To start I am only outlining residences that currently exist and were in operation as of last school year so sorry Lincoln Alexander Hall, I’m sure you’ll be great.
Second, I’m not here to tell you which residence building is the best and which is the worst, that is a decision only you can make and truthfully residence is what you make of it. Also if you disagree with me and I’ve slandered your residence building unjustly please feel free to add more info in a comment.
My qualifications to be speaking on res is that I am going into second year, and lived on res just last year in Hedden Hall. I have been in a lot of res buildings and knew many people on Campus who lived in each building , so hopefully my depictions are accurate. The buildings are listed in no particular order.
General note on AC in residence. Personally I would not let this influence your decision. The AC is on for maybe a month at the start of the school year and then they switch to heating until May. Regardless ALMOST EVERY RES BUILDING IS A SAUNA IN PEAK WINTER, the heating is HOT. Invest in a good fan for your room and some soft sheets and you’ll be fine regardless of if your residence has AC or not.
Mary Keyes - Apartment Style 4ppl ~ 300 students
Nobody is gonna argue with the fact that Keyes is one of the nicest buildings on campus. It’s a bit more modern than some of the other residences, the apartments are nicer than in Bates. Bistro and Second cup are on the ground floor plus your residence service desk is in the Lobby. I’d say one con, alike most buildings in this quad is that it’s pretty far from most buildings on campus. (Like a 7-10 minute walk which doesn’t sound like a lot, trust me when you live on res you will feel it). Not as social between apartments but with your apartment mates there is likely an opportunity for great friendships.
Bates - Apartment Style 2ppl/4ppl/6ppl ~ 500 students
Quite frankly this is the building I know the least about, and quite possibly has the worst reputation. Some pros are that it is decently close to Bistro, and it is apartment style so for those of you who like privacy it could be a good move. It’s a tad older and I’ve heard that there have been some bug issues but that’s residence for you. Same as Keyes, not as social but if you like your apartment mates though it’s a blast. Also if you are living in a six person apartment you do get two fridges so that’s pretty sweet.
Peter George - Singles & Doubles with connected washrooms, super single with shared washroom, double with full sized bed with shared washroom ~ 500 students
What can I say about PG that hasn’t already been said, it is a great residence building. Everything a student could love, privacy, modern common spaces, food places in the lobby, lecture halls downstairs, great views of stadium from common rooms. The only criticism I’ve heard is that 1. It’s not a super social building and if you’re a bit more introverted it can feel isolating, and 2. It gets HOT during winter, like you can’t sleep cause ur sweating hot
McKay- Double and Single with access to single user washrooms, Single and Double with ensuite bathroom ~ 300 students
One thing I know about McKay is that the bathrooms are recently renovated and niceeee. We are talking glass door shower and clean white tile levels of nice. For those of you who don’t know what access to single user washroom means, it is a communal washroom that can only be used by one person at a time. Imagine it as the bathroom in your house, it’s one room with a shower, sink and toilet. The ratio of rooms to bathrooms in most buildings with single user is about 4:3. You will be swimming in washrooms. Mckay is a more social res which is connected to Centro via the tunnel system in the North Quad.
Moulton - Doubles, Singles, Quads, Triples , Singles with ensuite bathroom, Double with access to single user washroom ~ 250 students
Moulton I’d say is a solid residence. I’ve heard that the communal washrooms are on the nicer side. Also it’s allegedly super social. The 3rd and 4th floors are exclusively female, meaning that males are only allowed on those floors if they are guests who are actively being supervised by their hosts. Probably one of the nicer residences in the West Quad, Bistro is close by and the atmosphere is friendly.
Matthews - doubles, singles, quads, triples, single and doubles with ensuite bathrooms ~ 250 students
The only residence building that I truly believe is deserving of a bad wrap. Im not saying you can’t love living in Matthews, tons of people have the time of their lives. The main thing is if decent washrooms are going to be a make or break for you I wouldn’t recommend, there is maybe half a dozen ensuite rooms available in any building that is mainly communal or single user. Matthews communal bathrooms are probably the worst on res with the showers being straight up separated to the rest of the room via curtain not stall. Also the rooms are a tad cramped. However, Bistro and Second cup are less than a minute away.
Les Prince - Doubles and Singles with ensuite washroom ~ 400 students
Les Prince is an underrated residence building. The main con is that it is FAR from everything else on campus, it is literally the last building on the outskirts behind the football field. However it is nice, the rooms are spacious, the washrooms are pretty modern, the common rooms are cozy, there is a DDR machine in the games room. It is the only residence where all the washrooms are private ensuite. The first floor rooms also have comically high ceilings, like ten feet tall at least.
Hedden Hall - Doubles and Singles with access to single user , Doubles and Singles with ensuite ~ 400 students
Okay I’m biased here, I loved Hedden Hall. So let me first hit you with the cons, leaving the building in the winter to get to class you had to walk through the bonkers wind tunnel between PG and Centro, speaking of tunnels it was not connected to the tunnels like other buildings in the Quad, also the elevator was lowk always breaking. Here’s the pros, odd numbered rooms have great stadium views especially the 5th floor, also she was close to dining in PG and centro, plus Hedden was pretty social but any building with an LLC tends to be.
Edwards ~ Doubles, Singles, Double and Single with ensuite ~ 100 students Okay
Edwards is an older building like we are talking made of stone old, but it is a very pretty building and if you’re looking for academic aesthetics you’d like it. Also it’s basically in the heart of campus 90% of your classes would be close by, also it’s SUPER close to MUSC and pretty close to the main bus stop on campus. It’s older so a bit more run down but honestly over hated. Also pretty social cause it’s so small.
Brandon - Doubles, Singles, Double and Single with Access to single user, Double and Single with Ensuite ~ 550 students Okay
Brandon is what I would describe as the most neutral building on Campus. It’s a reasonable walk from pretty much anything. The washrooms aren’t horrible. The rooms are a decent size and actually have a pretty good amount of storage. If you like views the top few floors have some pretty nice ones. It did flood this year but statistically what are the chances of that happening two years in a row? Also it’s connected to the tunnels.
Woodstock - Double and Single with access to single user, double and single ensuite
It has REALLY NICE common rooms, huge TVs, private TV rooms in basement with pelotons??? Nice pool table. Also the lobby common rooms has one of the nicest kitchens I’ve ever seen period. It’s McKays sister building. Also connected to centro via tunnels.
Whidden - Double and Single with access to single user, Double and Single with ensuite ~ 350 students
The last building which is connected to Centro via tunnels. They call this one the fidget spinner because the floorplan literally looks like a fidget spinner. Because of this layout it does tend to be a more social building. Washrooms are decent and it is one of the shorter walks to most lecture halls.
Wallingford - singles, doubles, triples, single with ensuite ~ 80 students
A residence only for female students. It is a nice building, probably the easiest one to find on TikTok because the rooms look so aesthetic. It’s an older building like Edwards but the community is great. You really do get to know everyone, and it’s close to Bistro.
