Recommend me a dorm at the University of Kentucky

In My Humble Opinion
1

I will be attended UK this fall as an undergraduate freshman. I haven’t sent in my housing application yet, which gives me 12 dorms to choose from.

I’m an 18-year old male, single, business major. I hope to room with a guy I currently go to high school with. But, I’ve heard a lot about UK’s dorms being just awful. But, they can’t all be bad, can they?

So, please tell me which dorms, coed or male, are the best. This means newest, best electrical & plumbing, closest to Gatton College of Business & Economics, and whatever criteria you hold to be important.

Thanks in advance,
Mythos45

2

As a current resident of Holmes Hall, I cannot in good faith recommend it wholeheartedly. It has no air conditioning, the heat works sporadically, and the elevator is so slow you can beat it up the stairs. That being said, it is right across the street from the Student Center, and on the opposite corner from Tolly-Ho.

I have a couple of friends in Haggin Hall over by Young Library. It didn’t seem to be too bad, except that the stairs are open to the outside, so that probably sucks in winter.

The towers are not close to anything, but people always seem to be doing something over there.

If you have any other specific questions, email me and I’ll try to help.

3

Hey there, hometown!

I’m a UK alumnus, but never lived on campus. Recently I returned to Grad School at the ol’ Alma Mater and got to know a guy in one of my classes who runs Haggin Hall.

Now, my understanding is Haggin is someplace you want to avoid, but he would probably have some inside info. Drop me an e-mail and I’ll try to hook you up with him.

I would also suggest that you take an afternoon, perhaps in a few months when it’s warm, drive over to campus, park the car and just walk around.

4

I was in Holmes Hall for four years. Not the greatest dorm, I’ll agree, but I had the most amazing streak of luck whereby roommates kept moving out or refusing to live with me, leaving me with a free single room for several semesters, so I have good memories of the place.

5

Well, they’ve all got their good points and bad points. The North Campus dorms are older buildings, and some don’t have AC yet, but they tend to have a more interesting mix of people, especially if you’re a nerd. Also, they’re closer to where most of your classes are likely to be. (Not to mention the bookstores, the North Campus shopping district, and various restaurants.) Plus you’re pretty likely to run into basketball players on a regular basis at the cafeteria and store in Blazer, if that matters to you.

Haggin Hall is conveniently located if your classes are spread all over the place, and it’s a relatively new building, but it’s widely regarded as a shithole of epic proportions. The smell is apparently something you have to experience to believe. Besides, when I was there, about 70% of the on-campus rapes and sexual assaults reported happened in Haggin, so these may not be the folks you want to live with.

The Kirwan-Blanding complex is probably the newest housing on campus, except maybe for the Greg Page Apartments. The heating and cooling systems work pretty well, and there’s a food court, computer lab, and store right there. If you have a K-lot pass, you’re also much closer to your car.

However, you’ll have a pretty good haul to your classes, unless you’re in a scientific or health-related major. You’ll also have the noise from the six-pack to deal with, as well as the fire alarms in the Towers. Those suckers are obnoxiously loud even outside the building, and Tower residents tend to invade the lobbies of the low-rises in the middle of the night, especially in bad weather.

You’re more like to find a drunken party on South Campus, if that’s your thing. If you’d rather find a D&D game, or rent an art film, or just sit around philosophizing, look on North Campus.

6

Are you in the Honors Program? If so, then Boyd-Patterson (I think they started counting them as a single dorm, since they’re connected by a walkway) is the way to go. The sense of community, especially in Patterson, is incredible. You don’t have the drunken excess you find in a lot of other dorms, but that’s a good thing–if you want the drunken excess, you can go find it elsewhere.

The biggest downside is that you’re two miles from your car, but this can be worked around. The first year I rented a parking space in the lot across from Fazoli’s (it was about $30/month, but I think this went up considerably shortly thereafter). The second year I just parked on side streets around the north campus area; I figured I couldn’t get further away than K-lot.

Go Big Blue!
Dr. J