I was accepted into the College of Engineering ED recently. In my excitement I have already began looking at stuff like dorms and saw there are many options for where to live. However, they all seem to be somewhat similar according the website. Does anyone have “insider” knowledge about the various dorm buildings? Which buildings are miserable, which are fantastic, are some famous for the parties, are others more secluded, etc.
Thanks!
Some dorms are great and some are not, but incoming freshmen do not get to choose their dorm, so there is no point in spending a lot of time researching. You can request single, double, triple, or quad, and whether you want single-sex or co-ed. You can also request specific program housing. These are only requests though, and are not always granted. My D requested co-ed and was placed in the all-female dorm. All freshmen live on North Campus, so regardless of which building you are in, your friends will be nearby. You can request a specific roommate, and that request is usually granted, as long as the roommate requests you too.
My friend’s daughter had the same issue. Her daughter requested co-ed and wound up in the all women’s dorm. She said it’s actually worked out fine for her, but clearly no rhyme or reason. So you’re just stuck where they put you.
What is the best source for finding a roommate beforehand?
Also, with a quad, is it suite style, or is it 4 students in a common bedroom?
It’s hard to tell from the descriptions but are most of the dorms communal bathrooms or do only a couple rooms (suite style) share bathrooms? The dorms are one thing we didn’t get to see on our visit.
@srparent 15, someone usually sets up a Cornell roommate search page on facebook - that’s how my D found her roommate. It gets busy around March-April. From what I understand, there are only a few quads, and they are two double rooms separated by a small common area in Donlon. As for bathrooms, it depends on the dorm style. Balch and Donlon are traditional style dorms with larger communal bathrooms. The high rises and low rises are suite-style with one bathroom per suite (7 people). I have never been in CKB or Mews, but I heard they are somewhere in-between - not suites, but not long hallways either.
A lot of first year students end up in Clara Dickson, which is community bath rooms and mostly single rooms. There is a survey you fill out for housing, but it’s not clear if they pay much attention to it. My D requested a double and got a single in Dickson.
You can request a certain type of room or even a roommate and dorm preference. But as others have stated, it’s pretty unpredictable. I requested a roommate and a double in CKB and I got put in a townhouse. It worked out just fine. If you request a double and they give you a more expensive option (eg townhouse, single), Cornell won’t make you pay extra and will give you extra financial aid to cover the difference in price.
If you request a particular roommate, are they also known to not honor that request? That would really stink. Also, when do you find out your dorm and roommate assignments?
Is it worthwhile going to the April Accepted Students day to try to meet other new students? We are from the midwest so there are not many future Cornellians from here. I think the CAAAN has something for the students in the Spring which will be nice, but that still won’t be for a ton of people if she is trying to connect with other females.
Admitted students day was definitely worth going. Even though it was snowing in April, the visit sealed the deal for my D. She was able to meet some of the other students in her program, and that helped confirm she was going to fit in. That said, the best thing she did to meet other students and make friends was to go on a week long pre-orientation program the week before move-in.
@nitric_acid Thanks. My D doesn’t need the deal sealed, she was ED, so she can’t turn back now! 
Not sure about the pre-orientation thing. Her sibling has to be dropped off at her college the week before, and she isn’t really interested in doing a 4 day hiking thing. She’s in the facebook and Cornell’s own group already. What other kinds of options are there besides hiking/camping trips for orientation?
re “pre-orientation thing”
https://odyssey.coe.cornell.edu/
http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/cornell-university/921088-outdoor-odyssey-p1.html
Could you tell me how to find the Facebook group? I haven’t been able to find anything.
kbat11700 For students it’s called Cornell Class of 2023. There’s a different one for parents.
Do the requests for single dorms tend to be honored? Balch would be my preferred dorm if that changes anything.
@cornell1923, your are almost definitely guaranteed Balch if you request it (by choosing single-sex rather than co-ed on the housing form), as there are far more rooms in Balch than people requesting it. Balch has lots of singles, so I think your chances are pretty good for getting a single there. My D’s floor was almost all single rooms, with the exception of hers and 1 neighbor (although their rooms were so small that I suspect they were built as singles too). The rumor is that Balch is the next dorm to be renovated, but I haven’t heard of a time frame for that yet.
My friend’s daughter did not request Balch and wound up stuck in that dorm this year, so my guess is that it is not one that is desirable. It has worked out ultimately, but she didn’t want to be in an all woman’s dorm.
What % of rooms are singles. It seems like a lot of people want singles, which surprises me.
@Kbat11700 Current Cornell freshman here, and I’ll share my experiences with the dorms on North Campus. I’m not entirely familiar with ALL of the freshman dorms, but here is the general gist of how most people view the ones I know.
CKB/Mews: The newest dorms, considered the best because these are the only dorms that have AC. These dorms are pod-styled: 2 doubles and a single share one bathroom/shower, so it’s really nice! If you get selected into either of these dorms, consider yourself lucky! 
Clara Dickson: A mediocre dorm, not terrible, but it can get really hot in the summer. I think it’s one of the biggest dorms. Most of the rooms are singles, and there are some suite-styled rooms (3 doubles and a common area I believe) Communal bathrooms for the singles, and there is a bathroom in the suite.
Balch: Only dorm that’s girls only. I’ve heard the rooms in Balch are the biggest, but again, there’s no AC. But if you prefer only girls in your dorm, then this is the place for you! Balch is considered one of the quieter dorms, since boys aren’t allowed unless accompanied by a girl living in Balch.
Donlon: The social dorm. If you want to make friends fast with the people who leave with you, then this is the dorm for you! The rooms are mediocre, mostly singles and suites I believe. But this dorm is definitely the loudest dorm.
High/Low Rises: these are the dorms you DON’T want to get. No AC, and very old looking. The popular opinion is that High Rises are SLIGHTLY better than Low Rises. Both dorms have some (few actually) forced triples: meaning that three people live in a room that’s supposed to be for two 
In my opinion, I don’t consider any Cornell housing HORRIBLE, so these dorms aren’t bad, just not great compared to the others.
That’s the general gist of all the dorms I know decently well! I hope this helped, and this is just my opinion BTW. Feel free to PM/ask if you have more questions!
Years ago freshmen were not all together on North campus. Freshmen were distributed between dorms on West campus (the “U-halls”, all replaced now, and the Baker dorms) and North campus, esp. Dickson and Donlon . Those upperclassmen who stayed on campus were similarly scattered, but mostly on North campus.
FWIW, the High/Low rises were originally designed as housing for upperclassmen.
When you already have some friends you might want to live together with them more intimately in a suite, is the idea. While having less contact with others.
Less people on a floor, with less forced contact, means potentially less social for freshmen who don’t yet have a social circle.
This can be overcome though, I imagine.
A/C can have some utility for the first 2-3 weeks of school, and the last two, sometimes. Other than then it doesn’t matter for most people.