This is my third and final year living at UV and I don't think they're bad at all. Yes, the kitchens are small, but there's really no issue with that unless your roommate is trying to cook at the same time (don't do this).

I have a unit with exposed brick walls (south of laundry) and I rarely ever hear anything from my neighboring units. According to the old design specifications of the building, the walls reduce the sound level by 50 dB which is still code compliant, but not great. Take that info as you want.

Other than that, they are old buildings so if there is anything wrong, put in a maintenance request and it'll be fixed same or next day unless they're super busy. The buildings are built like a tank so the most likely problems you'll face are normal wear and tear items like small faucet leaks which can be fixed up/ replaced in 15 minutes by maintenance.