Which schools have the best/worst gyms/rec centers?

[milesinfinitus]

Hey ppl,
I'm at Penn right now and just spent 6 hours at their brand new rec center facility. I can honestly say I haven't seen a nicer university gym anywhere. They just opened it a year ago. It has two floors of weights, a golf simulator, 3 full bball courts, random rec rooms, swimming pool, climbing wall and a crapload of other stuff. It is seriously badass. This place alone makes me want to come here. If you're ever out here, you should def check it out, although the $20 guest fee is a little prohibitive.
As for other schools I've checked out,
WashU: It's a tiny minigym and bball court connected to Olin Hall. Definitely not the nicest facilities, but enough. Plus extremely conveniently located.
UMich: There are a few different gyms out here, but I evidently picked the crappiest one to go to, NCRB. It sucks. How can you have a gym w/o a freakin bench? seriously though, that's lame. They do have some bball courts and i'm sure other stuff I didn't get around to checking out.
UCSF: They have a fairly nice and new gym. There seems to be a decent volume of equipment as well as a bball court(not quite full size, but close) and a pool.
Stanford (haven't interviewed there yet, but crossing fingers): They just renovated the main gym and added all new equipment. So it's definitely a pleasant environment to lift at, but like all schools gyms, it can get crowded at times. minor peeve: there is equipment there reserved only for varsity athletes which sits unused while there are lines for other equipment... I find that really annoying.

What do ya'll think of the rec centers at all the other schools?
-MI

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[lola]

NYMC: small gym (did not see it, near on-campus housing), no pool 🙁

Harvard: smallish gym w/ bball court (ok equipment, in dorm), tennis court, squash courts, no pool 🙁

 

[smilez428]

RWJMS- Access to Rutgers- New Brunswick gym facilities- which are phenomenal (and there are 5 of them) I'm pretty sure just your UMDNJ ID gets you in for free....

 

[tBw]

To be fair WashU has another gym on hilltop which is better and free access to outdoor pools....

Cornell's gym was not terribly impressive. Most people told us just to join a commercial one of which there are tons in NYC but of course $$

Einsteins gym was kind of basic, but it was free and right between the school and the dorms, so couldn't complain.

 

[doepug]

Hopkins has a newly renovated gym at the hospital that is fantastic. In addition, many students use the fabulous athletic center on the undergrad campus.

doepug

 

[kaos]

Yeah, GW has an awesome new gym that's even better than the med school.

 

[UCLAMAN]

USC supposedly has a nice gym that was just renovated. But its on the main campus which is a few minutes away by car.

Dartmouth's gym is good. Basketball courts, free weights, treadmills, rquetball, rock climbing. I think the Berry Center was just built(not sure how long ago). Equipment is in great condition. Some of it is new. Oh and if you are into winter sports....the skiway is 10 minutes away with no lines to the lifts, occom pond freezes over during the winter which means free skating/pickup hockey a 5 min walk away. the thompson center(where the big green plays) has im hockey programs also i believe.

UCLA...their gym sux. weight room is old. weight room is always crowded anytime past 2pm. always a wait to get on the treadmills. always a wait to get on the basketball courts(even tho theres like 5 of them full court). in the evenings bbal is at least 2 or 3 deep. theres rock climbing. raquetball. would be a decent facility if the weightroom wasn't so crappy and there wasn't a ten hour wait to use everything it has to offer.

 

[jot]

haha - something i pay good attention too ....


Hopkins: has a newly renovated gym at the hospital that is fantastic. In addition, many students use the fabulous athletic center on the undergrad campus

GW: has an awesome new gym that's even better than the med school.

einsteins: gym was kind of basic, but it was free and right between the school and the dorms, so couldn't complain.

Penn: right now and just spent 6 hours at their brand new rec center facility. I can honestly say I haven't seen a nicer university gym anywhere. They just opened it a year ago. It has two floors of weights, a golf simulator, 3 full bball courts, random rec rooms, swimming pool, climbing wall and a crapload of other stuff. It is seriously badass. This place alone makes me want to come here. If you're ever out here, you should def check it out, although the $20 guest fee is a little prohibitive.

WashU: It's a tiny minigym and bball court connected to Olin Hall. Definitely not the nicest facilities, but enough. Plus extremely conveniently located.

UMich: There are a few different gyms out here, but I evidently picked the crappiest one to go to, NCRB. It sucks. How can you have a gym w/o a freakin bench? seriously though, that's lame. They do have some bball courts and i'm sure other stuff I didn't get around to checking out.

UCSF: They have a fairly nice and new gym. There seems to be a decent volume of equipment as well as a bball court(not quite full size, but close) and a pool.

Stanford (haven't interviewed there yet, but crossing fingers): They just renovated the main gym and added all new equipment. So it's definitely a pleasant environment to lift at, but like all schools gyms, it can get crowded at times. minor peeve: there is equipment there reserved only for varsity athletes which sits unused while there are lines for other equipment... I find that really annoying.

RWJMS: Access to Rutgers- New Brunswick gym facilities- which are phenomenal (and there are 5 of them) I'm pretty sure just your UMDNJ ID gets you in for free....

