Housing

Combined Plan Students: you automatically live in Carlton Arms…see waaaaay down at the bottom of the page.

Dorms at Columbia vary greatly, so it’s a toss up as to what you will be assigned as a transfer student. One piece of advice from CUTA: if making friends is your absolute biggest fear about transferring to Columbia, and you don’t really have a preference for any one dorm, write “I would like to live near other transfer students” in the comments/special requirements box of the housing application. The application can be found at https://www.urh.columbia.edu/applications/housingapplication.html. There you will have to choose and rank 6 out of a possible 15 dorms that you may want to live in. And no, the Housing Office doesn’t care that you have never seen/smelled/tasted any of the dorms at Columbia. They do, however, offer some fairly accurate descriptions of the dorms on their homepage: www.columbia.edu/cu/housing (click on “Residence Halls” on the left). The descriptions include a general overview of the dorm, layout (including floor plans), and some comments from students who have lived in each dorm. The only shortcoming of these dorm profiles is their lack of criticism of any of the dorms, but that’s where we come in (oh, and we realize there are more dorms than those we’ve listed, but the chances of a transfer being placed into suite-style dorms, such as East Campus, Hogan, Ruggles, Woodbridge and 47 Claremont, are slim to none)…

Broadway

Reputation: For upperclassmen who don’t want to live in a suite, Broadway is the most in-demand dorm.
Breakdown: Mostly seniors and some juniors on lower floors.

Pros:

  • Good view from the top floors
  • good-sized rooms
  • brand new dorm
  • great location

Cons:

  • quiet
  • not as social

Great for people who…

  • want quiet
  • don’t need a social dorm to make friends

Chance you’ll get it: Slim as a sophomore, Okay as a junior.

Furnald

Reputation: Very quiet, but GREAT rooms for sophomores. Most in-demand singles for sophomores.
Breakdown: Half first-years in doubles, half sophomores in HUGE singles.

Pros:

  • huge rooms
  • location right on South Lawn

Cons:

  • Quiet (and slightly not as social)
  • you have to live with first-years (but they’re not overly rowdy in Furnald)
  • dry dorm

Great for people who…

  • want a single
  • like quiet
  • don’t need a really social dorm

Chance you’ll get it: Okay, but not great.

Hartley/Wallach

Reputation: Most underrated housing on-campus, because the two dorms constitute the Living-Learning Center, which implies extracurricular effort on the part of its residents.
Breakdown: A good number of first-years and sophomores, some juniors, and few seniors.

Pros:

  • large rooms
  • good chance at a single
  • great community feel in the suites
  • live with students from all years
  • location (right on South Lawn)

Cons:

  • no parties
  • regular “community” events, but these are actually worthwhile and usually involve free food

Great for people who…

  • want to meet a lot of different people
  • really want a single

Chance you’ll get it: Pretty good.

McBain

Reputation: Party central for sophomores.
Breakdown: Usually close to 100% sophomores, but last year’s sophomore class liked it so much, it looks like a large number of them will be there next year, so the ratio will probably be more like 25% juniors, 75% sophomores.

Pros:

  • VERY social dorm
  • Mostly students in your year (if you’re a sophomore)

Cons:

Great for people who…

  • want to meet as many people as possible
  • don’t mind going to the library to study
  • are okay with having a roommate they don’t know (although in the past this is often another transfer student)

Chance you’ll get it: Definite.

Note: if you put “I want to live near other transfer students” on your housing application, you may end up in McBain….regardless of your housing preferences.

River

Reputation: “Where the heck is that?”
Breakdown: Mostly seniors and some juniors.

Pros:

  • large rooms
  • all singles

Cons:

  • farther away than some other dorms (but that only means 2 blocks away)
  • not as social at times

Great for people who…

  • like quiet
  • don’t need a social dorm to make friends
  • want a single room

Chance you’ll get it: No clue. I’ve never heard of a transfer student getting assigned to River.

Schapiro

Reputation: The dorm you choose when you can’t get Broadway.
Breakdown: Mostly juniors and a few seniors in singles, sophomores in doubles.

Pros:

  • close to school
  • mostly singles
  • good view from the top floors

Cons:

  • quiet
  • not as social

Great for people who…

  • want a single
  • don’t need a social dorm to make friends

Chance you’ll get it: Slim for a sophomore, okay for a juniors.

Wien

Reputation: Ewww.
Breakdown: Mostly juniors and some seniors, but next year there will be a good number of sophomores in the building.

Pros:

  • large rooms
  • fairly social
  • there’s a sink in every room
  • almost all singles

Cons:

  • old building
  • male and female bathrooms alternate floors next year (used to be same sex) so you may have to walk up or down a flight of stairs to shower
  • no air conditioning
  • on the east side of campus, farther from the main stretch along Broadway

Great for people who…

Chance you’ll get it: Pretty good for sophomores and juniors.

600 W 113th Street

Reputation: Good. Called “Nussbaum” due to its (awesome) location on top of the Nussbaum & Wu bakery.
Breakdown: A healthy mix of juniors in singles and sophomores in doubles.

Pros:

  • large rooms
  • “suites” of 12 people (or more), so you meet lots of people
  • kitchen for each suite, and plenty of bathrooms
  • right across the street from McBain, so you can go party there and then come back to peace and quiet

Cons:

  • not quite as social as McBain

Great for people who…

  • want to meet lots of people
  • don’t want to be in a loud dorm

Chance you’ll get it: Good for both sophomores and juniors.

CARLTON ARMS

All first-year Combined Plan 3-2 students live together in Carlton Arms, on Riverside Drive between 108th and 109th. The layout is 4 or 5 large suites per floor, with about 8 bedrooms per suite (mostly singles, but a couple doubles too). Suites include a kitchen (with TWO stoves and TWO refrigerators), two bathrooms, and 1 or 2 common “rooms” (which are really just large hallways that have couches in them, but they serve their purpose).

Most students at Columbia will stare at you blankly when you tell them you live in Carlton Arms. The dorm isn’t referenced anywhere on the Housing Office’s website, and it is also a couple of blocks further than any other undergraduate dorm. Regardless, Carlton Arms is a great dorm to live in! The fact that Combined Plan students are housed in separate dorms for their first year means that you become a close-knit community by the end of the year. The students tend to be very social, and the dorm layout lends itself nicely to parties and debauchery in general. The one downside to being in a separate dorm from other undergraduate students is that you will have to get involved in other aspects of campus life (i.e. student organizations) in order to hang out with non-Combined Plan students.

AFTER THE FIRST YEAR…

After their first year at Columbia, all transfer and Combined Plan students get placed in the undergraduate housing lottery with all other undergraduate students. Housing is chosen based on seniority (seniors pick, then juniors, then sophomores), and by lottery. Students may choose to register individually, or in groups so as to live in a suite.