, though. of course, i'm assuming you're male. prather was named the best dorm in the country by playboy a while back.

as for parking, get a garage permit, they're worth it. i dunno about vandalism but as long as you don't do stupid things like leaving your windows open with a CD case sitting there you'll probably be fine, considering a prelude is a pretty common car around campus.

 

[beer]

Since it seems you go to Austin, what do you think about the various private dorms? Cost wise they seem to be more or less in-line with San Jaciento unless you get a single studio or something. Are they a long way from campus? Do you know anyone that's in one that maybe I could email to get their feelings on?

I'm going to apply early and do as much as I can right.

 

[ElFenix]

dobie is right next to campus. so is the castillian. dobie i wasn't really impressed by (my roommate lived there for a semester). the elevator takes forever just before class and people always throw stuff in it. bathrooms are private in all the private dorms, unlike most of the campus dorms. dobie is really good if you want to live up on the 14th floor and have a great view of campus, the hills, or the capitol. the cafeteria allows only you to come in on your card, which, frankly, sucks. you're going to have friends that don't live there, and you're going to want to eat with them. you'll have to let the swipe you somewhere or eat in dobie mall, essentially a food court. if you like indian food, sarovar express is coming. personally, i wouldn't live there. dobie has a small garage.

the castillian has a reputation for a party dorm. i don't know if its true or not, but it does have a parking garage in the basement and a really excellent cafeteria. you can swipe anyone and the food looks and tastes like something from a real restaurant. i've never been in one of the rooms.

the towers is a hike from campus, down 24th street. its expensive, has a big parking garage, but i was only in a room there once and that was in summer of 1998. it was a single with a kitchenette, so you can always cook there if you want. rooms do have balconies. i don't know about the food service, never ate there.

personally, i'd live on campus. not that dobie and castillian aren't right across the street, but i like the affordability, and if you don't like the food you can always spend your dining dollars at the union. (dining dollars was the dumbest thing DHFS ever did, they're losing soo much money because of it. they can't compete with wendys and taco bell at the union. but thats a whole nother story). i say: keep your options open. apply for on-campus and dobie, maybe castillian. if you get san jac, brack, roberts, or prather, take them. (i was lucky enough to get the second floor of brack my freshman year, first choice. of course, i sent my application in the day most people in houston got theirs hehehe). if you're in moore-hill, simkins, or jester, go for doobage or the castillian.

EDIT: take a tour of the private dorms if you can get a chance, they'll show you what the rooms look like, maybe even eat at the cafeteria.

 

[step-dawg]

I lived in Jester for 3 years. My brother and girlfriend both lived in San Jac this past year. I like living in Jester because it was convienient and I had lots of friends that lived there. It's not the nicest dorm but it could be much worse. San Jac is a really nice looking dorm and everyroom has a private bath. Very nice facilities and movable furniture.

Which privat dorms cost the same as san jac? San Jac costs just a bit more than Jester or any other dorm. Most private dorms cost a significant deal more. Wouldn't worry about vanadalism as long as you use common sense.

 

[step-dawg]

dang dp.

 

[bigbootydaddy]

moving to college park in august, w00t!

exicted booty

 

[heat23]

SAN JAC is really nice and only a couple hundred more than jester.... SAN JAC IS THOUSANDS LESS THAN DOBIE AND OTHER PRIVATE DORMS!!

Im going on my 3rd year in dobie...i didnt get housing lottery and i wanna be next to campus.. you cant beat the convenience of dobie unless u live ON campus... yes this place is expensive, yes elevators may take a while sometimes, yes the food is nasty sometimes, sometimes its okay... but its near campus...u can walk to the lib at all times of night...i would rather live here than in an apt...

btw: check out www.dobiecenter.com for prices...u may have a heart attack

 

[ElFenix]

bigbootydaddy - you must be the only one on the planet excited about moving into college park. a friend of mine is moving from there to a hole on red river and is happy about it.

 

[bigd480]

in BBD's defense he's moving from Houston... not that I don't love Houston... but there's alot more fun to be had by guys our age at a place like College Park... especially if you live with parents when you're not in school...