NYMC: small gym (did not see it, near on-campus housing), no pool

Harvard: smallish gym w/ bball court (ok equipment, in dorm), tennis court, squash courts, no pool

adding some that haven't beem commented on - i agree with those above descriptions of those i'be been to

yale: has a nice, small functional gym at the bottom of harkness hall - and the mother of all gyms (just awesome) which is a 5 min jog away (as opposed to the distance bet jhu med and undergrad as well as washU) on the undergrad campus called paine-whitney.

cornells: gym at the bottom of olin is minimally functional - but there are nicer facilities at rockefeller (a 2 min walk) which

columbia: has nice gym facilities on med campus(undergrad is too far), a full pool, and courts and stuff in bard, which is undergoing some renovation

ucla: has a gym on the undergrad campus which is a 5 min jog or so - but seems like it is super packed usually

duke: has an awesome gym on the undergrad campus (5 min jog) - really sweet

vanderbilt: has great undergrad gym facilities (5 min jog again)

 

[xaelia]

Stanford: Arillaga fitness center isn't bad; tough to fault their pools, too. And, of course, with California weather, it's not as though you have to use cardio machines inside. They also have a second gym in Tressider that's mcuh smaller.

Penn: Pottruck center is probably the nicest gym for an urban school out there...though it needs more than two rowing machines.

Albert Einstein: I can't believe how proud they were of their gym. A few old pieces of cardio equipment, a tiny lap pool, and some exercise space.

Columbia: In the basement of their dorm, feels like a cage. Narrow spaces with old Nautilus machines, though a nice shortened basketball court.

Thomas Jefferson: A nice multi-lane pool, decent space for weightlifting and cardio with televisions.

Emory: Spacious, sprawling, with a climbing wall...like the Pottruck center only spread horizontally, not vertically.

Rochester: Also has a basketball court, an exercise space, and a small cardio/weights area.

Pittsburgh built a brand new fitness center across the street from the medical school, but I didn't see it. Case Western Reserve supposedly has one "meh" fitness center that's free, and another one that's nicer that you have to pay for. I wouldn't mind hearing about Vanderbilt's...

 

[Dr. Hugh Hefner]

Univ of Colorado has absolutely no rec facilities....oh, well 🙁 🙁

 

[surge]

UTSouthwestern just opened a new student center. Phenomenal gym, new fancy equipment, indoor track....the works. Right on campus, and free, too.

 

[Street Philosopher]

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[relatively prime]

Originally posted by doepug
Hopkins has a newly renovated gym at the hospital that is fantastic.

oh my god... this is such a lie... JHU med may have a lot of going for it... but it's gym is not one of them.

 

[JJNY]

The gym at NYMC is baaaaaaaad!

I went to grad school there.

All the med students I know that are seriously into fitness have a real gym membership... which averages $70/month in that area.

Figure that into your financial aid budget! 🙂

 

[X]

Drexel - gym was pretty weak

MCO - decent

UCSD - good.

 

[xaelia]

Originally posted by doepug
In addition, many students use the fabulous athletic center on the undergrad campus.

Hm...unless the gym has been completely gutted in the last five years, I think we attended different Johns Hopkins'. 🙂

 

[CrashinStoneFish]

Loyola's is pretty awesome too...Was built within the last five years I believe..

 

[Redbeanmochi]

the Hopkins ungrad gym is fabulous... i think it opened only a year ago (Pepsi donated a significant sum of money for the construction, which explains for all those Pepsi vending machines scattered throughout the complex). there are squash courts, beautiful olympic-sized pool, b-ball court, nice weight room, and top-notch cardio machines (i use the undergrad gym on a daily basis).

the Hopkins med gym was recently renovated and the space is much nicer than the hole in the wall that it used to be; however, the cardio machines are all old and outdated. it's worth a trek (aka, a shuttle ride) up to Homewood to use the lovely facilities.

 

[zer0el]

to the USC med students...where do u work out at/play bball? i didn't run across a gym on the health science campus.

 

[UCLAMAN]

Originally posted by zer0el
to the USC med students...where do u work out at/play bball? i didn't run across a gym on the health science campus.

the gym is on the main campus not the health science campus.

 

[milesinfinitus]

I checked out the Wooden Center a couple months ago. It's pretty tite except the sorry excuse for a weight room they have. I went on a Labor Day weekend so it wasn't too crowded. But that weight room was seriuosly a piece of crap. I think if I ended up there (haha, not that I even have an interview=), I would def have to get a private membership like at LA Fitness or 24hour

 

[Yogi Bear]

among the nicer gyms i've been to:

creighton: pretty big indoor bball, maybe a track, although lk
jefferson: underground gym. pretty decent facilities w/ indoor poor. however, seemed a bit stuffy.
yale - best gym i've seen. there's at least half a dozen indoor bball courts, 1/8 mile track, and a bunch of stuff on the 10+ floors which i didn't visit. there's weight room, pool, gymnastics stuff, squash, etc.

