UC Irvine Freshman Dorms Ranked

Number 3

"Pros: Pretty tidy at times but gets noisy when Doan's sister comes home. Family is a bit annoying to deal with, but close the door to your room and its pretty much fine.
Cons: Far from campus, about a 15 minute drive taking the 405 and 73. It's close to Antoine's house though, so that's pretty cool too!" - 1 year ago

1 student reviewers said they lived in Doan's House during their freshman year

Number 2

"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

24 student reviewers said they lived in Middle Earth during their freshman year

Number 1

"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

29 student reviewers said they lived in Mesa Court during their freshman year