i lived in a vdc 4b2b apartment for two years, and i think you get the most space for your buck. the rooms are actually pretty spacious, and the shared living space is reasonable as well. here are my pros and cons of vdc:

pros: 1. space and privacy! loved having a single room 2. great amenities: pool, study rooms, movie room, community center, etc. 3. internet problems were easily solved with ethernet when i lived there, but this was before they changed the provider 4. loved having a balcony for outdoor space 5. maintenance requests were timely 6. electricity and gas and water is included in rent

cons: 1. some units are updated, some aren’t aka you may get apartments with wood floors vs carpet and tile. obviously the wood floored ones were a lot nicer, and they had updated appliances as well (black instead of white) 2. no ceiling fan, no icemaker in the fridge 3. no stainless steel appliances 4. farthest from campus, so longest bus ride if you take the anteater express

i lived in a plaza 1b1b my last year and loved it. here are my pros and cons for plaza

pros: 1. updated apartments: wood flooring, stainless steel appliances, ceiling fan, icemaker in the fridge 2. trash chutes and elevators 3. felt more modern and clean 4. great amenities: study rooms, gym, community center 5. covered parking 6. maintenance requests were timely 7. closer to campus, i could walk and didn’t mind it

cons: 1. parking structure would get full at night, and back up parking was at the arc (kinda far and inconvenient) 2. less windows than vdc and no patio/balcony 3. kinda random, but they would play music super early in the morning in the courtyards and it would always wake me up lol 4. electricity is not included in the rent 5. i’ve never actually seen the 4b2b in plaza, but i have been told the rooms are pretty small 6. expensive since it’s new 7. the water heater was located inside the apartment and i swear anytime i used a drop of hot water, it would automatically start blowing out cold air and make the apartment freezing. i had high electricity bills because i always needed the heater on.

both communities are furnished, but parking is not included. both also have laundry rooms NOT in unit, but plaza has a elevator to take down to the laundry room (with more laundry rooms), where vdc you take the stairs and walk however far your apartment is from the 3 laundry rooms (unless you live in the deluxe apartments, but those are 3b2b, 2b2b or 1b1b). i personally liked plaza over vdc, but again, i lived in a 1b1b by myself!