UC Irvine Dorms Ranked

Number 10

"The first floor double suite is a nightmare. Walls are thin. You can hear everything. It’s hard to sleep and most of the time no one cares. My hall in particular didn’t know how to clean up after themselves and a lot of drama happened in the hall. Not fun. My RA never enforced quiet hours and was not as present or helpful as my freshman year RA from middle earth (open house 2018 was amazing in middle). They didn’t handle certain situations well and would comment on smaller things happening around the house but was quiet when we would say something about noise lol. Washers suck sometimes and the first few weeks are hellish because the frats and sororities do their chants or whatever. The shared kitchen sucks because people do steal your shit so I’d recommend getting a micro fridge. I feel, in general RAs aren’t as present in halls as they were in Middle. People steal bikes a lot. I honestly wish I could’ve chosen at least a regular double bc the suite was not worth it. Maybe even Plaza. The patio is a joke of a small piece of concrete and wall and the only plus is a private bathroom and couch with a small table and it’s split into two rooms, but every time we would come through our front door people would stare into my room and I’d hate it <3 it’s really annoying and if your get the first floor suite, expect people to turn and look at your every time you walk out your door. Because of this u would just walk around and outside to get to the kitchen to avoid being stared at <3" - 4 years ago

We collected 5 dorm reviews for Arroyo Vista

Number 9

"I lived in VDC Norte and had a shared room with someone. It felt like a huge room for a portion of the time because I didn't have a roommate for about a month, but when he moved it I felt like everything had downsized only just a little. There was still enough room for the both of us! Since I lived in the shared room we had our own bathroom that was connected to our room. If you live in the single then you have to share the bathroom in the living room with the other single room occupant. It was nice to have our own kitchen and living room! Great wifi and there was A/C. The building had a lot of amenities, like a study room, game lounge, pool, washing and drying, and conference room. Only downside is that you had to walk to get to those places so you may be having to take your laundry down 3 flights of stairs and down the hall. Kind of got annoying when I had to continuously go back and forth to wash and dry. Parking isn't the greatest, so if you have guest coming please plan accordingly! Also it is like a 15-25 minute walk to campus so you either have to plan ahead and take the shuttle or bike/walk there. Also camping paring passes do not work at the apartment lot, so unless you have a lot of money you have to choose whether you want your car on campus or at your housing!" - 2 years ago

We collected 5 dorm reviews for VDC Norte

Number 8

"ACC is very expensive for what you get. I paid $1400 a month at Puerta Del Sol for a little over 400 square feet of space in a studio, and it was only worthwhile because I’m married and was able to split costs with my husband.

The most “affordable” unit in ACC is at Puerta Del Sol in the two-room double. You room with four people total, but share a (tiny) room with one roommate. Each room has a restroom, and there’s a small common area with a kitchen/living room. It’s actually kind of terrible living in this situation unless you know your roommates beforehand; there’s barely any space in your room—if you can fit a desk in there, you’re lucky—and the common area offers little in the way of quiet/privacy.

ACC is frankly a rip-off, but there are no better choices in Irvine unless you want to live in a cramped condo with 4-6 other people for $100-$200 less per month." - 4 years ago

We collected 1 dorm reviews for Puerta del Sol

Number 7

"I was in VDC and had a single with a shared bathroom.
Pros: single rooms for decent price (compared to the other options around UCI), pretty quiet unless you're very unlucky in your neighbors, you only have to share communal space with ~4 people so things are usually much cleaner. furniture is provided.
Cons: FAR from campus, limited bus options, big parking lot but they do check it. laundry room is in a separate building. other than your roommates/housemates, you prob won't get to know anyone else in the building or community. Very few community activities, if that's your kind of thing. Also, you'll need to bring your own cookware and make your own food, cuz no dining halls. Also, no elevators, which is a hassle during move in/out" - 4 years ago

We collected 4 dorm reviews for VDC (Vista del Campo)

Number 6

"Background: former occupant of a quad in Caballo (Mesa Court Towers)

Downsides of a quad are privacy and space. I had morning classes all the time, so I had to be more mindful of my alarms. Rooms had great curtains to keep out sunlight, and shader curtains to let some light in. I got the accessibility room, so the bathroom was a bit more spacious. Occasional sewer flies would be in the bathroom. Bathroom isn't as soundproof as I initially thought. No air conditioning, so window fan is highly recommended (bearable heat if fan is consistently running). Mini-fridge is also recommended.

