I'm considering dorms for next semester, and I've noticed there's a lot to like, at least ostensibly, about Gold Hall. However, I don't know anyone who has lived there. For those who have:

How is the room size relative to other dorms? The listed dimensions are giant, but the dimensions given for Berry and Bagwell are pretty far off.

How is the kitchen? It's a thing I hope to take advantage of in the coming year.

What's your overall opinion? Did you have any noteworthy problems with Gold?

Thanks in advance for your help.

2/3/2012 6:26:37 PM

Still all male?

2/3/2012 6:32:34 PM

i stayed there for 06-07. rooms are huge, with nice tall ceilings.
- our a/c never turned off, and the windows didn't open. it seemed like the thermostat had two settings, hot and cold.
- the kitchen is ok. it was always clean and it seemed like nobody ever used it besides me and my roommate
- its so far away from everything, so i'd recommend having a bike. but LOCK THAT SHIT UP with a kryptonite u-bolt or something similarly stout, my Raleigh MTB was stolen from out front, never recovered
- it was all male when i was there. it sucked. Welch (all female) and Syme (coed) are close by, but honestly i never saw one good looking female between the two of them.
- my biggest problem was my filthy roommate.

good luck!

2/3/2012 6:41:00 PM

Yeah, the biggest issues I ever heard about gold was the lack of females and the distance. I lived in Sullivan freshman year and Bragaw sophomore. I spent a lot of time at Tucker and Owen though since many of my friends lived there. Tucker beach is still the spot on campus for ogling women.

2/3/2012 6:43:32 PM

Had a friend who lived there way back in the wayback (99-2000 yr). Rooms were indeed huge and the ceilings seemed a mile high. Coming from a Sullivan B room, it was impressive in comparison.

2/3/2012 7:08:20 PM

Wow, thanks for the immediate replies! I will mainly be traveling to SAS and Riddick, so it's actually about as good as I can get for travel distance. Also, I've already lived on an all-male floor for two years. I rarely see the women who live on my hall anyway, so Gold will not exactly be a culture-shock in that regard. I think I'm down to choosing between that and Watauga... I guess I'll go look at Gold in person before I decide. Anyway, Thanks again!

2/3/2012 7:10:14 PM

I lived in Gold my freshman year, 02-03. I remember showing up that first day and thinking I was literally in hell -- it was August, hot as shit, and smelled like a locker room (this was before it had air condition). I remember begging my parents to let me move into UT, but they wouldn't budge.

As it turned out, living at Gold was probably the highlight of my time at state. Everyone is like one big family in there. There's only 50ish residents, and it's hall-style, so making friends with everyone just comes naturally. The whole dorm played intramural flag football and softball together (the infamous Gold Hallstars). Even though we sucked, it was fun as hell.

We only had 1 RA, and he didn't seem to care about anything, so we'd throw party after party in there. Of course, getting girls up there wasn't always easy ... and the Welch girls weren't exactly dime pieces. I never really used the kitchen -- no one seemed to -- but it seemed functional enough.

As far as location -- It's a haul to West Campus, but the Wolfline can get you there pretty quick. There's a bus stop right behind the dorm. It's also by-far the prettiest part of campus, especially in the fall, and it's a short walk down to Clark Dining Hall or Pullen Park.

Our Gold crew moved to Carroll Hall the following year. We thought a dorm on Central Campus with A.C. would be an upgrade. Turns out it was anything but. The rooms were like closets compared to Gold, and the Suite-style makes it hard to meet anyone other than your suitemates.

Anyway, it's a great place to live, even more-so now since it's air conditioned. I highly recommend.

2/4/2012 9:36:55 AM

Yeah the tri towers were sardine cans but living there was great.

Bowen hall represent

2/4/2012 10:06:13 AM

+1 for Bowen, 03-04

2/4/2012 10:26:02 AM

Yeah, Central Campus wasn't as bad as I made it sound ... just a lot different. It was definitely nice being that close to Tucker Beach, Wolves Den, Carmichael, etc. I just really wasn't a fan of the suite style ... mainly because two of my suitemates were certifiably batshit

2/4/2012 11:34:56 AM

I have no info on Gold, but I did like living in Sullivan my first 2 years, and Alexander my last two
as an RA. Can't beat being able to drink with your hot international residents, except when some of said residents were sometimes trying to sleep with the freshman Americans that we got as overflow from Tucker/Owen.

That was awkward, and required lots of paperwork when it went badly.

2/4/2012 12:34:31 PM

Quote :

"Bowen hall represent"

Bowen 1996-97 here. It was the cheapest option so that's what I went with. It was about 2 steps above camping. No AC, no cable, no internet (although most dorms didn't have internet back then). The only nice part was that my roommate moved into a frat house 2nd semester so I had the room to myself. And it was co-ed, which made it nice to have my own room.

2/4/2012 1:02:18 PM

Quote :

"It was the cheapest option so that's what I went with."

different dorms had different prices? i thought they just kind of put people wherever

2/4/2012 1:25:14 PM

I lived in Gold from 99-01. Loved it there. That side of campus is much more aesthetically pleasing than the rest of campus IMO. If you are in CHASS or Design it will be close to most of your classes. I was in business and had to bike to Nelson for many classes, but didn't mind.

Any info I have is probably going to be outdated. The kitchen back then sucked. We had no A/C. The rooms were huge and I assume still are. It is small so you get to know pretty much everyone in the dorm.

Don't worry about the lack of females in the dorm. Welch is next door and is all female. My wife lived in Welch and we met because we had a class together and were the only people walking back to East Campus at the same time. I would wager on any given night there were as many guys sleeping in Welch as there were girls

2/4/2012 1:42:55 PM