Sophomore sweeties, meet your future home: McPain, McNasty, McButt, etc. A kind of dingy dorm in a prime location, McBain is fine. Like really it’s fine. 

Editor’s Note: A photo caption on this post has been updated due to an unintended connotation. We apologize for not catching it before publication. (3/27, 3:00 pm)

Location: 562 W 113th Street

  • Nearby dorms: Watt, 600 West 113th Street (aka Nuss), frat row and Broadway
  • Stores and restaurants: Chase ATM around the corner; Junzi, Dig Inn, Tom’s, International, and Milano within arm’s reach. 

Cost: The cost for upperclassman dorms is standardized at $9,872/year for 2019-20.

Amenities:

  • Bathrooms: Each floor has seven single-stall gender-neutral bathrooms that vary in size. Pro: you get to take your sweet time to poop/shower/empty your DivaCup. Con: the lack of an audience sometimes emboldens people to be really gross. 
  • AC/Heating: Every room has a radiator, but these tend to have issues, ranging from not working to working overtime and boiling you alive. The only rooms that have AC are in the shaft. 
  • Kitchen: One shared lounge/kitchen on each floor, complete with stove, microwave, and oven. Because these are communal, it can be hard to find time to cook and there are occasionally conflicts over kitchen theft. If your RA’s nice they’ll throw nice events here. 
  • Lounge: Big lounge and smaller study rooms on the first floor before the security desk. Very social vibe – it’s a good place to do homework and chat. Plus since you don’t have to sign-in, these can be a good place to hold study groups or club meetings. 
  • Laundry: Twelve free washers and dryers on the first floor. Often busy, sometimes gross. 
  • Computers/Printing: Small computer lounge on the first floor next to the lounge, and a PawPrint station under the main staircase. 
  • Fire Escapes: Nope.
  • Gym: Two treadmills, an elliptical, and a TV on the fourth floor. 
  • Intra-transportation: Two extreeemely slow elevators. Pick a room on a lower floor so you don’t have to deal with them. 
  • Hardwood/Carpet: Rooms are hardwood, hallways are carpet.
  • Bonus: Sweet security guards. Also, the lobby is BEAUTIFUL and has a big mirror perfect for morning selfies. 

Room variety:

  • 175 doubles, ranging from 182-268 sq. ft. The corner doubles are the biggest and go fast.
  • 41 singles, which mostly go to RAs and their riders. Range from 117-178 sq. ft.
  • Shaft rooms are notoriously dark and depressing and tend to go last, but they also have AC.

Numbers:

  • Last year’s cut-off for doubles was 10/2998. Basically every sophomore pair who wants one can get a McBain double.
  • Last year’s cut-off for singles was 10/1385.

Bwog recommendation:

McBain is pretty much the definition of fine. Most sophomores who live there do so not by choice but by the cruel choice of their lottery number. The amenities are nothing to be excited about, but it’s in a super convenient location and you’re guaranteed to run into other sophomores all the time (#Carman2.0). If you’re looking for a single and have a good enough lottery number, a McBain single can be a good choice – you get the privacy of your own room while still being in a pretty social dorm, unlike, say, Wien. If you can, you should probably avoid McBain. But if you can’t, you’ll be fine. Steer clear of the shaft, buy a fan for when the weather gets hot, and enjoy your big happy double.

Resident opinions:

  • “It’s fun to get a group of friends on the same floor.”
  • “Living in McBain sophomore year is a good idea, especially since Nuss has mice.”
  • “Pro – good size rooms, very chill, and shaft rooms have AC. Con – your floor could end up with a dumbass who poops in the sink.”

Images via Bwogstaff.