<p>Hello! I’ve heard that Barnard dorms–especially freshman year–are not exactly roomy and was wondering if any current students might be willing to describe the living situation (dorms were not part of the tour).</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>odd, i went in the dorms during my tour.. i wonder why you didn't.
if you go to <a href="http://www.barnard.edu/reslife/reshalls%5B/url%5D">www.barnard.edu/reslife/reshalls</a> you can look at floor plans of all the dorms. some of them have dimensions on them. doubles in reid look to be about.. 15 by 13? i cant really read the numbers, heh. first-year housing is generally pretty nice, especially if you get sulz/reid (in brooks there are quads and the space is distributed differently). i got stuck with a tiny tiny room that the floor plan lies about, but it seriously is an anomaly and everyone else has good-sized rooms with nice views, etc.</p>
<p>I visited a freshman dorm the other day and it was a double bed dorm. It was pretty roomy (at least roomier than other colleges comparatively) and comfortable looking. Not to mention, airy and clean. I liked it.</p>
<p>We saw them on our tour and, to be honest, they're what turned us off. Very dreary and old with poor lighting, at least what we saw. If you're seriously considering barnard you should go back for another look.</p>
<p>I really hope you will hold out till you talk to a current Barnard student about this. My daughter is finishing up her first year there and loves it. She shares a triple suite in Brooks: two small rooms...one has a bay window, the other a (non-working) fire place. The building IS old...it is NOT huge...but it is in NYC. They have made it work quite well.</p>
<p>Next year she will be sharing a five bedroom apartment-style arragement with a full kitchen and bathroom with four other girls. I tell her it is probably the most extravagant living arrangement she will be able to afford in NYC, unless she makes the proverbial "big time"! </p>
<p>For her, Barnard...the school, the City, the experience, is well worth any exchange in dorm conditions. You may find that to be true...or not.</p>
<p>agreed. while dorm life is important (and no, barnard's dorms arent castles), i find i hardly ever spend any time in my room - not because my room is bad, but because i am just so busy that all i do there is sleep. the setup of the first-year dorms in a quad is awesome, everyone gets to be togethers. part of college is learning to live with less space and fewer amenities than you are used to, and honestly i'd rather be in nyc with so-so dorms (next year i'm having a huge single with a view! YAY!) than in middle-of-nowhere with a literal ivory tower.</p>
<p>are all the dorms basically the same? i know at some colleges certain dorms are known for being better socially or having better facilities...</p>
<p>all the freshman dorms are basically the same, you dont get to choose which one you're in. sulz has air conditioning, brooks has character, reid is in the middle, you'll have a roommate in each. upper class dorms are variable, you can get a sense of them from the reslife website.</p>
<p>I would disagree that all freshmen dorms are basically the same. </p>
<p>The Sulz rooms are mostly spacious doubles, with the exception of the 1 (or 2) triples on each floor, Reid doubles are all the same size for the most part. However, Brooks is made up of walk through doubles (which are essentially singles, and sometimes have fireplaces), triple suites (what churchmusicmom described), and quad suites (two doubles connected with a "common room" for desks).</p>
<p>And...I think you were talking about being the same in terms of character, not layout. Well, I'm tired. Oh well. But that's a pretty good breakdown on the layout, if anyone was curious.</p>
<p>But do first-years' have any way to express a preference? Or is it all pretty much random assignment?</p>
<p>No way to express preference in terms of room assignment. But they definitely consider your preferences when assigning roommates...the questionaire is very in-depth.</p>
<p>no, you dont choose. there are some options about the people on your hall (you can live with the people in your first-year seminar or people who share your adviser), and in essence you choose your roommate, but unless you have a disability that would require you being in a special room with wider doors or something, you get placed randomly.</p>
<p>I would recommend people to opt to live on a cluster-advising floor. It's sweet. You get free stuff ... like dinners, ice skating and going to see Avenue Q.</p>
<p>What kind of rooms are on the cluster-advising floor? </p>
<p>My d. told me she'd like to live in a quad suite. </p>
<p>I don't know for sure why she likes that arrangement the best, but I do think that she would probably like a situation that would make it easy to host an overnight guest without imposing too much on her roommate(s), so it may be that extra common space area that she finds attractive. If there is something she can do to increase chances of getting that sort of assignment, I'm sure she'd like to know.</p>
<p>Cluster-advising floors are just like any other floor.
This year Reid/Sulz 3 and 4 are cluster-advising.</p>
<p>A quad suite only exists in Brooks, which isn't part of cluster-advising.
Room assignments for freshwomen are completely random, so there is no way to increase chances of getting any type of room.
The only way she will most likely end up living in Brooks is if she requests to live with someone she already knows. Then, ResLife likes to put you in a quad suite so you can still get to live with "random" people.</p>
<p>Re: hosting overnight guests.
I don't think Brooks has particularly more room than Reid or Sulz rooms. In fact, I think it's easier to have guests stay in a Reid/Sulz room, because the layout of the room is far simpler (ie. it's just a big square/rectangle).
Brooks rooms differ and the actual bedroom is rather small. The "common" space is filled with 4 desks and it's the entrance room... I don't think anyone would want their guests sleeping there.</p>
<p>Thanks, that is helpful information. If it is ok with you, I'll tell my daughter to read this thread and then PM you if she has more questions.</p>
<p>Of course! :)</p>
<p>Of course! :)</p>
<p>Calmom, I live in a Brooks quad suite, so if she has any questions specifically about that, I'll be happy to answer :-)</p>
<p>QTPointe, I was interested in rooming with three girls, which would put us in a quad. Is it an actual suite in that there is a kitchenette and bathroom and common area, or is it ONLY desks as you said before. Also, I read that Brooks didn't have laundry facilities. Did you find that to be a problem?</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>