<p>My D is going to be a freshman in the fall and is wondering about the Townhouse Community. Is it a good option? Do they assign roommates? Are they too far away from the main campus and all the action? Even if she were to choose the townhouses what is the likelihood that she would get in? Lots of questions..I know!</p>
<p>Cornell's freshman housing is nice. </p>
<p>Not in the sense that it would be as cozy as a town house, but that you get to know lots of people, have a three min walk to Appel (GREAT food), and convenient bus stops all around.</p>
<p>You make friends with the people you live with, and personally, I wouldn't want to live with anyone but my fellow freshies!</p>
<p>you dont choose, its all done via a lottery/random assignment to a housing place.</p>
<p>Kimba, your daughter should look into Balch, the all women's dorm on North. My daughter did not necessarily want an all women's dorm, but she is VERY happy there. She has a large single with her own sink, and she loves the friends she has made on her floor. It's quiet when she wants to study, and the building, rooms and study lounges are beautiful. It's also the closest dorm to the central part of campus, yet close to everything else on North as well. And even though my daughter did not apply for Balch specifically, I think Balch, like the townhouses, can be requested before the regular freshman housing sign-up.</p>
<p>yeah, you can ask for Balch if you want. I totally recommend it as a student as well. it's a great option. everything is pretty (which, I hafta say, I do enjoy) but also the facilities I could want are available-- fine laundry, TV, study rooms, etc. being so close to central campus is a big plus as well. lots of singles but also some larger rooms too.</p>
<p>The townhouses are a little far from campus, but it's hardly remote. As a freshman, it's just as close as dickson or donlon or the low and high rises. It's directly across from RPCC, and Appel is a 5 minute walk at most. Getting to Balch, which is the all women's dorm, from the townhouses takes all of 5-6 minutes. The only reason to concern yourself with the remoteness is if you're a transfer (as I myself am) in which case a majority of your friends will be in collegetown or on west. However, as a freshman, every housing complex is within a 5 minute walk of one another.</p>
<p>The townhouses are like... well... townhouses. So you get the benefit of living in a condo basically with 4 people living in total (very few of the townhouses are 6 people). It's nice to have the kitchen as well as a bathroom and shower that only 4 people will be using. Not to mention having a dining room/living room affords you space to have people over. </p>
<p>Some years and some quads within the townhouses seem to be more social than others. So you might not have the running back and forth of hallmates like in another dorm, which you can make whatever you like of it. Right now i'd say only one of the quads is exceptionally social.</p>
<p>I think that pretty much covers it. You have all the other goodies of other places like laundry and such.</p>
<p>I guess I am worried about the lack of social interaction in the townhouses. My D didn't have much fun in high school and I rally want her to have fun in college! Thanks to all.</p>
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My D didn't have much fun in high school and I rally want her to have fun in college!
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<p>I have no idea what the townhouses are b/c I transferred (back when almost all transfers lived on West). I only lived on-campus on West so I'm not familiar with North housing.</p>
<p>But I urge you to not let your D live in the townhouses. They seem cut off socially. I think the best option is the traditional dorm hallway.</p>
<p>I lived in the townhouses as a freshman (I'm a senior now). I had a great time. </p>
<p>When I lived there there were 4 people per townhouse, aka 2 double rooms. So it isn't the dorm experience of having a bunch of rooms in a hallway- but I think if you make an effort you can get to know your neighbors in adjacent townhouses. And make friends outside of the dorms- like meeting people in class or in clubs.</p>
<p>The bus (route 81) stops right outside the townhouses, and runs every 10 minutes and takes you to main campus. It runs all day M-F. It is the furthest place on North Campus to walk from, but only on average 5 minutes longer than the walk from the rest of the dorms.</p>
<p>Balch seemed awful to me when I visited my friends there. I wouldn't recommend it at all.</p>
<p>dontno- if you don't know what the townhouses are like/don't know anything about North campus housing, why would you offer such a strong opinion "urging" her not to let her D live there?</p>
