University of Cincinnati Sophomore Dorms Ranked

Number 5

"USquare is the best campus housing I've lived in so far. It's not owned by UC.

Pros:
- Natural light - I lived in a corner room with a balcony, but other rooms I visited were also well-lit.
- Shared living area and bathrooms were fairly spacious.
- Maintenance was quick to respond to and fix any problems.
- Washer and dryer in each apartment.
- Elevators required a building key fob after certain hours.
- Mail room was locked and had security cameras.
- Lounge area with a kitchenette, TVs, and some game tables.
- Gym with ellipticals, treadmills, and weights.
- Location - the crosswalk to Marketpointe is right out the front door.

Cons:
- Under the jurisdiction of CPD, not UCPD, so you can get in a lot more trouble if the cops get called, but people still smoked weed and weren't subtle about it.
- Weed aside, the halls often smelled bad. Once, it reeked of poop all the way from the far end of the building to the elevators. (Thankfully I couldn't smell it inside my apartment.)
- Small bedrooms. If they hadn't had two closets, I would think that they were originally intended for one person.
- Fridge and kitchen storage were barely enough, even though 1/4 of us had a campus dining pass.
- Unlike UC-owned dorms, the hot water wasn't endless.
- Packages were left on the floor in the mail room instead of behind a desk.
- Being on Calhoun St, it's noisy at all hours. Lots of ambulances, motorcycles, pointless honking, etc." - 4 years ago

1 student reviewers said they lived in U Square during their sophomore year

Number 4

"In each apartment, each bedroom has its own bathroom. There is a kitchen, living room w/ TV, coffee table and couches. There is also a washing machine and dryer.

My experience at the Deacon was mixed. First, the fire alarms would go off every couple of days or weeks at unexpected times. There were some times when the fire alarm would go off at night. One time a kid threw a burning oven glove down the trash chute and we all were evacuated out of the building for over an hour. Another thing is the walls are super thin so you could probably hear your roommate’s conversations. The hallways in the building smell like drugs and is littered and disgusting. On top of that, if you need maintenance, your shower is not ‘emergency’ work if anything happens to it. On the ground floor, there is a mail reception area and if big packages are delivered, they are thrown out on the table, so literally anyone could steal it. Also, thefts have been reported in the building. Some of the front door locks have been broken into and some horrific damage has been done. I would recommend this if you can deal with (very) loud neighbors (at times), fire alarms going off at any time, or if you have a good security system." - 4 years ago

1 student reviewers said they lived in The Deacon during their sophomore year

Number 3

"Pretty average dorm.The beds are standard Twin XL beds. I'd recommend bringing some sort of memory foam mattress topper. The rooms have air conditioning/ heating, but you cannot control the temperature (It's all the same temp throughout the building). You can however control the intensity that it blows at. The bathrooms are communal, and they certainly aren't the nicest bathrooms out there, but it could definitely be a whole lot worse. For the showers, definitely buy some sort of shower shoes... There are three elevators that are fairly fast. The laundry is in the basement. All of the washing machines work, but a handful of the drying machines are pretty crappy. The building is pretty close to CCM, and it is connected to MarketPointe. It is also really close to the amazon pickup location so that was nice. On each floor, there's a little 'kitchen' area. Basically, there's a sink, an oven/stove, (which I wouldn't exactly recommend using) and a microwave. The social aspect can vary depending on your floor, but on my floor, it wasn't too outgoing. Don't get me wrong, I made a handful of good friends on my floor, but for the most part, everyone kept their doors closed. The dorm as a whole is pretty active when it comes to social events. It's not uncommon to see people hanging out on the lobby floor. The second floor is the study floor. For the most part, everyone is respectful and is quiet when they are on the second floor. Overall, I enjoyed living in Siddall." - 4 years ago

1 student reviewers said they lived in Siddall Hall during their sophomore year

Number 2

"I lived in the same studio layout in Morgens from summer 2018 through summer 2019 and there was virtually no difference, so I would recommend reading the reviews for both buildings even if only one of them is an option to you.

Pros:
- Floor-to-ceiling windows for some of the best natural lighting in any place I've ever lived, not just dorms. However...

Cons:
- I lived on the 4th floor and haven't been personally stalked (that I know of), but more than once I've had to call campus safety on people who were in the parking garage on the east side of the building taking pictures through open windows.
- Only two elevators for 13 floors and up to 456 residents. It's usually not too bad except around times that people are leaving for or getting home from class. If you can't use stairs, try to get a room on a higher floor (I've seen the elevator fill up before it gets to the lower floors) and always leave "waiting for the elevator" buffer time so you aren't late to class.
- The elevator says every floor number out loud as it passes, even if it's not stopping. It's annoying. (This is the one difference between Morgens and Scioto!)" - 4 years ago

1 student reviewers said they lived in Scioto Hall during their sophomore year

Number 1

"I lived in a studio apartment in Morgens for four semesters. It wasn't anything special, but that being said, I only moved so I would be closer to my classes (I'm in CECH and Teachers-Dyer is on the opposite side of campus) and so I could have a washing machine in my apartment (in USquare) instead of having to use a communal laundry room.

I also lived in the same room layout in Scioto in summer 2020 and there was virtually no difference, so I would recommend reading the reviews for both buildings even if only one of them is an option to you.

Pros:
- Floor-to-ceiling windows for some of the best natural lighting in any place I've ever lived, not just dorms. I lived on the 10th floor, so even though my room faced east (off campus), I rarely felt as though I was exposed.

Cons:
- Only two elevators for 13 floors and up to 456 residents. It's usually not too bad except around times that people are leaving for or getting home from class. If you can't use stairs, try to get a room on a higher floor (I've seen the elevator fill up before it gets to the lower floors) and always leave "waiting for the elevator" buffer time so you aren't late to class." - 4 years ago

1 student reviewers said they lived in Morgens Hall during their sophomore year