UW Madison Dorms Ranked

"It’s a good hall location wise it’s very close to everything. The rooms are pretty small and look like a jail cell, but if you decorate nice enough it’s not bad. "

"Chad gets absolutely carried by its location; the rooms are small and honestly kinda cramped (kind of difficult to keep your room clean given how small it is everything just feels cluttered) and the building layout is pretty similar in nature to Waters with a dining hall in the building, the main plus sides for Chad are honestly just the location and the flamingo run on the first floor- which is great for late night benders or studying."

"This is the best dorm on campus in my opinion. It has private bathrooms, so you don’t have to deal with communal bathrooms. The rooms are quite large compared to most dorm rooms on campus. It’s a generally accepting environment (especially for queer students). It’s very quiet (you can always go elsewhere for wilder parties). The kitchen and elevator are outdated. However, the building is right next to dejope. You’re basically closer to the dining hall than the kids who live in dejope. Depending on what side of the dorm you are on, you might get a sick lake view. It’s right on the lakeshore path and a short walk to the bus stop. There are plenty of study spaces in the building that are not crowded, so you don’t always have to trek to the library to study. Also, there are always plenty of laundry machines open. I had a great time in Phillips because it was quiet when I needed it to be, but fun when I wanted it to be."

"The room was nice and clean. The building is newer so generally it is nicer to live in compared to other dorms. The location is a little far from classes but being next to the gym, a dining hall, and state street is really nice."

"Dejope is great! It is the best dorm on lakeshore by far. The rooms have nice, high ceilings with plenty of light, and, often, lake views. The amenities are great, and there are plenty of bathrooms per floor. The main question is if you want to live in lake shore or the south-east. For me, the lake views were unbeatable."

"Pretty quiet dorm and nice location! The only downside are that it's somewhat old compared to the southeast dorms. "

"Got a single room because of medical accommodations. The room itself is great and it's pretty spacious for a single with good closets, but my neighbors are extremely loud and the walls are literally paper thin. Kinda screws up the point of having accommodations for a single room in the first place. Plus Smith is pretty antisocial and the few people I have met were not great. Also it's a super far walk to get anywhere because it's on the very edge of Southeast. I'd say one of the biggest pros is the very large and spacious elevators, and there's 3 of them. Great for move-in and move-out. "

"It was amazing, I felt really safe and it was nice being close to the gym! Also so close to all of my classes, so I really appreciated the location. Just wish there was more parking."

"The location is pretty well campus and it’s very convenient that it’s next to state street. I also love how I could see lake mendota from my view!"

"Merit has single rooms (small, no private bathroom) & double rooms (spacious, private bathroom), It has about 60 residents total. I lived in a double my sophomore year (2019-20), so my review will be based on this. It's quite close to a lot of classes (<10min walk) and a bus stop (<1min walk). The dining hall is 2min away by walk. The closest gym is in Ogg (<1 min) away. Having lived in lakeshore prior, I was blown away at how convenient living in south-east was. I use the buses a lot, but not depending on a bus to get somewhere was wonderful. The location is great, and knowing that you could get anywhere (gym, the terrace, UHS, Walgreens, Fresh, dining hall, memorial union, union south, etc) quickly was crazy. I chose Merit primarily because it had private bathrooms. I cannot tell you how much of a relief it is to not rush to the communal bathroom, hoping you get a stall (+ one with hot water) every single day. The AC worked fine, maintenance was prompt, facilities were new. The kitchen is spacious. Never had an issue with the laundry, always got a washer/dryer when I needed one. The only con would be the social life. Merit is a quiet dorm. If you're looking for making friends, this may not be the best choice. If this isn’t a problem for you, and/or you spend most of your time outside the dorm, then great! I really enjoyed living in Merit and was quite sad when we were made to move out mid-semester due to COVID-19. I definitely recommend staying in a double in Merit! :)"