Hey queens! It’s been a minute – I hope midterm season went well for everyone, and I hope you all take some time off this weekend to rest and relax. You deserve it!!
Now that I have nearly two months of freshman year behind me, I’ve been thinking back to the moment when I first made the decision to commit to University of Iowa in March. I was unbelievably excited to finally know where the next four years of my life and schooling would take place, and one of the biggest changes for me was moving away from home and living on my own (sort of) for the first time! I was so ready to receive the true ‘college experience’ and a big part of that for me meant living in a residence hall. Because my room selection number was really high, by the time I was able to access the housing application, there wasn’t a lot of space left. As I opened the housing portal, I realized that Mayflower Hall had the most space still available out of any residence hall, even towards the end of the housing selection process. Without knowing anything about Mayflower, I selected my room on the sixth floor and then headed to social media to look up what previous Iowa students had to say about it. And what I saw made me heavily regret my decision!
Mostly everyone I saw was talking about how Mayflower was so far away from campus and one of the worst residence halls. I read how the hall was put on the market in early 2023 for millions of dollars, but ended up staying as a residence hall because so many students enrolled at Iowa for the 2023-24 school year. Most people I saw talked about how it was annoyingly far away from the main campus and not as nice as some of the more newly renovated dorms. Hearing this made me worry that my living situation was going to be, well, less than ideal. But as the housing portal had closed, I didn’t have any other option but to stick it out and experience it for myself.
When I stepped into the Mayflower building for the first time on August 17, I had no idea what to expect. I knew I was on the sixth floor in a suite-style room – every dorm in Mayflower is actually a suite style, which means that there’s two doubles connected with a shared bathroom and kitchen. But besides that, I knew nothing about the size of the room or how ‘nice’ it would be.
On August 17, as I stepped into my new home for the first time, I braced myself for the worst. But to my surprise, it was nowhere near the dismal dorm I had been told to expect from previous students. My high captain bed was right by the window looking out over the park and river, making for an absolutely gorgeous view. A wall with plenty of closet space separated the bed area and the desk area of the dorm, making it feel like two rooms instead of one! The kitchen came equipped with a four burner gas stove and full size fridge and freezer. The bathroom had two sinks, a closed-off toilet area and shower, and mirrors with storage behind them. It was a lot more spacious and ‘homey’ than I was expecting. And best of all, it was not any more expensive than if I had roomed in a more “traditional” double dorm in a different residence hall!
Besides just my dorm room, I discovered the other cool features at Mayflower – like the convenience store stocked with delicious snacks and flex meal options, the fitness center equipped with lots of machines and equipment for when I didn’t feel like heading over to the Rec, and the computer lab.
Over the first week while I settled in at Mayflower, I learned some good (and bad) things about the residence hall. For example, the elevators were tiny and always crowded, but that gave me more opportunity to bond with people and make new friends. The distance from campus was definitely annoying at first, but that means when I decided to walk I could get lots of my steps in for the day. And because most of the time I chose to take the bus, I quickly learned the bus routes and how to navigate the Transit app, which was super helpful. Because Mayflower is one of the largest dormitories (housing over 1000 students!) there’s a lot of people I’m able to bond with over the fact that we both live in Mayflower. Finding out someone else lives in the same residence hall as you is always a great way to connect!
Overall, even though I wasn’t sure if I would like living in Mayflower, it’s actually been a great experience with not a lot of downsides. And plenty of other Mayflower residents agree. ” I like having a kitchen and fridge because it keeps me from being homesick and I can make food that reminds me of home,” said Haya Hussain, a freshman resident.
“I like that the bed and desk area is separate so I can study while my roommate is sleeping and we don’t have to go to bed at the same time,” said Lilliana Wenk, another freshman resident.
So if you plan to live in a residence hall next year, don’t cross Mayflower off your list yet – you might just be surprised at how much you’ll end up liking it!
