Jester West in the house! I lived in Jester for two years. Freshman year on the 10th floor with community showers. Sophomore year in a suite with my own bath split with the room next door. I loved it because it was across the street from the business school, close to Gregory , the Rec center, west campus and the drag. If all your classes will be in the engineering buildings you first year or two then maybe get something near 26th. But if you can stay at Jester it was a lot of fun. Is it old…yes. But it is not dirty. Bathrooms are cleaned regularly.
When I was there my freshman year San Jac hadn't been built yet, so my experience was mostly with Jester, Dobie, and University Towers because that's where my friends lived. I agree with everything mentioned above about Jester not being that bad. And Towers was the place to party and most of the people living there were also in fraternities so that was a plus. However, the best combination of social life, proximity to campus, and cleanliness was Dobie where I lived for a year by myself in a corner suite. Decent cafeteria (Castilian's was the best), nice views from the upper floors - though using elevators during peak times was a major pain, a 2 min walk to the B school, Gregory, PCL, and a parking garage next door so I had easy access to my car. The food court had several restaurants, and the mall had a cool arcade place and a theater that was great for watching non-mainstream movies.
This is very subjective. It depends on your brother's personality. If he desires the ultimate college experience, is very social, and has a thick skin for noise and distraction, he'll be fine at Jester. If he's quiet, nerdy, and wants to study in his room all day and night, the Honors dorm is perfect. My dorm was Prather, and at the time (late 90s) it was all male and small. It has since gone co-ed, along with most of the other dorms. I'd say, based on my experience, the smaller the dorm, the quieter it will be. All dorms are extremely social, but the larger dorms tend to attract more extroverts, whereas the smaller dorms attract more introverts. Closeness to quality food is also a concern, as is closeness to classes. Back in the day, the food at Jester sucked so I tried to eat at the Honors Dorm (which I don't think has a cafeteria any more) or Kinsolving (better food, hotter chicks). That was a pain, because either you caught a bus or it was at least a 15 minute walk each way. You'll need someone who's still at UT to comment on the current state of the cafeterias. Closeness to class only seemed to be a problem for the guys in the Honors Engineering dorm, because it's close to none of the central buildings that house the big freshman classes. They all seemed miserable. Bad location, too many nerdy international students, no chicks. Avoid if you can.
the mall at dobie sucks now, the theatre closed down last year and I didn't even know that there used to be an arcade. The mall is basically a food court nowadays.
I was actually going to start a similar thread so thanks OP.* My nephew will also be entering the Engineering School this year. He's on a BUDGET so I figured Jester would be the best dorm for him since it's cheaper, near the gym (he likes to work out), near the football stadium, has the X lounge (we are black) and has food places. I went to UT for grad school so I never lived on campus, but Jester seemed to be a hub for student activity. So is it just a nice place to visit but not to live? Also, how much excess spending $$ would you say is needed per week for a non-drinker? And I'm assuming a laptop is a must for kids these days?
Is "Austin Wok 'N Roll" still around (on Lamar)? You could spend ~15 for lunch and dinner. Of course, students can now eat from the Dollar / Value menus at the fast food places. If your brother wants to study or sleep, I would avoid Jester. I hear Jester folks let their friends sleep over all the time. If I had to live on campus, I would have preferred Prather; the Honors dorm; or the one in the middle of campus, across from the Health Center.
I just noticed that Housing at UT only comes with $1,700 to spend on food. That's like $50 a week. That's not enough.
They probably spent their money at the food markets which is a waste. I'd end up with $100+ every year I lived in the dorms.
Kinsolving definitely has the best grub out of all the on-campus dorms, and as mentioned Dobie Mall is nothing more than a food court -- it has Subway, greek food, sushi, Hoa Hoa (very generous servings at a very reaosnable price, the sesame chicken is the t***), and this awesome pizza spot (massive slices of NY-style pizza, salad, and a drink for under $5). Though Jester's food gets dogged, it's fairly decent, IMO. They have different options every day (meatloaf, bbq chicken, subs, chinese, etc.), and there's a $4 all-you-can-eat buffet on the 2nd floor with pizza, burgers, and ice cream. The cafe on the first floor of San Jac isn't bad... they don't have a wide variety of stuff, but they offer pizza, pasta, chicken/beef entree + veggies. But, they just finished building a brand new student union next to the massive fountain by DKR, and it has Chick fil a, Pei Wei, and Taco C. Plus, the FAC has Wendy's, Chick fil a, Taco Bell, and some bbq spot. Not to mention, plenty of grub spots on the Drag... tons of options.
I'm currently living in Jester and completely regret it. The only plus is that it's huge and definitely easy to meet people. But overall it's a big suckhole. I've been in San Jacinto and Duren and they seem like they're worth the extra money. I would also suggest avoiding Dobie. It's not exactly considered a dorm but it is student living run by UT. There are 20+ floors and three elevators.
I was at UT for one year, and had ~$300 bucks left over. Then again, I usually only ate one meal a day.
I lived at Dobie my freshman year, and it was great. Reasonably priced, great cafeteria, so close to campus (it is basically on campus), on the bus route, great RA staff, nice floorplans, etc. I highly recommend it. They have a great roommate matching program, as well. If he was to put down his deposit at this late stage in the game, he can basically kiss the top choices good bye. To secure a spot at San Jacinto or Duren, he needed to have his deposit in closer to November of last year. He will likely get the lower rung of housing, if anything. Definitely let him come up to Austin and tour Dobie if he has the opportunity. It would provide him an easy segway into living in West Campus sophomore year. Also, I am a realtor in the West Campus area if anyone needs a hook-up on a good apartment/deal. Just message me through the board if you have any questions.
