Hey guys, after reading the information on Columbia’s welcome website, I thought I wanted JJ single for sure. But recently, I started considering a roommate and just heard that JJ doubles are terrible (I’ve also seen pics of JJ singles, and they all look really small). I’m not sure about living in Carman though, because I hear a lot of athletes and such live there and there’s a lot of partying that goes on. I’m ok with parties but not every single weekend, and not to the point of having to go somewhere else to study. I’m definitely quiet around new people. but very extroverted around friends, and I’m just not sure if I would vibe with Carman kids. Furnald seems way to quiet for me, and I’m not really familiar with the LLC options (Hartley and Wallach). any advice?
Carman is pretty wild and it’s not like the upperclassmen dorms where everyone has their own suite to party in so its relatively closed off. There will definitely be parties every weekend, maybe multiple on the same floor, on the same night. There are certainly benefits to having a roommate, but if you just want someone to hang out with, freshman floors tend to be pretty close, with JJ and Carman being especially so.
Obviously though you can live anywhere, including Furnald, and make friends. I personally lived in the LLC and it was fine. TBH I think you would like John Jay. Freshman singles tend to not be that big in general anyway - mine was 98 square feet and it worked out.
You definitely sound like someone who would really enjoy one of the LLCs (Wallach and Hartley). The doubles are mostly very large. The singles would be small though but similar to all the singles on campus. My kid has really enjoyed the community in the LLC with friends of all ages, nice social scene with party and non-party activities readily available, very social study scene in the floor lounges, and cooking together if you enjoy that. The nicest thing though is that if you apply to stay in the LLC you will get a much better room than pretty much any soph in the room lottery. Almost guaranteed a nice single in the LLC (or huge double if you want).