I've been living at University Commons, now known as College Park Lakeside. The main thing that attracted me to this place was the price. Fully furnished apartments and a roommate selection process sounded great from the beginning. The great lakeside view is rather romantic (at night). The utility package allows for a set utility payment of $50/person in a 4-bdrm apt (incl gas, electric, water, cable). It's also on the bus line, so it helps if you're a student. However, the 14 bus is unreliable and doesn't come often and that is my biggest reason for moving.
The noise level can be annoying; the walls can block normal conversation and kitchen noises but not the yelling and partying that the mostly-student residents sometimes make. You can also often hear ppl entering and leaving, walking in the floors above you, and knocking on the walls.
The 24-hour pool and clubhouse availability is great if you take advantage of them; the tradeoff is that you have to hear girls screaming like bloody murder and guys yelling ALL around the neighborhood when they're there late at night (On a side note, there was a ton of broken glass in the jacuzzi last time I went). However, management seems to have improved a decent amount since the place changed ownership; they have good open hours and maintenance requests are automated so they take less time to come. They hire students, so ppl in the office are not always reliable or helpful. But they are friendly, along with many of the residents. They allow subleasing, which is good, but are dicks about helping you out with it as well as other concerns.
The state of most of the appliances are ANCIENT. Cosmetically, not nice to look at. Our washing machines in both apartments I lived in are older than a washer I bought 12 years ago. The refrigerators, microwaves, and ovens are just as old, but at least still functional (note: new mgt. DID replace our broken, ancient dryer with a great new one). Faucets and fixtures are also old, but not a problem except for the showers. God knows what's in the carpeting. The couches are nice but windows are dirty, old, and impossible to clean. The heaters in both apts I lived in give off a smell like burning plastic. But again, it is really efficient, as is the A/C and water heater.
Leakages at the windows were never fixed. During the summer, we had huge ant problems, as did our neighbors. Ants crawled through holes in the walls that the mgt left unfixed. Fumigation did not help, but ant baits did. Also, we had some roaches. Since it was only in the first apt we lived in, I suspect it had something to do with how nasty the roomies were.
Overall, if you don't care too much about your surroundings, it's pretty decent with that price. After all, it's housing geared towards students.

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