Is Middle Earth the best dorm at UCI?

I chose Middle Earth because of the travel times between classes and because I felt that the people there would better suit my personality and interests. After living two quarters in the classics, I wouldn't recommend it. The building looks pretty old and this is very apparent when you first enter the first floor, where in my dorm was very dark. My dorm had elevators, but after move-in day, they were not operational(probably due to security issues). The showers are not the best and they feel dirty to take one in. The rooms are kind of cramped, especially if you live in a triple or quad. I lived in a double, but compared to Arroyo Vista's doubles, they are like 33% smaller. The people I met here were either very cliquey(a little fake as well), unpleasant, and not open-minded, or were reclusive. This is just my experience though and does not apply to everyone I met here. There's no Middle Earth Towers option on this site, but I would highly recommend choosing towers over classics. Even though I didn't live in it, I was able to get in through friends inviting me and I got to say that it's just so much nicer than classics. Unlike Mesa Towers, there are some doubles and triples here and everything is just newer, cleaner, and just better. The triple I went in was very spacious, like the walkroom was basically double of my room. The showers are inside the rooms connected to another room through a hall.

Middle Earth Classics/ THE TRENCHES... Hall name: Balin Size: Triple Bathrooms: 2/3 stalls clogged at all times Good location, uncomfortable chairs, towers got it good. <3 JEDCAL, FDMS Guam, 671 aMAzing

The bathroom was shared with 13 others and it was very small, on the weekend it wasn't cleaned and it became gross fast. The blinds didn't block enough light and were extremely annoying. I lived in a double occupancy corner room in Harrowdale though so it was good space-wise, but if you intend on a triple, you'll be crammed into a tiny box. You have to literally fight 90~ people for 4 laundry machines. Elevator is always off except for move-in, so I had to climb 2.5 flights of stairs to get to my room and to even go to the kitchen or trashcan. Brandywine is extremely close though!

Middle Earth classic (Whispering Wood, a Phase 2 dorm). Lived on the 3rd floor (no elevator), no AC in the classic dorms meant it was pretty toasty in the summer. Thankfully, there was a huge tree outside the building in front of the window that provided quite a bit of shade. Communal bathroom/shower shared among the suite of about 6-7 other rooms, some doubles and some triples. Laundry room is 4 washers/4 dryers for the whole hall of about 80 people or so, located on the ground floor. I'm not picky, but after visiting some friends who dormed again our 2nd year (I moved to Camino w/ my roommate) and got into the ME towers, the towers are definitely way nicer and certainly a lot more value for the stupid high amount of money you'll pay to dorm. ME does have the benefit of being very close to campus though, closer than Mesa anyhow.

Loved the fact that I could get to my engineering classes in 5 minutes. Quality of living is not very good in the classics, showers barely worked, and no elevators for move in day.