Best University of Washington dorms

I lived in a 4br2ba apartment at Cedar for the 2019-2020 school year. The building is new and well-maintained but gets very hot during the summer without any air conditioning or decent ventilation. The windows only open a tiny amount. I never interacted with anyone else outside my apartment and the RAs in the building. RA hours are extremely limited and the residential life office is almost never open, and never any help with anything. - 4 years ago

Good dorm that has pretty much everything you want. Has clean private bathrooms (showerhead strength could be stronger) and also has Area 01 in the building which is a pretty cool space to hang out and play play ping pong. There are also 2+ study rooms on every floor but most of them are taken during midterm/finals season. There are also 2 kitchens on every floor with a TV so you can cook and watch movies. The kitchens can get a little bit messy depending on who lives on your floor but someone comes and cleans it up every morning.

The rooms themselves aren't bad but in a triple it gets extremely cramped so I recommend going for a double or a single. - 4 years ago

Alder was the second dorm I stayed in, and was pretty nice. The District Market at the bottom is the most obvious perk, as it is open pretty late and sells basic needs and foods, accepting the dining plan money. Alder Commons, frequently used by student groups and students, is also in the building. There were 3-4 study rooms on every floor which was super nice. If you cook a lot though, there is only a double kitchen on the second floor for the whole building, so it might be a hassle to use if you want to use it frequently. - 5 years ago

The building itself is very comfortable and clean and the dining hall in the basement is super convenient. Since North campus is relatively secluded it takes longer to get to the Ave or any shopping area, but if you ask me it's worth it for the relative quiet and feeling of safety. Some of the other amenities available included music practice rooms, stoves in common areas, easy access to the mail desk and Center Table, and a makerspace in a neighboring building. Can't say that I'd recommend living on campus in a pandemic though. The room desks aren't all that comfortable, there's almost no places to study outside your room that are open, and meeting people is still relatively difficult. If things were normal, however, Willow definitely is a solid choice as a place to live. It's not all that different from the other newer buildings on north aside from having the dining hall. - 4 years ago

Last year, I lived on the 7th floor of Madrona Hall, a dorm on North Campus with 8 floors and an L-shaped layout. My 3 bed, 1 private bathroom dorm overlooked Denny Field, and sometimes I still wish I lived in the dorms. The hallways in Madrona Hall are divided into two, with one hallway having rooms that share a communal bathroom and the other hallway having rooms with private bathrooms. Each room in the dorm comes with beds, desks, and dressers for every resident, and the room layout is ultimately up to the students. In addition, the ends of each floor have one study room and one kitchen that are both accessible 24/7. Other amenities include washer and dryer units, vending machines, a piano room, and public and private study tables for students within the dorm, all available on the first floor of the hall.

Madrona Hall is located on North Campus (within campus grounds) compared to West Campus dorms (off campus grounds). For this reason, North Campus is safer and more social for students. There is an RA on call 24/7 as well as security guards on patrol during all night hours. My overall experience living in the dorms during my freshman year is 5/5 stars :) - 2 years ago