<p>Pros:
Balch's exterior just looks soo much better than all of the other dorms.
There is a sink room in each dorm room! I would not have to go to the bathroom to brush my teeth.
the rooms are generally larger.
And of course, how can a girl with a large wardrobe resist all those closets?! I saw a floor plan with like three closets.
The dorm looks significantly closer to campus. I would not have to walk as far in the cold!</p>
<p>Cons:
The dorm is women only! I feel like it would be a lot less social. I don't want to miss out on the whole dorm experience..</p>
<p>I think you nailed the pros and cons of Balch. If you have guy friends, they will be welcome. So, despite there not being a huge male presence in Balch, you can certainly make guy friends elsewhere and invite them over. To me, Balch is a pretty good place to live as you are adjusting to college academics.</p>
<p>The one kind of girl who seems to not fit in as much are the girls who go partying and drinking every weekend and hang out with tons of guys. It seems Balch has more “nice” girls rather than the club/bar hopping kind (not that freshman girls are going to clubs or bars, but you know the type).</p>
<p>I think I’m going to request Balch too. 
The only con is that its all women, but in the long haul, I want the nicer dorms and sink, vs risk being stuck with one of the older worser dorms.</p>
<p>Other con I’ve heard: Balch gets very hot in warmer months.</p>
<p>I lived on the 5th floor of balch my freshman year in a double. It was designed as a single so just had one closet with a rod and one with drawers but we were provided a second dresser. It was still larger than many intended doubles and the “real” doubles in the building are massive. Some people really like balch and others don’t; I think it really comes down to your hallmates and mine were awesome! (I’m a senior and still live with 2 of them).</p>
<p>Thanks everyone!
So I’m guessing the AC sucks because the building is so old. How is the heater? I think I would be okay if it is too warm in the summer months, but I don’t want to be freezing in the winter! That would just be unbearable…</p>
<p>Most Cornell dorms don’t have air conditioning. The newer ones do, but you can’t request anything other than single-sex vs. co-ed so I wouldn’t say no to Balch because of air conditioning. I spent a summer here during high school and it was really hot then but during the school year you’ll only really be hot in August and September.<br>
Heat was comfortable. Every room has a radiator.</p>
<p>It sounds nice to me. i would just buy a fan if the heat was unbearable.</p>
<p>I’d rather be cool in the summer than warm in the winter, but that’s just me. I hate heat. The west campus dorms have some weird water cooling system where they run cold water through the walls from the depths of the lakes on campus, which apparently lowers the temperature. I don’t know if it worked, but yeah if you’re not there in the summer you will only have August, Sept, and then end of April/May to be hot, so maybe a total of 6 weeks altogether. Probably not enough to NOT choose Balch unless you’re from the South. (Contrary to popular belief, southern people are LESS heat tolerant because we’re used to everything being air conditioned)</p>
<p>If I request a double in Balch and get a single, will I have to pay the higher rates or will finaid cover them?</p>
<p>I think they will extend your finaid to cover the extra cost…at least I think I remember reading that</p>