Did anyone go to KU? What's it like? (Lawrence, Hope: apartment complexes, condo)

[svogel7]

I'm eager to know in particular what the dorms are like... I'm on the 6th floor in McCollum Hall next year and I want to know what the rooms are like, what each floor has, etc.

If anyone has any information about the school in general or any details about the community/what living there is like, please let me know! I'm coming from out of state and have only visited Lawrence once so I would like to know as much as possible before the big move there at the end of August!

[smpliving]

My daughter stayed at McCollum Hall the first year she went to KU. She met a lot of students there, lots of activity. Three large dorms next to each other. Plenty of students. As her parent, I'm sure I didn't hear all that was going on ... , but by the end of her first year she was ready to move out and into nearby apartments to get away from some of the craziness. Good luck to you. She loved her time at KU, and went on for her master's there. I do know she had a great time in downtown Lawrence, on Mass Street, on weekend nights.

[svogel7]

Originally Posted by iagal

My daughter stayed at McCollum Hall the first year she went to KU. She met a lot of students there, lots of activity. Three large dorms next to each other. Plenty of students. As her parent, I'm sure I didn't hear all that was going on ... , but by the end of her first year she was ready to move out and into nearby apartments to get away from some of the craziness. Good luck to you. She loved her time at KU, and went on for her master's there. I do know she had a great time in downtown Lawrence, on Mass Street, on weekend nights.

Haha I have heard McCollum is the big freshmen melting pot, and also the cheapest option on campus so with that combination I'm kind of expecting grimy community bathrooms and obnoxious partiers... I'm just hoping it's not that bad! I'm okay with drinking from time to time, I would just also like to be in an environment where I can sleep and get things done! Do you know if the dorms are a good size at least?

Also I see you're from eastern Iowa as well (I live in Williamsburg), do you know how Lawrence compares to Iowa City?

[smpliving]

From what I remember, the rooms are quite small. My daughter spent a lot of time at the library that first year. KU is also not as spread out as Iowa. I have another daughter who went to Iowa. Her dorm room was a little larger than KU's. She also moved out after her first year. She really hated the dorms at Iowa.

Downtown Lawrence is just really cool, and has a different feel than downtown Iowa. I think you find a better crowd in Lawrence as well. More older adults mixed with the younger crowd. From what my kids tell me, later at night it starts to get crazier with the younger crowd, but still not as bad as Iowa.

[smpliving]

Sorry, forgot to address your question comparing the 2 cities, Iowa City versus Lawrence. Lawrence is a little bigger and more spread out. Once you get out of the campus area at KU, it's pretty flat/small hills, and easy to drive around. East of the city is the older section, but as you go more west, it's pretty much all new development with all the typical chain restaurants/shopping areas. Feels much more open with lots of space, IMO.

[RadioSilence]

In the old days, all the dorms were the typical two-to-a-room. Some of the "Daisy Hill" dorms have now been renovated into suites-- four in each suite-- but I think McCollum still uses the old floor plan. KU wants to rebuild McCollum, but I have no clue on the timetable.

Also, Thursday is grilled cheese night.

[soanchorless]

I stayed there a week for a conference in high school. The rooms were pretty small, grimy, dusty, overall just really ugly. We slept two to a room. It's tolerable for college.

The cafeteria food was really good for dorm food, imo. Lots of fresh stuff and a great salad bar with lots of options.

I absolutely loved attending KU, although I rented a studio apartment. That was a bad idea: too expensive, and I had a hard time meeting people. Lots of cool/interesting professors. Lots of different people to meet, no matter what your interests. And the campus is absolutely gorgeous. Be prepared to have some sexy legs in a few months thanks to all the hills.

Good luck!!

[Okey Dokie]

From KU's Student Housing website:

McCollum | Student Housing | The University of Kansas

Scroll down for a room floor plan. 12'5" x 12'3

As far as "grimy bathrooms" - when I lived in the dorm, they cleaned the bathrooms daily. Your room will be as clean as you want to keep it.

If you find it's too noisy to study in your room, you'll have to scout around and find a quieter place, which you will be able to find. My niece and nephew are both at KU now, and I think there's a whole lot LESS partying than when I was there in the early 70s. Alcohol is not allowed in the dorms.

Hopefully you'll love KU. Especially during the basketball season. RCJH

[quesera]

I know McCollum has a nice, big common area, just as you walk in the front door. There's a pool table, piano and lounge area. There is also a fairly large computer room, completely walled off (window view into common area), for "quiet" study. I've only seen the main floor area, so can only comment on that. It looks fairly neat and tidy. The staff (student and non-student) are very friendly. I would have no problem with any of my children living there, when they reach college age in a couple of years. I imagine, like most students, you'll likely want to at least explore off campus housing when allowed. I will say, there are quite a few older students taking advantage of the "cheaper cost of living" of dorm life, than living in student oriented apartment complexes all over town, post freshman year. When you get to the point of living off campus, KU has several bus routes that go out into Lawrence, servicing the student based apartment/condo complexes.

[augentier]

I stayed on 3rd floor McCollum and it was your typical college dorm...nothing special, small, and kinda ghetto. There are tons of people there, though, so you can meet a lot of people. Be prepared for the fire alarms to be pulled at ungodly hours of the night for no reason...such a pain in the ass. It's far away from campus, too..so be prepared to do a lot of walking up the hills or take the bus.

The campus is soooo beautiful and Mass street in Lawrence is a lot of fun. Lawrence is a pretty cool town. I am a Kansas native and really dislike the conservative, narrow-minded mentality of people here but Lawrence is the ONE city I would live in, if I stayed in Kansas. I would even consider coming back to Lawrence for grad school because it's just a great little city. Only 30-45 min from KC, too.