Is High Rise #5 the best dorm at Cornell?

HR5 is one of the older uglier freshman dorms. The rooms are decently sized though and it’s right next to Nasties so it’s not so bad.

Con: The building is kinda old and you need to take an elevator to get in. Pro: The lounge on each floor and the sky lounge on the top floor is pretty nice.

Honestly, your dorm room just needs to be good enough to sleep comfortably. High rise 5 is more suite style so it’s more private because it’s only you and your roommates sharing the space instead of an entire floor. I really only explored the building move-in day but it’s mostly just suites, a kitchen on each floor, and a laundry room on the first floor. On the top floor there’s a balcony that overlooks part of north campus that has great views, especially during sunset. Most of my time in the building was spent in my room/suite so for the purpose of just chilling in your own space, it did its job. The location is great because it’s right next to RPCC, basically the hub for freshman where they can hang out, get food, or study. It was very convenient to be able to walk less than 5 mins to get some midnight snacks or meet up with friends. The dorm is relatively quiet, louder on party nights. It really depends on your suitemates how loud or quiet it is but most of the time, it would only be noisy when people outside the suite came in to hang out. I had a single room so it was nice to have that privacy, but the walls are VERY thin so you can hear whatever’s going on outside ur room. I love being social but I’m also shy so for the first couple weeks, I made sure to leave my door open and make it a point to do things with my suitemates just to be exposed to more social events and make friends. People are usually really nice and looking to make friends too so they’ll see ur door open and maybe stop by to say hi. Sorry I don’t have any photos, I only took videos and ig you can only post photos on here.

BEST DORM EVER! The doubles are huge and really nice. If you live on a higher floor you will get a really nice view. There is also a sky lounge which was so fun to hang out in and watch movies in with a view of all of campus. I lived on the first floor and my entire floor hung out together in the lounge. It was an amazing sense of community. High rise might be slightly uglier but it was truly my happy place filled with the most fun people.

I had the time of my life in high rise 5 and would live there again in a heart beat. The high rise community (High rise 5 & Jameson) are older buildings which is why they get a lot of hate but the set up of the rooms is the perfect mix of social and private. Rooms are set up in “suites” of 7 people. Floors are mixed sex but suites are all same sex. Each suite has one triple, one double, and two singles that share a bathroom (two sinks, one toilet, one shower/tub). Since you only share a bathroom with 6 other people you get a lot more privacy than you would in many other dorms. Also more homey since your suite is rly yours and you get to know the people you are with— never felt the need to lock my door. The suite set up of the rooms is super conducive to immediately forming a tight group of friends. Each suite has their own end of the hallway, which makes your room more private/quiet than other dorms where each room faces directly out into a busy hall. The floor lounge is also a wonderful place to hang out and socialize and I quickly became friends w/ everyone on my floor who made an effort to be social. I’m a rising junior and my suite/floor mates are still some of my closest friends! Honestly don’t know anyone who lived in high rise who didn’t have a fantastic time— the only negative comments I’ve ever heard are from people who didn’t live there. It’s also a great location— super close to Nasties/dining halls and bus stops, although it is on the farther end of North campus.