<p>I appreciate everyone's opinion. Are the townhouses mixed with freshmen and upperclassmen?</p>
<p>In the past, they were freshman only. Last year (and the year before too?) they had a mix of transfers and freshmen. I don't think there would be transfers and freshmen in the same townhouse though- your D's roommate would be a fellow freshman. (anyone correct me if they had a different experience).</p>
<p>Does your D want to request the townhouses? Most freshmen want the traditional dorm experience so do not request the townhouses. If she requested it, there is a very good chance she would get it.</p>
<p>Not sure if you are considering Balch (a lot of people are suggesting it for some reason) but same deal- if you request it, you will get placed there.</p>
<p>I did love the townhouses. The only drawback of the townhouses is that you live with only 3 other people- so hopefully you like them. It's not like a dorm situation, where if the rooms next to yours are filled with weirdos, you have a whole selection of people a little further down the hallway for potential friends.</p>
<p>A friend of mine is living in the JUST ABOUT MUSIC townhouse, aka JAM. Architecturally, the building was so interesting. It was created to be bomb-proof (or something along those lines...) so it has many random turns and split levels. The walls are all painted bright colors also.</p>
<p>Not to mention, the people in JAM were awesome. And talented! I'm not musically-inclined at ALL, and even I ended up wanting to live there.</p>
<p>Townhouse is the best!! you get a whole house to just 4 people!!. theres a kitchen, living room, dining room and a bathroom shared by only 4 people! Social is just fine. I mean if you can't stand your roommate snoring at night and can't sleep with the uncomfortable feeling of ear plugs in your ears... just sleep in the living room!! how great is that. for other dorms, you are stuck!</p>
<p>Agreed^^^!!!</p>
<p>My D loved the townhouses. Apartment like living.w/ privacy.</p>
<p>My D seemed to believe it was the best of both worlds. Independent living in a big college. You basically have a 'townhouse"i.e. living/dining room, full/kitchen, two double bedrooms with private toilet and seperate showers per townhouse..</p>
<p>She is now, as a junior living in a house off campus, living w/ girls that she met in her freshman townhouse livving.</p>
<p>My D is not a sorority girl. She says townhouse living will not hurt you if you are so inclined.</p>
<p>I lived in the townhouses last semester and it was fine.</p>
<p>My housemates were quiet so I studied a lot and pulled off a GPA higher than I would've anywhere else. If you want to socialize, step out of your house and go to another. If you want to study, stay where you are--from a perspective it has an advantage over a regular dorm because I feel pressured to socialize when everyone is so close. This didn't happen at the townhouses.</p>
<p>Your experience will LARGELY depend on who you live with. There's a set of girls in Townhouse A who love each other, setup their house really nice, and seemed like a great bunch. I didn't get too close to mine, but I was too focused on studying to care.</p>
<p>A huge positive that you don't get from the other dorms: the bus pulls up right in front of the townhouses and drops you off to class every 10 minutes so I never had to walk. RPCC is right across the street and is arguably one of the best dining halls on campus. Private bathroom is a plus.</p>
<p>For a freshman I think I would prefer a dorm only because everyone wants to socialize and get to know one another and the best way to do that is through one of the larger dorms, but it depends on who you are.</p>
<p>I live in a single in Carl Becker House on West Campus, I think one of the better dorms on campus, and I seriously think it was an even trade off. I now have to walk to class, less privacy, a little harder to study, but the social life is a lot better. I know of a freshman living in the townhouses now who just joined a sorority and seems really happy.</p>
<p>I really wouldn't worry about it; this is coming from a transfer student who lived in both during his first year.</p>
<p>let's just say, in the winter, if you don't want to walk in the freezing cold, townhouses are the best.
when you're in a hurry to get to class in the morning, and it's cold out, everyone wants to take a bus. but only at the townhouse bus stop, can you actually guarantee a seat for yourself. when the bus gets so full, it completely skips the balch stop in front of risley.
therefore, although balch and other dorms are technically closer to central, it usually means you have to walk that distance. whereas at townhouses, you are farther, but you can take the bus right to your classes</p>