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Michigan State University - Campus Housing

Campus Housing:

B

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Quick Stats

Undergrads Living on Campus

43 %

Best Dorms

  • Shaw Hall
  • West Circle

Number of Dormitories

25

Number of Campus Owned Apartments

2

Worst Dorms

  • Brody Complex

College Prowler Take

Freshmen at MSU have to live in the dorms—it’s not a punishment, it’s an experience you won’t forget. All of the dormitories have different features, layouts, locations, and facilities to suite everyone’s preferences. Most students favor the old mansion feeling of dorms in West Circle on North Campus. The other favorite is South Complex, where the majority of the newer dorms are situated. However, many freshmen are placed in largely unpopular Brody Complex. Don’t be too worried about this for your first year, however; living with other first-year students is a great way to meet new people. Remember that everyone else at Brody is in the same situation as you. Besides, Brody also has the largest rooms of any dorm on campus.

Dorm life is all about convenience. Residents are provided with a bed, a desk, Internet and cable connections, toilet paper, and vacuums. There are no monthly bills to worry about paying—it’s all taken care of at once with tuition. Most students who live in a space with community bathrooms actually consider it a blessing in disguise, because unlike suites and private rooms, someone cleans the community bathrooms every day. Then there’s the question of what to eat. Residence halls provide students with food right where they live, and they can have as much of the campus food per visit as their hungry little hearts desire. In essence, every meal is an all-you-can-eat buffet—definitely the closest to mom’s home cooking that can be found anywhere besides, well, home. Another definite benefit of dorm life is location: a 10-minute walk to class is a small obstacle in comparison to trying to drive on or around campus. This motivates many students to live on campus again after their freshman year.

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Students Speak Out

Love your school more than free food? Hate your school more than term papers?
Somewhere in between? Show the world what YOU think of YOUR school:

Anonymous says:

I like living in Hubbard Hall...

I like living in Hubbard Hall because it’s close to the student parking lot and it’s the tallest dorm building on campus. Holmes, McDonel, Shaw, Holden, and Wonders are great because they’re the newer dorms. The old dorms are Mason, Abbot, Phillips, Snyder, and Yakely. They are close to Grand River where the bookstores and the hangouts are located.

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Anonymous says:

Dorms aren’t as bad as some people...

Dorms aren’t as bad as some people say. It’s very convenient—you’re right on campus, you don’t have to cook, and you meet a lot of people. Basically there aren’t any that you have to avoid, but if you can, try to get one as close to most of your classes as possible, or choose one based on your preference for community or non-community bathrooms.

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Anonymous says:

Shaw Hall is great. Good location...

Shaw Hall is great. Good location right in the center of campus, close to all of my classes, and the people here are really nice.

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Anonymous says:

The dorms are good. I personally...

The dorms are good. I personally don’t think there’s anything terribly wrong with any of them. It depends where your classes will usually be and what you want in a location.

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Anonymous says:

The views of different residence...

The views of different residence halls vary by preference of location on campus, community bathroom, or suite preference. Shaw Hall at central campus was recently remodeled and has been the latest craze for on-campus housing.

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Facts

What You Get

  • 24-hour computer lab access
  • Bed
  • Cable TV and phone jacks
  • Desk and chair
  • Dresser
  • High-speed Internet access
  • Voicemail

Room Types

  • Doubles
  • Extended Doubles
  • Singles
  • Suites

Available for Rent

Cleaning supplies, vacuums, brooms, and telephones.

Cleaning Service

Dorms with community bathrooms are cleaned daily, but residents in dorms with suites are expected to clean up after themselves.

Dormitories

Abbot
Floors: 5
Number of Occupants: 600
Bathrooms: Community
Coed: Yes
Residents: Freshmen
Room Types: Double
Ivy-covered Gothic-style building, with music rooms and a fitness center. There is one all-female quiet floor.

Akers
Floors: 6
Number of Occupants: 800
Bathrooms: In suite
Coed: Yes
Residents: Freshmen
Room Types: Suite
Akers rooms are unique in that they have two bedrooms, a living/studying area, and a bathroom shared by only the occupants of the suite.

Armstrong in Brody Complex
Floors: 4
Number of Occupants: 400
Bathrooms: Community
Coed: Yes
Residents: Freshmen, few sophomores
Room Types: Singles, doubles
Largest rooms on campus. Fourth floor is an all-female and special interest quiet floor.

Bailey in Brody Complex
Floors: 4
Number of Occupants: 400
Bathrooms: Community
Coed: Yes
Residents: Freshmen, few sophomores
Room Types: Singles, doubles
Houses the Residential Option for Science and Engineering Students (ROSES). The male and female fourth floors are quiet floors.

Bryan in Brody Complex
Floors: 4
Number of Occupants: 400
Bathrooms: Community
Coed: Yes
Residents: Freshmen, few sophomores
Room Types: Singles, doubles
Houses an Honors College floor, and entire building has strict quiet hours.

Butterfield in Brody Complex
Floors: 4
Number of Occupants: 400
Bathrooms: Community
Coed: Yes
Residents: Freshmen, few sophomores
Room Types: Singles, doubles
All rooms have window air conditioners.

Campbell
Floors: 4
Number of Occupants: 200
Bathrooms: Community
Coed: Yes
Residents: Freshmen and upperclassmen
Room Types: Single, double
There is a quiet floor for both men and women.

