Columbia University Dorms Ranked

Number 10

"Beautiful view from the backside. Tiny rooms. The bathroom is shared and using it SUCKS. If you forget your key, you are COOKED. This means that you WILL piss in the sink every day, five times per day. It's really fun and got me hooked on sink pissing. The elevator doesn't work ~50% of the time." - 10 months ago

We collected 1 dorm reviews for Wien Hall

Number 9

"The start of the year is miserable because there is no AC and it was really hot. After the first few weeks and as the weather gets cooler, the rooms actually feel a lot more homey. Hartley is probably the dorm with the most sense of community because you have a suite. Lots of singles and a few doubles. Suites can get loud sometimes if your suite mates throw parties. The bathrooms are set up weirdly but water pressure is great. Housing does a really good job of keeping bathrooms clean, unless your suite mates regularly mess it up. " - 2 years ago

We collected 1 dorm reviews for Hartley Hall

Number 8

"Lived in a single as a sophomore on one of the lower floors. My only complaint was that my room was really dark during the winter, with only a few hours of direct sunlight each day. Everything else was great, bathrooms are huge and private. Huge lounge with a decent kitchen. No AC but it wasn't a huge issue for me. Laundry room was fine. It's connected to John Jay/JJs for those days when you don't want to set foot outdoors but still want to eat. The location was also great." - 4 years ago

We collected 2 dorm reviews for Wallach Hall

Number 7

"Pros:
- clean and new facilities with big kitchen and lounge on every floor
- some of the biggest first-year singles you can get
- one of the most sought-after second year dorm
- incredibly nice people and community
- proximity to Starbucks, Morton Williams, and Lululemon just across the street (literally 2 min walk)
- close to the subway, MTA bus station, and Columbia intercampus shuttle bus station just one block away
- closest dining hall is Ferris, which has a great selection of food and free to-go utensils (other dining halls are more strict about take-out)
- large laundry room

Cons:
- expect to party somewhere else, but Carman isn't that far and you don't have to live with vomit in elevators and bathroom floors all the time" - 4 years ago

We collected 3 dorm reviews for Furnald Hall

Number 6

"Broadway is a solid place for sophomores to get decently sized doubles (if you get in the corner, the ones on the end are a definitely smaller). Most of the rooms are singles though, with juniors or seniors. It's basically just across from Lerner so it's nice and close to campus, morton williams, etc. There are little workout rooms on each floor, with just a couple treadmills and an elliptical, that are pretty much always available to be used. Floor kitchens can get a bit nasty (someone once broke the stovetop on my floor somehow??) and some people don't do a good job cleaning up after themselves, but they're functional, and it's definitely possible to go off the meal plan while in Broadway. Would also recommend marking your kitchen stuff clearly if you don't want other people using it. The bathrooms are your average shared floor bathrooms, nothing really special or awful. Floor lounges are good places to work or study, but the best is the sky lounge, which has great views of the city! Be prepared to fight random clubs though that like to meet there. Oh and AC comes in clutch at the beginning/end of the school year" - 4 years ago

We collected 2 dorm reviews for Broadway Hall

Number 5

"The quintessential Columbia freshman experience (don't let those people in Carman tell you anything different)! You're almost guaranteed a single (small, but still larger than some in Wallach/Hartley), except for the few poor souls who get put in walk through doubles like me. Honestly, the walk through double was great until my roommate got a boyfriend who basically moved in, but it was very spacious. Higher floors facing campus get killer views of Low that you'll miss when you're an upperclassman. Being right on campus is also so convenient, considering it takes two steps to get to Hamilton or Butler, and you have the beautiful quad right outside. Bathrooms are individual/single use at a time, which is really nice to get some privacy, etc, but they definitely do tend to get nasty, especially on the weekends when they aren't cleaned for a while. Elevators can be a nightmare at big rush hours, so definitely plan to leave a bit early, or get used to taking the stairs. There's no kitchen at all, only a microwave in the floor lounge, so if you want to cook make friends with someone in Furnald or the LLC right next door. But of course, John Jay offers the best access to the best dining halls, with John Jay and JJ's place right on the first floor/basement. Definitely super convenient and a massive plus. Some floors became closer than others, but the lounges and floor communities are generally pretty good, and people get to know their neighbors." - 4 years ago

We collected 3 dorm reviews for John Jay Hall

Number 4

"This is considered the most "social dorm," but the parties and how loud the dorm is quiets pretty much instantly after move in. I am not a very social person and still really enjoyed living in Carman. All of my friends love my dorm when they come visit, and always say they wish they had chosen this over their choice. The suite bathroom ratio of 4 to 1 is perfect. You have your own restroom which is very nice, and is really easy to clean so it should never be dirty, and you dont really have to worry about it being dirty like a communal restroom in John Jay or Wallach which get pretty disguisting. The space is really nice, and the views are really nice too. A really nice amenity is having a really big window that you can open, and a AC system that works. It is also conveniently placed between the dining halls, and broadway, so when you want to eat it is a very short walk. " - 10 months ago

We collected 5 dorm reviews for Carman Hall

Number 3

"I had a nice single room on the girls floor. Bathrooms and shower stalls were always cleaned up by cleaning staff. Location is a bit far up north from main campus. " - 1 year ago

We collected 1 dorm reviews for Bard Hall

Number 2

"I stayed here in 2009 to 2010 so this review is dated. Anyway, this residential hall is for law students. Each room is a studio unit. It was about a 10 minute walk to the law school building, though when it's snowing hard, it can take up to 30 minutes to walk to school because the roads can be slippery. Each unit is furnished with a bed, two tables, two chairs, cabinets, a portable heater in addition to the air conditioner and heater (I didn't know about the portable heater, and it was already very cold and I was wondering when they would turn on the heaters; I'm from a tropical country so I didn't know what that thing was). The common areas were clean, so you just need to clean your own room. There is a doorman, so they're strict about who you let in your unit, unless you have declared it at the start of your stay (e.g. that you're going to be staying with your partner)." - 3 years ago

We collected 1 dorm reviews for Lenfest Hall

Number 1

"Lived in the IRC (554) , in a one-bedroom double. The rooms are really big with high ceilings, and the kitchen/bathroom were great. All in all an excellent dorm. It does get pretty loud on weekends/nights, mostly due to being next to all the frats. One major downside is pests, had a mouse problem in the building all year and saw a roach once." - 4 years ago

We collected 1 dorm reviews for Residential Brownstones