Chisholm Hall

This place is very old and not well taken care of. There are much better options on and off campus for more money. I would never let my collage age children stay here.

Chisholm Hall is the first dorm I've stayed at, it's a pretty great place to live on campus at UTSA! It's very close to the Cafe and they host a lot of events with free food and drinks! The alarm systems go off quite often but it's not terribly annoying. The rooms are big and the windows allow for a lot of natural light which is a plus. My RAs on the first floor do a wonderful job of be available and providing help when needed. Overall, for the price this is a great dorm!

***LONG AND DETAILED REVIEW BELOW*** Living on campus at a University will always have ups and downs, you're going to have to sacrifice some things for others, and deal with a lot of stuff (which is how it is at every dorm at every University.) Chisholm Hall Pros: I live in a single deluxe room and it is HUGE. I have a queen sized bed, my own bathroom, and enough room to have over guests without feeling claustrophobic. The room comes with the bed, headboard, dresser, night stand and a long desk (with 6 drawers) that is mounted into the wall. (I will attach photos). You are able to keep a fridge and a microwave and a toaster oven in your dorm as well, which makes snacking/easy cooking really convenient. There is a lot of storage, I have two closets, 4 drawers and 4 cabinets in the bathroom area, a 5-drawer dresser, 2 drawer night stand a 6 drawers in my desk. The water in the shower can get super hot, and the Air Conditioning is fabulous. It also has a window alongside the far wall, so natural lighting is a must here, too. If you're looking for somewhere that's like an apartment but is on campus, I would live at Chisholm Hall 100%. If your parents are paying and you're not forced to have a roommate: Live at Chisholm Hall. The Resident Assistants are FABULOUS (especially Isaiah) and will help with literally whatever you need, they also put on events in the Activity Center weekly. I had my boyfriend over a lot which was nice, just because I didn't have to worry about asking permission from roommates, etc. Chisholm Hall Cons: Yes, the fire alarm goes off. It's not a malfunctioning fire alarm, it's just super sensitive so the people in Chisholm who smoke and aren't very courteous of the people around them do set off the fire alarm. Honestly, it doesn't happen as often as the reviews say, but yes it does happen. (IDK about getting fined for not leaving your room, I've never done that honestly.) Another con Is having to walk down to the kitchen to cook more "fancy" stuff, if you're into that. Only because you have to lug all your stuff down there, but that's not a function of Chisholm it's just how it is. The exterior of Chisholm is ugly and feels like a jail, but the potential that the rooms have are unlimited, so I wouldn't let that alone be a deterrent. People complain a lot about the wifi at Chisholm, and I personally haven't had any trouble but if it gets really bad you can just buy like a $20 router and have your own wifi, the people here just complain a lot. It also sucks that you have to buy a meal plan, because the cafe honestly sucks and is not very accommodating for people who don't like to eat junk food everyday. Another annoying thing is how thin the walls are, you can hear people outside your dorm room if they're loud enough. OVERALL: Chisholm Hall doesn't totally suck. Comparing it to the other dorms on campus: Chaparral Village--You have to have 3 other roommates, share a bathroom with one of them, and have a tiny room and a twin sized bed (but it's cheaper). Alvarez--You can get your own bedroom but share a bathroom, but the bedroom isn't nearly as big. University Oaks--Basically apartment complexes on campus, you'd need roommates for them too. If you don't want a roommate, live at Chisholm. If having a big bedroom/queen sized bed/your own bathroom is important to you live at Chisholm. If your financial aid is paying for your dorm room, I would live at Chisholm. If you do, don't live on the first floor, though. Make sure that you look at all of your options though, because you could get an apartment nearby for the same amount or cheaper, honestly though living at Chisholm and walking to campus every day has helped a lot with the transition. If I had to do all this over again, I probably would have just gotten an apartment nearby, BUT I honestly don't regret living at Chisholm.

My honest opinion is that there are better places to live for around the same price. It's an old building, you have to pay for laundry, the wifi barely worked and if it did it was super slow, the locks on the doors to the building weren't always locked so I never really felt safe, our room flooded multiple times due to leaks in the ceiling, the building over all is dirty and smells pretty bad, the fire alarm goes off twice a week or more even at 2:00 in the morning. Its not awful if its the only choice you have, if you're stuck living here some pros are that the students and RA's are really nice and the rooms are really big, and its close to the cafe and the 15-20 minuet walk to campus isn't bad at all. I recommend bringing a lot of decorations so it doesn't feel like a prison:)

Chisholm is a great place to live. I've been here for a year and haven't had any problems. Its is an old building but the sense of community and RA's make it worth while. The rooms are HUGE and I have a queen sized bed that's very comfortable. And they have private bathrooms as well. The cable is good too. A pose to some of the reviews here that simply aren't true, like the bed bugs and fire alarms, i enjoy living here. If simple place to live that doesn't break the bank this is definitely the place to stay