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We’ve had our laughs at those overeager types who bothered turning in their applications way back in November, but now the Admission’s Department has tapped a whole new deluge of high school seniors to join the class of 2016. This is the point that marks the transcendence of current freshman from the set of innocent younglings into the jaded masses of upperclassmen. In a moment of annual unity, the entire midterm-weary campus can welcome (or silently sneer at) prefrosh with the evidenced assertion that—unlike at peer institutions—”getting in” is most certainly not the hardest part.
Freshpeople housing applications are up now, and due May 1st. Bwog thought it’d be nice capture a little bit of the insanity over on the 2016 Facebook group, and discuss freshman housing options.
Our previous reviews:
- Carman—A new city and a new school means that you need new friends. Carman is supposedly the hot spot for LitHummers, even if you have to wade through your floormate’s dinner to get to the elevator.
- John Jay—There’s nothing like adjusting to a new academic environment like repairing to a peaceful, ruminatory castle when things get overwhelming. Floors can bond like glue, or you can end up next to the girl who practices violin at all the wrong times.
- Hartley/Wallach—Housing that comes with built in upperclassmen “friends.” Possibly the driest dorms on campus.
- Furnald—The Ravenclaw of housing, Furnald is supposedly quite and studious. Decidedly the best quality of housing available for freshmen.
These things tend to be fairly factionalized, so share your experience below. If freshman housing is “so three years ago” for you, then feel free to whine about the depressed job market. That’s cool too.
future peers via Babies Babies Babies
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@CC '16 Hello, I plan on attending Columbia this fall as a freshman and am slightly torn on the housing situation. There seems to be strong opinions dependent on the individual so would anyone be willing to give a non-subjective summary of the housing options so as I’m not kicking myself next year? Thank you so much!
@Hello Little One! I lived in Carman as a freshman. I got along with my roommate and enjoyed the private bathroom and A/C, but my floor was not very close so I ended up having to go elsewhere to make friends, which was fine, but it would have been nice to live with friends. If you consider yourself to be a very outgoing individual, you will probably enjoy Carman.
As a sophomore I lived in Hartley, and had a much better experience than I did in my freshman living situation. My suite became very close, like a family-away-from-home, and we all really enjoyed cooking together and hanging out in the lounge and having our own private spaces to return to at the end of the night. If you want to host parties, the LLC is probably not for you, but personally I prefer to party elsewhere (so that the mess is left elsewhere…) and occasionally have a drink in my lounge with friends, which is totally feasible in the LLC if you don’t land in the RA’s suite (or if you just get a chill RA who’s willing to pretend s/he doesn’t know what’s in those cups).
When I gave up on my Carman floor freshman year and went to find friends elsewhere, I ended up finding a group who lived together in Furnald. Yes, it’s quiet, but it’s nice, has great kitchen access if you like to cook, and my friends were a prime example of a floor that was really close and far from antisocial, as people sometimes stereotype.
John Jay I don’t have too much experience with, but the rooms are fairly nice and most of the people who live there seem to end up enjoying it. You can host parties if you want, and floors are often social. Being above the dining hall as a freshman is convenient.
If I had to pick my freshman housing again I’d go with the LLC, but that reflects my personal preferences and experiences. I tried to make this objective enough to help you guess your own. Good luck!
@Anonymous I know I would have more friends than I do now if I lived in John Jay or Furnald and NOT Wallach. You either meet your new best friends or you’re stuck with a group of people you really just can’t stand. While that might be true of everywhere, it’s especially true of the LLC.
@Wallach It was my last choice for housing as a freshman, but I’m incredibly happy I ended up there. Most people there didn’t choose to be there, and most people there are looking to have just as much as fun as you are. The people I lived with in Wallach are the people I still go out with now. Also, it should be noted that the lounge tables make really great beer pong tables and just happen to fit very well in the A and C Suite doubles.
