There is a variety of housing options on campus, so it really depends on what you are looking for in a place to live.

Dorms

Dorm suggestions encompass three popular choices.

Illinois Street Residence (ISR)

The first is ISR (Illinois Street Residence), by far the closest dorm to the engineering buildings (pursumable you are an engineering if you are looking at this site). ISR’s food is mediocre, and it is generally quieter than the other dorms (unless you are in the Innovation LLC). It is almost completely made up of engineers, so you can find a lot of homework help in the dorm itself.

Pennsylvania Avenue Residence (PAR)

PAR (Pennsylvania Avenue Residence) is the farthest from the engineering buildings; however, there are nearly constant busses from there to the rest of campus. It has one of the top 2 dining halls on campus, but it has no Air Conditioning. It can be quiet or loud depending on the floor you get, and is a good mix of engineers and non-engineers.

Ikenberry

Finally, Ikenberry is fairly distant from engineering as well; however, again there are many buses from there. It has the most social life (often nicknamed the “Six Pack”), and provides a great opportunity to meet non-engineering students (you meet plenty of engineers in your classes). It has one of the top 2 dining halls on campus, and some of the newest dorms on campus. Your room can be a hit or miss depending on which dorm you get (Some of the best are Nugent, Bousfield, Wassaja, Weston, and Hopkins).

Living Learning Coummunities (LLCs)

In general, if you want a more social connection with your floor mates, look into the Live and Learn communities: http://www.housing.illinois.edu/living-options/living-learning-communities/

Private Housing

If you are looking into private certified housing, the three most popular are Hendrick House, Presby, and Illini Tower. In general, private housing is more expensive, has better food, and is (generally) much less social (you don’t get to know your floor well as you may in regular dorms). Hendrick is the closest to engineering (across the street from ISR) and is said to have the best food. Presby and Illini Tower are a couple blocks apart with the primary differences being that Illini Tower is known to have more international students (sometimes nicknamed “International Tower”).

Getting an Apartment

If you are not a freshman you are probably interested in getting an apartement - more content on this later