Ranking the Dorms at Columbia University

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. - 1 year ago

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

SO MANY ROACHES. There’s a shit ton in the bathroom every morning, in the showers, behind the toilet, everywhere. Even if you don’t eat in your room there will still be roaches. They’re also in the lounges and the hallways. They need to hire an exterminator cause it’s out of hand. - 4 years ago

The room can feel a little small, but I typically didn't study in my dorm. I used the kitchen in the lounge pretty often to cook and bake. Morton Williams and H Mart are down the street, so you can easily get supplies. I also went to Starbucks once in a while and appreciated its close proximity to Furnald.

I'm not a party person, so I was happy at Furnald. If you're a party person, I recommend going to Carman. - 4 years ago

Very spacious, even as a sophomore in a double, clean and I feel very safe living here. Only potential downside could be that since you live on frat row, weekend nights aren't the quietest - 2 years ago

It’s probably the most vanilla dorm for a freshman, but that’s not a bad thing at all! Getting a single is pretty easy, and most floors end up hanging out a lot in the lounges too, so there’s a good balance of privacy and community. You won’t have to go outside to eat or do laundry, but I personally didn’t like the John Jay or JJ’s dining halls too much. The only real cons are that it can be decently far from some classes (this is especially true if you’re in SEAS), and the elevators have a reputation for requiring maintenance somewhat frequently. - 4 years ago

Carman Hall is arguably Columbia's best freshmen dorm. Carmen is known as one of the most social freshmen dorms which makes it perfect for students who are looking to meet as many people as they can during their freshmen year. The four-person style suite, 2 doubles, with a private bathroom is ideal for settling into the college lifestyle. To top it all off, Carman has air conditioning, which is perfect for those who can't sleep in the heat. The views out of your room can be hit or miss depending on your floor and the direction your room is facing. In the basement, there is a laundry room, a lounge, a kitchen, and a room with treadmills and bikes. The laundry room can get pretty busy during the weekends. - 2 years ago

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. - 2 years ago

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

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