Housing?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Barnard College
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<p>My D also lived in Brooks on the quad. She and her two roommates shared two adjoining rooms that faced the quad. There was a bay window in the room where they placed all three beds, and there was an old fireplace in the other room (where they kept their desks). The fireplace did not work, of course, but they loved the charm it added!! </p>

<p>After moving on into Plimpton (and other upper-class dorms) in subsequent years, the first year accommodations felt small. But, at the time she lived there, they all were absolutely thrilled with them!! Yes, the first three weeks or so are HOT, but D learned to love taking frequent COLD showers! :)</p>

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<p>do you get to choose rooms for first year? or is it randomly assigned?</p>

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<p>The rooms are assigned to you.</p>

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<p>For first-years, rooms are generally assigned based on a questionnaire that you’ll complete after matriculating. There is a possibility of designating someone with whom you’d like to be placed (i.e., someone you really clicked with at a pre-orientation event, or your friend from high school who’s also going to Barnard). In general, though, I’d advise against that; you can always hang out with those people outside of your living arrangement (and, it can be difficult to live with a friend.) </p>

<p>In the questionnaire, ResLife asks basic questions about life habits (how messy you are, how easygoing you are, sleep schedules), study habits (when, where, what kind of noise level), and social habits (Do you plan on going out on the weekends? Staying in with friends?), plus some general interest questions (favorite genres of music, hobbies, values/passions). Then, the staff painstakingly matches you with someone they think would be a good match–a lot of times it works out incredibly, most of the time it works out well, and sometimes it’s a disaster (in that case, you can always apply to be reassigned…it happens every year). But, they do put a lot of care into trying to find good matches.</p>

<p>All first-years will have at least one roommate, and will live in three buildings of the Quad. The suite situation that mythmom described is highly unusual–Class of '09 had an unexpectedly high matriculation rate, so the housing situation was atypical. In Sulzberger, students live in air-conditioned doubles or triples. This is the newest of the quad buildings, and it shows in the amenities. In Reid, there are pretty spacious doubles (a bit bigger than in Sulz), but there’s no AC. In Brooks, there are one-room doubles, and two-room triples and quads. It’s the oldest of the three (so no AC), but has lots of charm (the fireplaces cited above). I lived in Reid, and it was pretty dorm-y, but I had no real complaints.</p>

<p>As for housing after your first year, there are a bunch of different options, all of which have their individual selling points, and detriments. I have lived in Reid, Plimpton, 600, Cathedral Gardens (over the summer), and currently live in Sulz Tower. I’d be glad to elaborate on the individual experiences, but that seems like it belongs in a different thread.</p>