 

[liverpoolufmd08]

The University of Florida has a number of outstanding facilities (including an indoor soccer field--I love that game!)...heck, Gainesville itself has a tonne of great rec centres and gyms... whatever you want you can find it (bball courts, pools, tracks, the list goes on and on). everyone in this town's a health freak...

 

[samyjay]

at sinai, there is a pretty crappy gym at the bottom of the apt complex on 50 E Park ave (it has free weight, treadmills, but it is a dungeon, open all the time none the less). Yet, there are free passes every day (40 of them, and they never all get taken) to the incredibly YMCA (upper east side quality) that is like a 5 minute jog away.

 

[poloace]

loma linda has a rad gym, as does vermont ... top notch ishk.
p

 

[AznTrojan]

'sc main campus.. local high school.. local parks (monterey park/alhambra).. can't tell you where.. cuz it's already crowded enough.. 😀 work out at the Y.. other people go to gyms in pasadena..

Originally posted by zer0el
to the USC med students...where do u work out at/play bball? i didn't run across a gym on the health science campus.

 

[UCLAMAN]

Originally posted by milesinfinitus
I checked out the Wooden Center a couple months ago. It's pretty tite except the sorry excuse for a weight room they have. I went on a Labor Day weekend so it wasn't too crowded. But that weight room was seriuosly a piece of crap. I think if I ended up there (haha, not that I even have an interview=), I would def have to get a private membership like at LA Fitness or 24hour

Haha...go on a normal day...theres a line to use everything...even the stupid ab rollers.

 

[Explosivo]

I second Loyola's facility. It is absolutely gorgeous and is located right next to the med school. It is top notch and membership is included in you student fees and its real cheap. The place looks just like a bally's.

University of Chicago is building a brand spanking new workout facility. It's huge and is looking like it cost a couple million easy. The structure is almost complete and it looks stunning. I believe it may be complete by the Fall.

 

[xaelia]

Originally posted by indo
University of Oregons is the best.

Too bad the University of Oregon doesn't have a medical schoool, so it's sort of irrelevant. 😉

OHSU has some sort of fitness facility, but I don't have any details on it.

 

[TeinVI]

i'm very proud to present the "worst friggin gym facilitiy EVARRR" award to nyu.
it's not a gym. it's a room (in the basement no less) the size of a closet with 40-year old weights and benches, and some cardio machines (whether or not they actually work remains to be seen). pieces of broken dumbells decorate the dust-ridden corners.

 

[manicmaven]

Originally posted by xaelia
Too bad the University of Oregon doesn't have a medical schoool, so it's sort of irrelevant. 😉

OHSU has some sort of fitness facility, but I don't have any details on it.

OHSU was formerly the University of Oregon and a lot of old-schoolers still call it that. I think you're right though, indo was talking about the eugene campus. OHSU isn't bad at all. Big weight room, cardio room, several basket ball courts, a pool and an aerobics room. A little basic but still varied enough to not feel like you've been shoved in the back of a broom closet with free weights and a bench.

Albany...yeah, hi. Not a damn thing. $35,000 a year and not even a closet. People!
😕

 

[MSTP boy]

Originally posted by manicmaven
OHSU was formerly the University of Oregon and a lot of old-schoolers still call it that. I think you're right though, indo was talking about the eugene campus. OHSU isn't bad at all. Big weight room, cardio room, several basket ball courts, a pool and an aerobics room. A little basic but still varied enough to not feel like you've been shoved in the back of a broom closet with free weights and a bench.

Your tour guide must have lied to you about the bball court(s), because there is only ONE. Also, the weight room is like a 30' x 30' sealed square box; not exactly "big"!!!. Also, the default music they play (unless you tell them to change it) is elevator music, like 106.1 or 107.5 all the time. I like the pool & spa though. I really think they should build a new rec center, or at least expand the current one. My undergrad rec center was dark, huge, and had good, well-used equipment...and played modern music, like r&b. i guess u don't know what you've got, until it's gone.

 

[bella_dottoressa]

Ohio State is in the process of building a brand new multimillion dollar workout complex that is supposedly going to be the largest in the nation when it opens in 2004.

 

[choker]

the gym at pitt is absolutely friggin ridiculously nice. it's HUGE and right across the street from the med school. it just opened in sept and has all the amenities complete with glassed squash courts, raquetball courts, TVs in front of the cardio as well as a huge wall made of glass (also in front of the cardio). it's also got a food court.

 

[Freakingzooming]

You guys serious gymn rats or something? What's up with the posts here?

haha.

 

[xaelia]

For ex-varsity athletes and the like, we spend a lot of time at the gym - ~4-6 days a week, and the facilities are just another variable in the quality of life/general happiness part of picking the school that's right for you.

Like, Emory had the cutest undergrads.... 😉

 

[slindsay198]

I'll throw in PCOM as having a sweet gym. Brand new as of '99 with awesome facilities. And, we share it with the 76ers! Nothing like working out next to Mutumbo or Iverson. Sometimes, the players will even run a few games with students if they're just in the gym shooting around. It's pretty cool.

Scott-MSII
PCOM