Hi,
I got a room assignment yesterday in the 4-2 area of Balch. I was wondering if anyone could answer some questions about Balch. How big are singles? What kind of programming do they have in Balch? What did you like most and dislike most about Balch? Any info you can provide would be appreciated
Lol where do I start??
I lived in Balch this past academic year and I loved it!! I lived in 3-2 which is a floor below you and I was close to both the study and TV lounges. I loved Balch for the privacy. I was originally a bit skeptical about living in an all female dorm but you know what I learned? It doesn’t matter! I finished freshman year with a lot of male friends. Whether or not your floor is social though is a HUGE hit or miss. My floor was okay but I had friends complain about how antisocial their floors were.
The singles in Balch are definitely larger than other singles I have seen in other dorms so you will have more than enough space. I’m not sure of what you mean by what kind of programming there is in Balch but Balch has a lot more events going on than most other dorms. There were always opportunities to see Broadway shows in NYC at a discounted price. The RAs in Balch are super super involved and they always come through with fun events. PS: every Thursday is tasty treats which can be pretty good.
I loved Balch because it was close to campus and had two bus stops right by it. If you are as lazy as I am an like to sleep in an extra 10 mins, you will be running to catch the bus and you will most likely get to the stop in a minute. Again, during the winter, you will appreciate living in Balch. I don’t mind Ithaca winter specifically but when you come back late at night from central and it is fairly cold, I am pretty sure you wouldn’t want to walk very far. Also, during the winter, if you are a coffee kinda person, you will appreciate the cafe in the Tatkon center. It is in the same building as Balch.
What I didn’t really like about Balch though was that because it was so quiet, so many people from other dorms used to come in and take up study space so if you wanted to study, you either had to leave Balch or study in your rooms.
I wrote a post last year on why I loved Balch: http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/cornell-university/1761198-housing-why-you-should-consider-balch.html#latest
I’d be more than happy to answer any other questions about it that aren’t covered in that thread as well! I really enjoyed it and love talking it up to people.
@vany1909 My daughter was on 4-2 last year and had a single. She loved it. It was an enormous room with its own sink closet, which is very convenient and quite a lot of closet space. I agree with what @Encord says. However, my daughter never had to leave Balch to study, unless she wanted to.
Does anybody know about the townhouses?
My son got assigned to a 4 person townhouse along with his roommate.
I don’t know how helpful this will be since it was so long ago, but I lived there when they were first built. My townhouse had two double bedrooms and a bath upstairs and a kitchen and living room downstairs. They were pretty roomy but they are at the very north edge of campus, and will be a good 20 min walk to classes (but the bus has a stop right there). Robert Purcell Union is right across the street for dining. As I said, though, I lived there almost 30 years ago and so I don’t know if the interior room arrangements are the same or not.
Thank you.
Sounds like they are still the same.