Welcome, my friends, to Housing Selection 2019. Think of the next two weeks of housing review posts as a long episode of one of those shows where people tour real estate and decide which house to buy. Except instead of being rich you’re stuck with Columbia Housing. Still tho. First up is the gem of Extended West Campus, Harmony Hall. 

Location: 544  W 110th st. (a little past H-Mart)

  • Nearby Dorms: Carlton Arms, 110 (Barnard)
  • Shops and Restaurants: H-Mart, Westside Market (24-hour), CVS (brand new), Chipotle, Koronets, Panda Express, Five Guys, Starbucks, Absolute Bagels, Mel’s, the Hungarian Pastry Shop, 1020. I love me some Pret but this is the best food block near campus.

Cost:

  • Standardized at $9,538.

Amenities:

  • Bathrooms: At least two showers per floor, usually more. Floors 5 and 6 have large gender neutral, handicap-accessible bathrooms. Floor 1 and Mezz only have five residents and each floor has one bathroom. Bathrooms are good-not-great. Cleaned every day.
  • A/C and Heating: NO A/C. It can be rough, especially depending on which direction your window faces. Kitchens have weak AC, but get chilly in the winter. There’s also a gym on the second floor with full A/C (and a TV).
  • Kitchens and Lounges: Each floor has a spacious kitchen with lots of cabinet space. However, the “lounge” is just the table and four chairs in the kitchen. Not the coziest space but the kitchen is nice for cooking and storing food. Ideal for people who like to cook and/or aren’t on a meal plan, especially since it’s right by H-Mart and Westside.
  • Laundry: Four washers and four dryers in the basement. Large Housing Works clothing donation bin.
  • Fire Escapes: No :(
  • Bike Storage: In the basement.
  • Computer/Printer: One PawPrint computer & printer and one regular desktop computer.
  • Gym: There is a small gym on the second floor with some random equipment (two treadmills, a mat, and a few weights). Most notably the gym also has A/C!!!
  • Elevator: Yes. One. Timely.
  • Hardwood/Carpet: Hardwood. Dusty.

Rooms:

  • 80 singles and 7 doubles of various shapes and sizes. Floor 1 and Mezz each have one suite; the Mezz suite has more room (135-153 sq. ft for singles; 214 for the double) than Floor 1 (108-139 sq. ft for singles, 186 for the double). Floor 3 through 8 each have 11-12 singles, each floor having one particularly large single (~140 sq. ft), decently large corner singles (~120 sq. ft) and middle singles (~110 sq. ft). The smallest is sad little room 807, at 79 square feet.

Cutoff Points:

  • Doubles last year: 10/2712.
  • Singles last year: 10/1841
  • The one random 6 person suite (with huge rooms) on the second floor last year: 20/2948.
  • What do these numbers mean?? The 10, 20, or 30 number indicates the rising class year. Most of the people who live in Harmony are juniors and seniors. The second number is the lowest lottery number that selected into that specific room category. In other words, if you’re a rising sophomore who wants to ditch the suite life and grab a massive single, you better have a lottery number better than 1841-ish. Good luck.

Bwog Recommendation: 

  • If you’re kind of a loner and are looking for a single that’s not right next to campus, this is the dorm for you. Also, there are only two RAs for the whole building, so “quote” “unquote” “rules” aren’t super strict.
  • Some of the south facing rooms have huge windows that have really pretty views, which is nice.

 

Complete Harmony via Columbia and Bwogger Sarah