Case
Floors: 4
Number of Occupants: 800
Bathrooms: In room
Coed: Yes
Residents: Freshmen and upperclassmen
Room Types: Suite
Home to the James Madison College interdisciplinary programs. Features an air-conditioned solarium/dining room, a library, and two upscale study lounges on each floor. There is also a fitness center.

Emmons in Brody Complex
Floors: 4
Number of Occupants: 400
Bathrooms: Community
Coed: Yes
Residents: Freshmen, some sophomores
Room Types: Singles, doubles
All floors are smoke free.

Holden
Floors: 6
Number of Occupants: 1100
Bathrooms: In-room
Coed: Yes
Residents: Upperclassmen
Room Types: Suite
Holden Hall hosts MSU’s own student radio station, Impact 89 FM, as well as the Asian/Pacific Heritage Room, an MSU community police office, and the English Language Tutorial Room. Two floors are non smoking and four floors are coed by suite floors.

Holmes
Floors: 6
Number of Occupants: 1250
Bathrooms: Suite
Coed: Yes
Residents: Upperclassmen
Room Types: Suite
Houses an Honors College Living/Learning experience floor.

Hubbard
Floors: 8
Number of Occupants: 1100
Bathrooms: Suite
Coed: Yes
Residents: Freshmen and upperclassmen
Room Types: Suite
It’s the tallest building, both on campus and in the city of East Lansing! Aerobics room, weight room, ping-pong, pool/billiards, televisions, and a music room with pianos on each side.

Landon
Floors: 4
Number of Occupants: 300
Bathrooms: Community
Coed: Yes
Residents: Freshmen and upperclassmen
Room Types: Single or double
Features a unique dining option that allows you to have your food cooked to order at the Creation Stations. Landon is also home to Totally Takeout.

Mason
Floors: 4
Number of Occupants: 600
Bathrooms: Community
Coed: Yes
Residents: Freshmen
Room Types: Single or double
Hosts the residential option for Arts & Letters, a two-year residential program for freshmen enrolled in the College of Arts and Letters.

Mayo
Floors: 4
Number of Occupants: 200
Bathrooms: Community
Coed: Yes
Residents: Freshmen
Room Types: Single, double
Features one quiet floor for men.

McDonel
Floors: 6
Number of Occupants: 1000
Bathrooms: Suite
Coed: Yes
Residents: Freshmen and upperclassmen
Room Types: Suites
Much international exposure—especially good for students planning on study abroad.

Owen
Floors: 6
Number of Occupants: 900
Bathrooms: Suite
Coed: Yes
Residents: Upperclassmen
Room Types: Suites
Houses graduate and professional students

Rather in Brody Complex
Floors: 4
Number of Occupants: 400
Bathrooms: Community
Coed: Yes
Residents: Mostly freshmen, some upperclassmen
Room Types: Singles, doubles
The entire hall has a no-alcohol policy. Rather is also the most ethnically diverse hall on campus.

Shaw Hall
Floors: 5
Number of Occupants: 600
Bathrooms: Community
Coed: Yes
Residents: Freshmen and upperclassmen
Room Types: Single, double, or triple
East Shaw is smoke-free. There is a quiet floor for both male and female students.

Snyder/Phillips
Floors: 4
Number of Occupants: 500
Bathrooms: Community
Coed: Yes
Residents: Freshmen and upperclassmen
Room Types: Single, double
Phillips is a quiet hall and has a Residence Halls Association movie office. Snyder is home to the Psychology Department.

Van Hoosen
Floors: 1
Number of Occupants: 80
Bathrooms: In apartments
Coed: No, women only
Residents: Upperclassmen
Room Types: Apartment
Women need a minimum GPA of 2.2 to live in this apartment complex. Students are placed on waiting list, so apply early.

Williams
Floors: 4
Number of Occupants: 500
Bathrooms: Community
Coed: No, women only
Residents: Freshmen and upperclassmen
Room Types: Single or double
The only residence hall on campus where a meal plan is not required, and kitchenettes are supplied on each floor.

Wilson
Floors: 3
Number of Occupants: 1120
Bathrooms: In room
Coed: Yes
Residents: Freshmen and upperclassmen
Room Types: Suites
Wilson Hall is home to the Department of Residence Life and hosts the Multiracial Unity Living Experience (MRULE) program.

Wonders
Floors: 4
Number of Occupants: 500
Bathrooms: In room
Coed: Yes
Residents: Upperclassmen
Room Types: Suite
Has its own dining hall.

Yakeley/Gilchrist
Floors: 4
Number of Occupants: 500
Bathrooms: Community
Coed: No, women only
Residents: Upperclassmen
Room Types: Single, double
Dining room services and an Honors College floor. This is a combined house.

Campus Owned Apartments

Cherry Lane Apartments
Floors: 42 buildings
Number of Units: 800
Bathrooms: In apartment
Coed: Yes
Residents: Faculty, upperclassmen, or graduate students
Room Types: Efficiencies, one- and two- bedrooms
Typically assigned to faculty and are located about three-quarters of a mile from the center of campus.

Spartan Village Apartments
Floors: 102 buildings
Number of Units: 2,100
Bathrooms: In apartment
Coed: No
Residents: Upperclassmen and graduate students
Room Types: One- and two- bedrooms
Located on the southwest side of campus approximately two miles from the center of campus.

Did You Know?

MSU has the largest single-campus residence hall system in the country, with an average of 14,500 students living in the halls during the academic year. Staff members prepare and serve, on average, 30,500 meals a day.

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