Building was aesthetic and of brutalist architecture. Elevators functioned. Common rooms and structure of the building allowed for a social atmosphere (shared kitchen if not floor 6, study rooms at the end, long hallways with tables and chairs, television screens). Each floor has a public restroom and every other floor, a laundry room (pay by card only). Caballo is located right above the dining hall, so it wasn't that far of a walk (right around the corner when you exit the building) and the recreation/gym rooms were right across. There's more security now though, with locked stairwell doors (prior, there were none and it was easier to get around). I believe I had stayed here in the building's third year." - 4 years ago

We collected 29 dorm reviews for Mesa Court

Number 5

"I lived in middle earth for 2 years: Being 5 minutes away from social sciences and engineering was very nice. I lived in a 1st gen double, so it was a bit larger than the 2nd and 3rd gen dorm rooms. Large number of couches and a good number of outlets in the common areas, perfect for game nights or study sessions. Brandywine dining hall is okay, seating is limited at peak hours and the food is decent, but gets boring after a quarter.

My suite had 2 bathrooms for 11 people, with there being 1 toilet, 1 shower, and two sinks per bathroom. Private showers and toilets. The first floor has the ADA bathroom which is VERY spacious.

Room sizes varied greatly, as the upper floors tended to have smaller rooms on average and size varied depending on where in the suite it was. Heaters on the first floor are either constantly on or need maintenance to turn on during the winter and to shut off in the spring. Bugs are an issue, mainly crickets.

The kitchens can either be extremely cramped or very open depending on the individual floor plan of the hall. The Shire has a extremely narrow one while Rivendell has one that is completely open to the common room. My hall cooked a friendsgiving dinner in that kitchen, 20 lb turkey and all the sides, so it's doable, but limiting. The sink is small so dishes pile up." - 4 years ago

We collected 26 dorm reviews for Middle Earth

Number 4

"Camino Del Sol 4bedrooms/4.5bathrooms.

Pros:
You get an entire room and bathroom to yourself. You have privacy for yourself and if you want to bring a friend over. The lodge let’s you print for free. The place comes with a washer and dryer. There’s a shuttle so you don’t have to walk to campus (it’s about a 25min walk).

Cons:
The walls are very thin so I was able to hear my housemates talk on the phone or whenever they had sex LOL (Buy earplugs!). The WiFi sometimes sucks too and your calls might end. The lighting sucks so I recommend buying a lamp for your room. Oh and buy a shower curtain!

Overall:
It also depends on your housemates and how chill they are.
My housemates were very chill. My boyfriend came over every weekend and they brought guys over too. One of my housemates’ boyfriend lived with us and he was very chill as well. Me and the other two housemates didn’t care. They were super understanding. They would clean, I would clean. Sometimes I’d let them borrow kitchen gadgets for food in return ahah. I was very happy to be placed with cool, fun roommates and that made the experience at Camino even better despite the cons." - 4 years ago

We collected 3 dorm reviews for Camino del Sol

Number 3

"(2B2B option) Let's start with the weirdest thing: unless you get really creative with your setup, you're gonna be touching toes with your roommate. There's only space for one actually good desk, so keep that in mind, too. Otherwise, the place is great. The living room and kitchen are spacious and easy to clean, the bathrooms are modern and large, and the fixtures all around are decent. " - 6 days ago

We collected 1 dorm reviews for Plaza Verde II

Number 2

"The room itself was quite large, single unfurnished in a 2 bedroom 1 bath apt. The apartment itself was a tad old and had a stench when moving in but I quickly spruced up the place. Campus Village is conveniently located on campus and was able to see Swagman on the regular. Parking is really nice at CV (free for CV residents) just don't park under the trees off of Bison. Gym there is nice, and has a clean/useful community center. Overall for older students I really recommend it!" - 4 years ago

We collected 2 dorm reviews for Campus Village

Number 1

"I’m an undergrad, but was able to live in grad housing because of my daughter. “New” Verano is much nicer than “old” Verano. I love it! Super quiet area, clean, and close to the ARC and shuttle. I wish it were a little cheaper, though. I have friends that live in “old” verano who pay less rent for a bigger space." - 4 years ago

We collected 1 dorm reviews for Verano Place