University of IowaCampus Housing Summary

Written by Kelly McPhee

Kelly McPhee

Hometown

Naperville, IL

Major

Journalism

View all previous student authors

The University of Iowa offers many different options in terms of housing for incoming students. The best part of housing is that only primarily first-year students live in the dorms, which makes the transition to college life a little more inviting and gives every incoming student a realistic shot at being able to live where and in whatever type of room they want. Each dorm offers students a certain style of dorm life—some are extra quiet, and some are quite noisy. The general feeling is that the east side of campus is a little bit wilder, and residence halls on the west side seem to have a more laid-back, quieter feel—that isn’t to say those students don’t enjoy partying, though.

On the east side, Burge is known as the “party dorm” and is often referred to as the Dirty Burge. Sometimes, it seems like all the students in that dorm never go to bed and just want to party all the time. Daum houses many of the students in the honors program. Mayflower allows students to live in more of an apartment-like setting—they are suite-style with a bathroom and a kitchen joining the two rooms. It’s a 20-25 minute walk to campus, but the Cambus picks students up right in front every 20 minutes. On the west side, Hillcrest is the most popular residence hall. It has the largest dining area and is also the nicest in terms of living conditions. However, it is also the hardest to get into because it houses many of the scholarship atheletes, as well as most of the international students. Also on the west side are Slater and Rienow, which are mirror images of each other, split by Grand Avenue. These are the tallest dorms on campus, and it can be a pain to move in and out of them if you’re on the top floors.