Home sweet home?

Don’t be turned off by it’s distance from campus; Claremont is a great choice for upperclassman in search of a suite and great amenities! 

Location: 47 Claremont (suprising, we know)

  • Nearby Dorms: It’s pretty far from the rest of Columbia’s dorms, but you’re close to your Barnard friends in Elliot, the 600s, and the Quad.
  • Store and Restaurants: Pretty far from most things: the closest are Morton Williams and Vine. You might find yourself frequenting some places north of campus though like Pisticci, Liquors on La Salle, and Broadway au Lait among others.

Cost: Standardized to the cost of all upperclassman dorms: $9,538

Amenities:

  • Bathrooms: One private bathroom that gets cleaned twice weekly. They’re really nice, but having only 1 can be rough, especially in the 7-person suites.
  • Heating/AC: There’s no AC, but the heating works (sometimes too well, and can lead to clanking pipes)
  • Lounge: There is no common space in the suites, aside from the kitchen. There is a TV lounge in the basement, which was renovated in 2016, and has air conditioning.
  • Kitchen: One in every suite that is a little narrow but otherwise a decent size, though it can get crowded as it’s the only common area in the suite. Comes with an oven, microwave, a large refrigerator and a decent amount of cabinet/counter space. Beware setting off the fire alarm while you’re cooking!
  • Laundry: Free in the basement, renovated in 2016.
  • Fire escapes: Every suite has them but you’re not supposed to use them; you’ll have to wait until nighttime to sneak out if you want to enjoy them.
  • Computers/printers: There’s a small computer lab in the basement with a printer, as well as a printer in the lobby if you’re in a rush.
  • Gym: Another feature of the basement renovation, this has two treadmills and an elliptical if you don’t want to take the long walk to Dodge or head over to Riverside Park.
  • Bike storage: In the basement.
  • Intra-transportation: One pretty slow elevator with a pull-door. It’s the only way to get to the basement, but otherwise, the building is only 6 floors high and most people can.
  • Hardwood/carpet: Hardwood everywhere (except the bathroom and kitchen)

Room Variety

  • 10 7-person suites with 1 super small single, 1 medium single, 1 large single, and 2 large doubles.
  • 1 6-person suite on first floor; 1 double and 4 singles
  • 1 5-person suite on first floor; 1 double and 3 singles
  • 6 4-person suites; all singles
  • 6 3-person suites; all singles

Numbers:

  • 7-person suites:  20/2387 last year, 20/2980 the year before
  • 6-person suite: 20/2520 last year, 20/333 the year before
  • 5-person suite: 20/2856 last year, 30/2869 the year before
  • 4-person suites: 20/260 last year, 30/2792 the year before
  • 3-person suites: 30/2163 last year, 20/432 the year before

Bwog Recommendation:

This dorm is far from campus, but if you don’t mind the walk, it’s a great place to live! The suites are very nice (though they can get cramped), as are the recently renovated facilities. It’s quiet, but that can be ideal, especially if you want your own space after coming home from an EC party, and you’re deceptively close to Barnard, so you might find yourself frequenting new places on campus and off. Overall, if you’re a junior or senior who wants to get a taste of independence that comes with being so far from campus, this one is for you!

Resident Opinions:

“It’s quiet and removed from campus. A renovated apartment adjacent to Riverside Park, gorgeous residential buildings, suited doormen give it a mature vibe. Very cute and the short walk to class can be very pretty! It’s Liz Lemon’s apartment…quintessential late 30s single independent chick in NYC working hard and claiming there are no good men!”

“I would definitely recommend living in Claremont!…The best thing about it is that it’s a really nice building and the walls are painted a pretty color. We have really nice bathrooms and the lounge in the basement is really nice. People say it’s far from campus, or father away from other things…as far as academic buildings go it’s actually pretty close because you can just go through Barnard…and it kind of gets your to go to Barnard more. I now eat at Hewitt a lot and the Diana Center and I like them more than Columbia Dining.”

“It’s really quiet; I don’t know that many people that live in Claremont. There’s generally not loud noise. Every once and a while there’ll be someone having a party or playing loud music but definitely not that often and not super distracting. The super is really responsive and it’s nice. However, there’s not a lot of common space in the suites themselves because it’s in the kitchen and it’s really narrow. But other than that it’s a really nice place to live.”

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