Love the vibe of Carman? Then McBain will surely be your jam. Rising sophomore heaven! Perhaps that is hyperbole… Anyway, Bwog here to tell you what to expect.

McBain is ca$h

Location: 562 West 113th Street

• Nearby dorms: Watt, Nussbaum, 113th Brownstones
• Stores and restaurants: Deluxe, Milano, Amigo’s, Oren’s, Tom’s, Dig Inn, Nussbaum and Wu, NYPL, basically everywhere

Cost: $7,324 (same as Broadway, Furnald, Schapiro, Wien)

Amenities:

• Bathrooms: Newly renovated single-use bathrooms and one ADA bathroom per floor.
• AC/Heating: Heat only, although there are individual heating controls in each room (that may or not work)
• Kitchen/Lounge: There is a combined kitchen/lounge on each floor with 2 4-top stoves, a microwave, a sink, a TV, and a small seating area. The floor lounges are a bit dingy, but the ground floor lounge was recently renovated.
• Laundry: Laundry rooms on floors 2 through 5, with ranging numbers of washers and dryers (2 of each being the most). Generally gross.
• Computers/Printers: There is a computer lab on the ground floor with one printer.
• Gym: A few treadmills and ellipticals, somewhat awkwardly located in the first floor lounge.
• Intra-transportation: Two slow-to-moderate elevators with a small stairwell in between them. Judgment for taking the elevator for anything not floors 5-8.
• Hardwood/Carpet: fake hardwood in all rooms.
• Wi-Fi: Yes.
• Bonus: Floors 7 and 8 were just renovated this summer with new bathrooms, lounges, doors, floors, electronic locks.

Room variety:

McBain floor plan

Doubles: The doubles in McBain range in size from 180 to 270 sq. ft. On the second and third floors, all doubles except the larger corner rooms are around 200 sq. ft. On upper floors, the line numbering is inconsistent, but the line that begins with 822 is the biggest at 269 sq. ft., and the rest of the 20’s are also fairly large.
Singles: There are only 46 singles in McBain, and most go to RAs and their riders. There are seven singles that measure 107 sq. ft. (on the eighth floor, it’s number 818). However, on the second and third floors there are several singles that include one 100 sq. ft. room, and otherwise range from 115 to 131 sq. ft.

Numbers:

Doubles: Very easy to get; the cutoff is generally about 10/2900.
Singles: It’s hard to say now that juniors are no longer living in McBain, but last year the cutoff was around 10/1000.

Bwog recommendation:

As the only dorm that is currently all-sophomore, freshpeople should probably just get used to the fact that they’re living in McBain next year. That said, it’s not that hard to live on the same floor with a few friends, and McBain has some of the best rooms for sophomore parties. Just choose a good roommate!
Resident opinions:

“The shower ratio is terrible (2 girls showers but 6 guys showers per floor), but the hallways are wide and very social. Bathrooms get gross over the weekend, but are cleaned every weekday morning. Some rooms have gross blue carpet, but if you’re lucky you’ll get a room with hardwood floors. McBain is being renovated this summer, so you won’t have to worry about your ceiling falling.”
“I decided to live here to be close to Milano. So far, I have not been disappointed.”
“The hallways kind of feel like a mental asylum, but other than that it’s good.”
“It’s really not as bad as everyone says. And regardless, all of your friends are going to be living there. Unless you can get a suite in Nussbaum, Mcbain’s probably your best option… it’s better than Wien.”
“CARMAN PART TWO! YEAHHHH!”
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