Goodbye McCormick Hall......New "hotel"/dorm ideas....

[Billy Hoyle]

My son did a summer camp at Ripon College and stayed in a dorm. 

That thing was one step above prison cell.

MU is NOT in the bottom 10%.

I visited my siblings are their state schools and their halls were not better than anything MU had at the time. I've been in some halls at other schools that don't even have carpeting. MU's may not be great (other than the Commons) and we do lack in other areas (particularly dining) but overall we're right with most other schools.

[Galway Eagle]

I visited my siblings are their state schools and their halls were not better than anything MU had at the time. I've been in some halls at other schools that don't even have carpeting. MU's may not be great (other than the Commons) and we do lack in other areas (particularly dining) but overall we're right with most other schools.

Stayed at my cousin's dorm at Madison, and stayed in dorms at Xavier, West Point, Dominican, Notre Dame and Benedictine for lacrosse camps and service trips none of them had carpet either. UW-WW did though. Must be a thing about ease to clean?

[StillAWarrior]

I visited my siblings are their state schools and their halls were not better than anything MU had at the time. I've been in some halls at other schools that don't even have carpeting. MU's may not be great (other than the Commons) and we do lack in other areas (particularly dining) but overall we're right with most other schools.

Stayed at my cousin's dorm at Madison, and stayed in dorms at Xavier, West Point, Dominican, and Benedictine for lacrosse camps and service trips none of them had carpet either. UW-WW did though. Must be a thing about ease to clean?

Yeah, in my book, carpet in a dorm is a big negative, definitely not a selling point.  The vast majority of dorm rooms that I've seen are hard floors of one type or another.  Add a cheap Walmart or Ikea area rug, and you're all set.  Carpeting gets too dirty.

[Dr. Blackheart]

My son did a summer camp at Ripon College and stayed in a dorm. 

That thing was one step above prison cell.

MU is NOT in the bottom 10%.

In the Lake Placid Olympics, the Soviet hockey team stayed in an old prison. It will make your son tough like the days of Cheeks corporal punishment. Nowadays kids skip the Super Arby's and jump right to the BnC.  Softies. 

[warriorchick]

It's interesting that in the past decade I have talked to many parents whose kids were considering Marquette, and I have heard many things that they thought Marquette had in the minus column. One I have never heard is "crappy dorms".  You do hear some whining (and sometimes actual outrage) about the lack air conditioning in some of them) but that's about it.

Most of Marquette's residence halls are old, but they are well maintained. I think it's a big plus that many of them are former hotels. From my limited experience, Marquette seems to have a much higher percentage of rooms that have their own bathroom.

TBH, other than the pink bathrooms in O'Donnell, I am not sure what makes any of them "bad". Old <> Crap.

[Hards Alumni]

My son did a summer camp at Ripon College and stayed in a dorm. 

That thing was one step above prison cell.

MU is NOT in the bottom 10%.

At least its cheap to attend...  hey... WAIT A MINUTE

[StillAWarrior]

It's interesting that in the past decade I have talked to many parents whose kids were considering Marquette, and I have heard many things that they thought Marquette had in the minus column. One I have never heard is "crappy dorms".  You do hear some whining (and sometimes actual outrage) about the lack air conditioning in some of them) but that's about it.

Most of Marquette's residence halls are old, but they are well maintained. I think it's a big plus that many of them are former hotels. From my limited experience, Marquette seems to have a much higher percentage of rooms that have their own bathroom.

TBH, other than the pink bathrooms in O'Donnell, I am not sure what makes any of them "bad". Old <> Crap.

Honest question:  have you heard them in the "plus column"?  Because that was the point of my initial post:  I don't think they'd be helpful in recruiting.  I wouldn't put them in the bottom 10%, but as I said, I do think they're a bit below average.  At the end of the day, not particularly remarkable or necessarily in the plus or minus column.

[The Hippie Satan of Hyperbole]

Marquette's residences halls aren't great.  They aren't terrible though.

Anyway, new student housing has been identified as a major priority in the master plan.  So they know it needs to be better.

[Cheeks]

I work in higher education and have visited dozens of campuses and almost always check out the dorms when I'm there (I got my start working in reslife so I have a professional curiosity). Excluding the new Commons, MU is easily in the bottom 10% for dorm quality that I have seen. And I say that as someone who lived on campus for three years and loved it.

We visited most of the PAC 12 schools he was admitted to 6 of the 7 he applied to...about the same as MU’s...some good, some bad....Utah the only exception.  Most campuses have a mix of a lot old with new.  Big Ten two schools, same.  I think it depends on how old the schools are, and what kind of footprint they have.  The Cal State school dorms are very similar to MU, though UC schools are nicer.

[jesmu84]

Can't comment on the last decade, but when I was there, MU's dorm food situation was abysmal. Sodexo? GTFO

[warriorchick]

Honest question:  have you heard them in the "plus column"?  Because that was the point of my initial post:  I don't think they'd be helpful in recruiting.  I wouldn't put them in the bottom 10%, but as I said, I do think they're a bit below average.  At the end of the day, not particularly remarkable or necessarily in the plus or minus column.

The new dorm is definitely in the plus column. It would be interesting to know how many kids changed their mind about attending Marquette after the housing assignments came out and they didn't get in.

Glow and I went to a recruiting event in a suburb of Chicago and one Mom asked which part of the Commons had the view of Lake Michigan so that she could ask for it on the housing application.

It was truly a remarkable act of self-control for me to keep a straight face on that one.

[warriorchick]

Can't comment on the last decade, but when I was there, MU's dorm food situation was abysmal. Sodexo? GTFO

Pretty damn good. The cafeteria in the new dorm has a brick pizza oven and a barbecue smoker.

[Billy Hoyle]

Can't comment on the last decade, but when I was there, MU's dorm food situation was abysmal. Sodexo? GTFO

as my roommate in McCormick used to say about the food at MU: "I'm full but never satisfied."

[Billy Hoyle]

The new dorm is definitely in the plus column. It would be interesting to know how many kids changed their mind about attending Marquette after the housing assignments came out and they didn't get in.

Glow and I went to a recruiting event in a suburb of Chicago and one Mom asked which part of the Commons had the view of Lake Michigan so that she could ask for it on the housing application.

It was truly a remarkable act of self-control for me to keep a straight face on that one.

I remember assignments coming out after the deposit deadline (late May perhaps) so maybe not many. I was excited to get into McCormick but wouldn't have changed my mind and attended another school if I hadn't gotten in there. 

One plus for MU's halls is proximity to everything on campus. My sister had to take a bus from her freshman dorm to class; if she missed it she would be late to class. My brother had a good 20 minute walk to classroom buildings.  At MU Mashuda and East being the furthest away still only meant 10 minutes at most to walk to class

[wadesworld]

The food in the dorms when I was there was horrendous, and combined with the complete lack of any options on and within walking distance of campus I can't imagine there are many college campuses with worse food selections to choose from.  Seems to still be pretty bad from having talked to a couple of class of 2019 graduates last week.

[warriorchick]

The food in the dorms when I was there was horrendous, and combined with the complete lack of any options on and within walking distance of campus I can't imagine there are many college campuses with worse food selections to choose from.  Seems to still be pretty bad from having talked to a couple of class of 2019 graduates last week.

Has there ever been a college campus where the kids loved the food? I can assure you it's a huge step up from when I was a student.

Expectations are higher, too. Marquette has gone from serving the same two or three entrees at all the dining halls to having completely separate menus at each one. Straz, for example, is the "healthy" options one, including vegan and gluten free. Do you want to know what the parents complain about? "Why should my vegan kid have to walk all the way down to the east end of campus?"

Just want a burger? "Who do I call at Marquette to discuss the fact that the ketchup dispenser is empty?"

It's always something.

And don't forget that this generation didn't grow up having to clean their plate, or sit at the kitchen table all night until they ate their broccoli,. They never had meals at home that primarily consisted of cheap cuts of meat and canned vegetables.

Yeah, their " bad" food is at a completely different level.

[wadesworld]

Has there ever been a college campus where the kids loved the food? I can assure you it's a huge step up from when I was a student.

Expectations are higher, too. Marquette has gone from serving the same two or three entrees at all the dining halls to having completely separate menus at each one. Straz, for example, is the "healthy" options one, including vegan and gluten free. Do you want to know what the parents complain about? "Why should my vegan kid have to walk all the way down to the east end of campus?"

Just want a burger? "Who do I call at Marquette to discuss the fact that the ketchup dispenser is empty?"

It's always something.

There are plenty of campuses with a plethora of food options. I’m sure the dining hall food is fairly standard compared to other college campuses. I am certain the non-dining hall food options are completely atrocious compared to what you can get on most campuses.

[warriorchick]

There are plenty of campuses with a plethora of food options. I’m sure the dining hall food is fairly standard compared to other college campuses. I am certain the non-dining hall food options are completely atrocious compared to what you can get on most campuses.

How are you defining "non-dining hall food options",and what would you consider to be good ones?

[brewcity77]

The new dorm on 17th & Wells is, in my opinion, a big plus. At least walking into the lobby it feels like going to an upscale boutique hotel. I was there for work and my first thought was "there wasn't anything like this when I was here."

[muwarrior69]

It's interesting that in the past decade I have talked to many parents whose kids were considering Marquette, and I have heard many things that they thought Marquette had in the minus column. One I have never heard is "crappy dorms".  You do hear some whining (and sometimes actual outrage) about the lack air conditioning in some of them) but that's about it.

Most of Marquette's residence halls are old, but they are well maintained. I think it's a big plus that many of them are former hotels. From my limited experience, Marquette seems to have a much higher percentage of rooms that have their own bathroom.

TBH, other than the pink bathrooms in O'Donnell, I am not sure what makes any of them "bad". Old <> Crap.

AC in the dorms was not a concern in my day as classes did not start until the 3rd week in September and did not end until the last week of May. In fact we had a 10 inch snow storm around Memorial day my freshman year.

[Galway Eagle]

NUI Galway and my cafeteria at the office both had Sodexo. The NUIG's was actually decent, probably due to EU meat regulations. The office cafeteria isn't horrible. Marquette's was exceptionally awful, eating at McCormick during my overnight nearly made me not come

[cheebs09]

There are plenty of campuses with a plethora of food options. I’m sure the dining hall food is fairly standard compared to other college campuses. I am certain the non-dining hall food options are completely atrocious compared to what you can get on most campuses.

I think we were there about the same time and totally agree. It was not good. I was so jealous when visiting my friends at UWM or Madison. Friends that would visit from other universities would usually comment how surprised they were at the food.

Glad to hear it’s getting better.

[Cheeks]

The food in the dorms when I was there was horrendous, and combined with the complete lack of any options on and within walking distance of campus I can't imagine there are many college campuses with worse food selections to choose from.  Seems to still be pretty bad from having talked to a couple of class of 2019 graduates last week.

Agreed.   UCLA food...incredible.  MU’s...crap

[Cheeks]

Can't comment on the last decade, but when I was there, MU's dorm food situation was abysmal. Sodexo? GTFO

SAGA

[jsglow]

as my roommate in McCormick used to say about the food at MU: "I'm full but never satisfied."

That's what she said.

(Sorry, I couldn't resist.  )