Housing approacheth. And, unless you’re on top of it, it’s probably coming up sooner than you think. Bwog’s got you covered; we’ll be rolling out two housing reviews per day until no residence hall is left un-reviewed. Prepare to get (even more) excited: this year, we’re reviewing Barnard residence halls, too. Reviews for all! Tonight’s residence hall is… Nussbaum!

Location: 600 West 113th Street (Commonly known as Nussbaum)

  • Nearby dorms: McBain and Watt; kind of Hogan and Broadway (1 block away)
  • Stores and restaurants: Nussbaum & Wu, Mill, Milano, Community… Basically every restaurant in MoHi is just across the street. Say goodbye to your meal plan.

Cost:

  • $8,168/year (same as Harmony, River, and Wallach)

Amenities:

  • Bathrooms: Bathrooms really vary by floor and suite, so we suggest checking out the actual locations before picking. Typically there are three bathrooms per suite, with one of the bathrooms being private (i.e. connected to one of the rooms). Housing’s floor plans are up-to-date, so check bathroom availability there. In general, the it is a 3 or 4:1 student to bathroom ratio.
  • AC/Heating: There is definitely heating, no AC. (Rooms on the Broadway side tend to run hot, while rooms on the west are colder).
  • Kitchen/Lounge: Some halls have their own kitchens, others share them with the adjacent hall. Kitchens vary in size depending on the floor and hall, but all have refrigerators, ample shelf space for all residents, a stove, and a sink. All kitchens were remodeled this past summer. Not all suites have lounges.
  • Laundry: The laundry facilities are located in the basement which can only be reached by the elevator. Nussbaum charges the highest laundry prices on campus at around $2 per washer or dryer. Also you have to put money (cash only) on a card to use them. But if you are lucky you can see the super cute Nussbaum laundry cat!
  • Computers/Printers: One printer in the lobby which breaks reliably, but is also fixed extremely fast.
  • Gym: There’s no gym in Nussbaum, but the stairs provide more than enough exercise.
  • Intra-transportation: Two elevators and a stairwell. The elevators are relatively slow, but they only fill up right before a 10:10 class. The doors close really quickly.
  • Wi-Fi:  Wi-Fi and ethernet.
  • Hardwood/Carpet: All floors are hardwood.
  • Facilities: Nussbaum has Columbia and non-Columbia residents, so it has its own maintenance crew. They clean the bathrooms and kitchen once a week (but not private bathrooms, like ever). If you have a problem you can call the superintendent and it usually will be resolved that day.

Room variety:

  • Doubles: 68 rooms, from a cozy/Harry Potteresque 154 sq. feet to 210 sq. feet. Walk-through doubles are around 260 sq. feet, but don’t really feel that big.
  • Singles:  49 fairly large rooms, from 124 sq. feet to 160 sq. feet (For the Wien!)
  • Windows vary by room location. Read the floorplans to determine the number in your room.

Numbers:

  • Freshmen who are aiming for a double don’t need to stress; last year’s final one went to 10/2927.
  • Sophomores looking for a single might have a slightly harder time, but not by much; last year’s last single went to 20/1158.

Bwog recommendation:

  • Nussbaum is an ideal choice for rising sophomores. Despite looking like a suite it is considered corridor-style living, so you technically cannot select into Nussbaum in a suite. *However, sophomores have “sophomore split-up,” so apply as a group and you can select rooms right next to each other in a suite, effectively entering as a group.
  • Singles tend to go to juniors or seniors. As the majority of your neighbors will be sophomores, this provides a quieter, calmer location. The rooms are large and have private bathrooms, without the hassle of a suite.
  • RAs are never to be found. You can rage or study, and no one will care.

Resident opinions:

  • “Nussbaum is great, the rooms are a good size, and some of them have amazing views. Also if you move into a suite with  all your friends it’s an amazing bonding experience.”
  • “Nussbaum suites do not have real lounges. They are tiny little boxes that make you feel sad.”
  • “The RAs are really laid back and quiet. As in I have spoken to mine maybe once, and he doesn’t know my name. I love it.”
  • “It’s nice having a kitchen to a suite too (about eight-twelve people to one kitchen) but they get so dirty that you feel uncomfortable cooking there. I found a mouse in a pot I had left in the kitchen overnight. My screams were heard by the entire suite, which leads me to another point: the walls are paper thin. I heard all the bad techno my soccer-team suite mates were blasting on their super bass.”
  • “Having a kitchen is great. But having a kitchen which is down a hall, through a strange handle-less door, to the right and shared with a bunch of strangers who keep dirtying your cooking-ware and leaving it in the sink is at times frustrating. Though this may not be universal, the RA practically non-existent. This is good when you want to throw a party in your room and bad when your neighbor wants to. The kids in the adjacent suite regularly have parties which span most of the hallway.
  • “There isn’t really a community in Nussbaum. What I mean is that sometimes people will say ‘Oh I’m from McBain’ and then someone else in the room is like ‘Me too! Hey bestie!’ That doesn’t happen with people from Nussbaum.
  • “The doubles are actually pretty big and if you snag a single/double in one of the end rooms you get a walk-through closet and your own bathroom (otherwise you have to share one).”
  • “These new kitchens are the shit!”

Gallery: