Freshpeople Housing Reviews 2022: Furnald

For sophomores wanting to stay on southfield and in a single, Furnald is the one for you. For incoming freshmen who want AC, probably a single, a kitchen, and dark academia vibes, Furnald awaits.

Location: 2940 Broadway and 115th Street

Nearby dorms: Carman, Schapiro, Frat Row.
Stores and restaurants: Morton Williams, Shake Shack, Starbucks, Sweetgreen, Wu and Nuss, Ferris/Lerner is so close
Cost: 2022-2023 year projected rates: $9,986/year for first-years, $11,096/year for upperclassmen.

Amenities:

Bathrooms: Each floor has two communal bathrooms, generally split male/female. They are communal bathrooms, but pretty good ones. People tend to keep them tidy and facilities clean them daily.
AC/Heating: Both! Housing controls when the units switch from AC to heat, but you get to control their flow and can turn them on or off. That’s right. You can turn them on or off. Sometimes the hallways get warm, especially on the tenth floor, but you’ll learn to live.
Lounge: There is the big, opulent lounge in the lobby that Columbia loves to show off, complete with a marble bust and a plaque to Royal Furnald, the man this dorm is named after. Floor lounges are a combined kitchen/living space with a table and chairs, and are relatively comfortable. Despite the rumors of Furnald being antisocial, the lounges are always full and have a good social atmosphere.
Kitchen: One kitchen per floor with two stovetops, two microwaves, and one oven. Attached to the floor lounge, as noted. The kitchen has a good amount of counter and cabinet space, as well as one sink that will get routinely disrespected, dirtied, and clogged (maybe that was just my floor?).
Laundry: Six dryers/washers in the basement of the building. You can usually count on at least one dryer not actually drying your clothes. Otherwise, they’re fine.
Computers/Printing: A small computer lounge off to the side on the first floor, plus one PawPrint station right by the entrance.
Fire Escapes: Nada.
Gym: Nope, but Dodge is hardly a five-minute walk away.
Elevators: Two perfectly fine elevators that will get you to floor 9, but expect to take the stairs from there to 10.
Flooring: Hardwood in rooms! The hallways have a carpet and the lounges have linoleum.

Room Variety:

190 singles! They are all reasonably-sized, with the smallest at 100 square feet and the largest at an impressive 163 square feet. The largest singles are on the 1st and 10th floors, so cross your fingers for those.
28 doubles. They are all between 171 square feet and the truly ludicrous 275 square feet (hello, Furnald 10). There are only a couple on each floor.
Floor 2 is divided into one female and one male “suite” with about 10 people per side. They each get their own kitchen/lounge and bathroom.
Floor 10, being one of the smaller floors, gets a weird, baby-sized kitchen/lounge. This is made up for with the plushy arm chairs in the hallway.
Unless you’re facing the Journalism School or Lerner, you’re basically guaranteed to have an excellent view of campus or Broadway. The views on floor 10 are blocked by the roof, so be wary of that.

Bwog Recommendation:

Furnald is a clean and solid dorm! Some floors are quiet while others are very social.
The views are great, and if your window faces east, you will get to witness some of the most beautiful sunrises in the world (and you’ll get to be woken up by them come late February/early March).
I love Furnald! I heard a lot of people saying they wish they lived there (and others reject it simply on principle). It’s quaint and homely.
Furnald is indie.
The proximity to Lerner, Butler, and basically everything on campus is not to be underrated. I can be at any class within five minutes from leaving my dorm.
As a Furnald sophomore, I can truly say that I am very sad to be moving out soon! I will miss the AC, the beautiful lobby, my spacious single, and my bay windows (tenth floor exclusive, baby!).

Resident Opinions:

“Furnald is a great dorm option for lucky sophomores [or any underclassmen] who are looking for a single. It’s right on campus, and less than a five minute walk to dining halls, the gym, and most libraries. I highly recommend it for students who want their own space right on the main campus. Also, Furnald has beautiful views of the Butler lawns! You can see and hear all the activities from your dorm.”
“My testimonial for Bwog: I love Furnald so much that I don’t want to move out”
“I think my only strong Furnald opinion is that the location is perfect”
“Furnald is wholesome and loving”
“Extremely thin walls”
“Definitely give it a shot—it’s super underrated”