@SR'13 As a person who lived in Carman all I can say is incredible!!!!!!!!! I met 3/4ths of my friends today from Carman, I’m a rising senior and I still talk about the good old carman days, where drinking Wed through Sat was completely acceptable. NSOP was an excuse to miss all the Orientation events and parties beginning at 7pm. I loved every minute of it even down to the entire floor sharing the study guides for LitHum. As a freshman you should go hard because I guarantee parties and socializing gets harder as you get older, and everyone needs that one year to create some epic memories. :D Welcome to Columbia!!!!!!!!!!
@JHU'15 funny, i applied ED last year and, of course, got rejected, but even so looking at this inspires some nostalgia. let these guys have their moment. i still love columbia and i remember that i would have given my left ovary to get in. just imagining the joy of the thought makes my heart jump still.
however, that being said, looking back now i’m so glad i am where i am. a lot of us science-related majors at hop may graduate with no souls but at least we’re not jaded about it. stay fresh columbians
@blub JJ if u want 2 be getting down w/ co-eds and making sure that everyone on ur floor knows
oh and if u have a cool RA u can commit drug and it’s like nobody is going 2 care u kno?
@Anonymous Great, I love committing drug.
@lol Mean to up vote this shit haha
@Put yourself in the mindset... of who occupies these dorms.
John Jay. People go their for a single in a more social dorm even though it’s older and not as clean as Furnald. So you get artists, musicians, and people who work well by themselves but are not socially awkward and can easily start a conversation over lithum texts or would be down to tour that new art exhibition that someone saw online.
Furnald. Frosh go for singles in this clean and quiet dorm. So they work well by themselves and need that isolation to not tempt themselves. I usually associate it with more mathematical and scientific people, but I know some poli-sci people there as well. This IS the Ravenclaw of Columbia.
Carman. Frosh go to have a social and college-like experience. The most dormy-dorm at Columbia with doubles for everyone. I came for the social atmosphere and honestly the private bathroom and A/C. Athletes, frat/sorority kids, too-cool-for school frosh, and students open to meeting new people populate Carman.
Hartley/Wallach. It’s such a melting pot of people who didn’t want to be here and did want to be here, so I can’t comment on it much. All I know is that it’s sometimes regarded as the Hufflepuff of Columbia.
Honestly, you can come to love your floor and your dorm. Choose wisely class of 2016 (as in Carman!).
@Anonymous This is exactly right. People are different, want different things, each dorm is designed to provide that.
@Anonymous Does that make John Jay Slytherin?
@Where's Furnaldo? 2013er I loved my Furnald experience. Yes, it’s true that you probably won’t ever host a raging party in Furnald – it’s not a dorm conducive to drinking with big groups. However, my freshman floor was very friendly (well, half of it was, the other half never interacted with the rest…), as was my RA who was a senior and completely chill. As a junior now, I’m still good friends with my fellow Furnald floor mates, and even went on Spring Break with several of them. During freshman year we would all hang out in the floor lounge in the evenings/nights, taking study breaks together or working together. It was great. Good memories. Also, the bathrooms were amazing. White tiled and really bright and airy (they had frosted windows). Best communal bathrooms I’ve seen on campus yet.
@Furnald 6 I agree with this comment. I loved my floor 2 years ago. Best dorm there is.
@Furnaldian QUIET and studious, Bwoggie…
@Anonymous is still the most blessed place on earth
@Fan Tum I loved living in Anonymous, too! Were you on the 13th floor, too?
@John Jay is the best. the end.
@LLC is chronically underrated. Great option for underclassmen who want singles and kitchens. Still not as great as John Jay, but less disgusting and bro-y than Carman and more social than Furnald.
@Anonymous Hartley/Wallach need more love. Perfect for people who want a tight knit group of friends.
@Anonymous Thumbs up if you were a freshman in Hartley/Wallach and loved it. Thumbs down if you were a freshman in Hartley/Wallach and hated it (my case).
@Anonymous Hartley/Wallach (the LLC) are definitely the place to be for the “I want to party but not necessarily with alcohol/ruckus” crowd. Met some amazing people through homely potluck style get-togethers.
it’s not carman or john jay, but it’s definitely not without its strengths.
@Anonymous I think you mean “homey”
@these are listed in just the right order