<p>Oh, housing. Once you're going to be a sophomore and you're looking at housing, you realize how fabulous first year housing is. here's the breakdown about carman, candid, and from a carman resident. Stuff I've seen/know about John Jay, LLC and furnald will come at the end. </p>
<p>Carman:
Location-
114th and Broadway. Other than Furnald, I would say that Carman, out of all the first year dorms, has the best location. Carman is the closest freshmam dorm to the subway station at 116th and Broadway (after Furnald that is). It's Broadway location also puts you right across the street from a supermarket, starbucks, and local off-campus eateries. The bars that freshmen frequent such as the West End are located on Broadway, as well as pizza places such as Korenet's and diners such as Tom's. Overall, Broadway seems to be a more kickin' street than Amsterdam (the street that John Jay and the LLC are on). Carman is in between the subway station that you'll probably be coming back from late at night and the more downtown scene on Broadway. Another factor that makes Carman one of the best locations is that it is RIGHT next Lerner Hall. Lerner Hall is a student center where you can pick up your mail and packages, where a lot of student groups meet and practice, and where you can go to on campus eateries that take columbia points such as Ferris Booth and Cafe 212. It's great to not have to carry a package very far, and be able to run next door to eat. Carman is also closer to Hewitt Dining Hall than John Jay or the LLC, which is Barnard's dining hall, and in my opinion, a LOT better than John Jay. Note to incoming freshmen- you really, really should check out Hewitt early on. If you have a bad meal, go back one more time to make sure it wasn't just a bad night. That being said, the walk across campus isn't particularly far and should NOT be the most decisive thing, but I found that walking back to campus with fellow John Jay classmates that I appreciated the shorter walk. I talked a lot about location because no one really told me this last year, and it really is good to know.</p>
<p>Set up:
One door opens to three doors- two of those doors are rooms of two, the other is a bathroom. There's a lot posted about the social environment of Carman, so I don't feel the necessity to elaborate. I had problems with my roommate this year, she moved out, and now I have a really big single in Carman. This happens to probably like five people or so. Carman is true to its rep as the party/social dorm. The hallways are wide and the lounge is VERY small, but we'll often gather in the lounge or the hallways to talk and socialize. Bathroom cleanliness depends on your suitemates. There are two elevators and a service elevator. Elevators are fast, but sometimes they break, and living on a higher floor, it takes FOREVER if one elevator is broken. </p>
<p>Extra Little Good Stuff:
View in Carman is generally fabulous. Even if you're on a lower floor and you're view ain't so hot, the windows are HUGE and give a good amount of sunlight. From my room, I can see 114th and Broadway from one angle and the Empire State building from another. Some rooms have very beautiful views of the Empire State Building. The windows facing into campus have a beautiful view of the heart of Columbia's campus, everything ranging from the Low Library to Columbia's other classical buildings. If natural sunlight is important to you, Carman is the way to go. Air conditioning was a MAJOR factor for me. It is HOT HOT HOT when you first come here, and I was NOT in ANY WAY used to the humidity. John Jay kids told me they had trouble sleeping at night because it was such a furnace, and a lot of them came to Carman during the day. It's REALLY nice to have air conditioning. Also, Carman has PLENTY of storage/closet space...in comparison to the other freshman dorms. Laundry room very large...I've seen kids from John Jay come to use it. </p>
<p>Extra Little *****ty Stuff:
The cinderblock walls are way less than charming and the cold tiled floors suck. Buy some sort of rug/carpet for the floor, I'm just not a huge fan. Dust bunnies get everywhere with the tile floors, and a swiffer will probably help too. The flourescent lighting looks really harsh with the cold tiled floors and the cinderblock walls. Oh, and getting posters to stick on our walls can be kind of a pain. Only one kitchen in the basement, and it's kind of gross. Elevators get messy during the weekends because of drunken parties. </p>
<p>Furnald:
Location-
115th and Broadway. Same benefits as Carman in location. Carman is closer to Lerner Hall and the local Morningside Heights scene, but only by a block, so whatever. </p>
<p>Setup-
Mostly singles, some doubles. Shared hall bathroom. I've only glimpsed at a Furnald single- they're nice, carpeted, with a small window. The Furnald doubles in my opinion seem a lot more cramped than the Carman ones because Carman closets/ storage are built into the wall, saving space, while Furnald closets/storage stick out and take up floor space. GREAT kitchen and HUGE lounge area on the floor. Much bigger lounge area than Carman. </p>
<p>Extra Little Good Stuff:
Air conditioning. It is HOT when you get here...I'm not used to it. I'm used to California weather :) with lots of sunshine and little humidity. Very nice amenities with a kitchen on every floor and a great lounge. Kitchen on every floor means microwave, which I found out is a pretty great thing to have in college. Rooms are carpeted.</p>
<p>Extra Little *****ty Stuff:
Not too social. Most people here like to get their work done, when I'm there it seems like doors are closed, but its quiet if you want your dorm to be a place to do work and to remove yourself from socializing/fraternizing. Furnald helps you seperate your school life from your home life more so than Carman I think. Most freshmen I've met in Furnald aren't too social and seem to keep to themselves a lot. If you think the idea of Carman sounds revolting, you should go to Furnald. It's a lot cleaner..not so much as Carman is just naturally gross...it only gets gross because of the people living in it. (gross as in trash in elevators/hallways/etc). </p>
<p>I'll come back later with details about LLC and John Jay. I've procrastinated too much already. Time to study. If you have any questions, feel free to IM me.</p>