In the words of Tegan and Sara: All I wanna know is, can you come a little closer (to campus)?

Well, housing is almost over, folks. Or has it just begun? Regardless of where you are in the process, we hope this residence hall review will help ease your mind, especially for all you Barnard babes. Here it is… 616!

Location: 616 West 116th Street

• Nearby dorms: 600, 601, and 620 West 116th Street, The Quad (Hewitt, Reid, Sulzberger, and Brooks Halls), Schapiro, Woodbridge.
• Stores and restaurants: Morton Williams, Vine Sushi, not Ollie’s (RIP), and pretty much all the Broadway stores.

Cost:

• Not available yet, but when it is, it will be here.

Amenities: 

• Bathrooms: Each suite has its own bathroom. Shared and gender-inclusive are included and vary suite by suite.
• AC/Heating: There is heat in each room, but no AC. There are radiators in each room (bathroom & kitchen included) which turn on & off automatically.
• Kitchen: Each suite has one kitchen. Sizes vary depending on which letter suite you live in.
• Lounge: One on the first (ground) floor, which includes a TV, piano, and a computer lab. The B suites on the 6th and 5th floors have common rooms attached to their kitchens.
• Laundry: There are 8 washing machines in basement, which are very good quality, and there are almost always enough machines. There are 10 driers as well.
• Computers/Printers: Very nice printer lab, with 10 computers and 2 printers, in the computer lab on the ground floor.
• Gym: The dorm does not have a gym.
• Intra–Transportation: Two very fast elevators; 1 stairwell.
• Hardwood/Carpet: Hardwood or linoleum (no carpet) in the rooms and hallways; tiles in the kitchens and bathrooms.
• Wifi: Yes.
• Bonus: There is a music practice room w/ piano on the 5th floor. There are study rooms on three floors, which are not super fancy but great if you’re up late doing work.

Room variety

• 5- and 6-person suites, comprised of single & double bedrooms.
• Singles:
  • 104 singles in the building, roughly 10-11 per floor.
  • Average square footage of a single is about 8’6″ x 13’6″.
  • Largest (non-RA) single is 9′ x 15′ (C5).
  • Smallest single is 8’2″ x 12’3″ (B4).
  • Most oddly shaped single: C2s.
• Doubles:
  • 53 in the building, roughly 5-6 per floor.
  • Walk-through doubles per floor: None.
  • Average square footage: 12’6″ x 16′.
  • Largest doubles:17’6” x 13’3” (A2)
  • Smallest doubles:11’4” x 15’6” (C1)
  • Most oddly shaped doubles: C1s.

Numbers

• 616 usually gets a variety of non-first-years, who usually get in on “random assignment.”
• Social justice housing is on the 5th floor, and anyone can apply after their first year.
• 616 is a solid choice for rising juniors.
• Unless sophomores have top numbers, it will be difficult to get 616.
• Singles are rarely available for sophomores, but it is possible.
• In 2014, only eight all-junior groups were able to pick into 616 and they were gone before junior day was half over. But in 2015, the cutoff on 616 was hundreds of numbers later.

Bwog recommendation

• If you want to remain close to campus and don’t want to walk a long way to most of your classes, 616 is one of your best bets.
• The doubles can be HUGE which is awesome, but small singles can be shitty.
• For those who don’t mind living in a double (because that might happen in 616), this is a good pick.
• If you think the dirty landing on the top floor counts a sky lounge then, sure, there’s a sky lounge.

Resident opinion

• “I definitely like living close to campus.”
• “I really love how close it is to campus and to Riverside Park.”
• “I love the staff, and I love having a suite-style living situation so I can cook.”
• “We all got new toilets over spring break, although I never noticed a problem with our old one, but you never know.”
• “Whenever we have needed a repair or a replacement, it has been done very quickly and efficiently.”
• “I live in a C suite, kitchen is FUCKING TINY — 5th and 6th floor B suites have bigger kitchens… lucky bastards.”
• “I wish my suite had a common space, but we use our kitchen, which works well enough.”
• “All I wanted as a sophomore was a single in a suite, and 616 gave me that. I can’t really complain about any of the other details.”
• “Having my own kitchen makes a world of difference… even though it’s basically a closet and the table can barely sit half of the suite at one time.”
• “I live on a pretty low floor, and my room’s windows and the kitchen’s windows all face an air shaft, so it never gets very bright, which can get annoying and oppressive. Overall, though, living in the apartment style dorm, even with people I didn’t know at the beginning of the year, has been really fun.”
• “616 is pretty convenient and can be made to feel homey even if it doesn’t really appear that way when the fluorescents are on. The rooms are big and we haven’t had any bugs or rodents yet which I’m praying remains the case for the next month and a half.”