Seniors share stories, advice on housing process

The suite-selection process for Columbia College and School of Engineering and Applied Science students begins today in John Jay Lounge, but one group of students won’t be poring over housing statistics or nervously awaiting their appointment times—members of the class of 2009.

Even though they aren’t playing the housing game this year, seniors have three years of experience with room selection and plenty of hard-earned wisdom about the process. Ask any senior for advice, and you’ll hear horror stories, impassioned recommendations about the best dorms on campus, and strategies for securing great housing.

“Just don’t be stupid,” said Rob Trump, CC ’09, who has lived in Watt and Woodbridge. “In general, people getting housing get screwed because they think, ‘Oh, I have a 60 percent chance of getting this. Let’s try it!’ In Columbia housing, if you barely miss the cutoff for a large group like EC exclusion, you end up with the dregs. It’s a small step between total success and abject failure.” For a group of underclassmen looking to play it safe, Trump added, “a group of two any year is a safe pick.”

Some seniors who didn’t want to leave their housing to chance took an even more conservative option: “Apply for the LLC [the Living Learning Center] for singles sophomore and junior year,” Eliav Bitan, CC ’09 and a two-time LLC resident, advised.

As practical as Bitan’s and Trump’s advice is, it’s too late for students to take advantage of it this year. Underclassmen with bad lottery numbers who formed groups larger than two still face limited options. “Don’t worry, McBain isn’t so bad,” Bitan said.

But just how bad is McBain? Seniors disagree on whether McBain Hall—where plenty of rising sophomores will live next year—deserves its poor reputation.

Nate Morgante, CC ’09, firmly believes it does. “My room in McBain had two heaters, only one of which could be turned off,” Morgante said. “My room was about 90 degrees the whole winter. ... We were right next to the lounge and nobody ever cleaned, so inevitably the bottom drawer of my closet had mice so I lost a bunch of towels. Also my door fell off its hinges halfway through the year.”

But other McBain residents fared better. “My best housing experience was actually in McBain,” said Kendra Moore, CC ’09, who has also lived in Carman, Schapiro, and East Campus. “My roommate and I had a killer lottery number that year, so we had a huge 270-square-foot double. We had a blast in that building.”

Seniors do, however, agree that room selection isn’t worth the stress that often accompanies the process. “If you get a bad number, you should just suck it up for a year. It’s only one year, and housing does get better,” Morgante said. “I went from the death-dorm of McBain to a top-floor Schapiro single with views of some of the best sunsets I have ever seen.”

In addition, seniors acknowledge that the drama that ensues as a result of suite selection—and particularly the confusing process of senior regroup—isn’t really necessary.

“The politics of group selection is always a pain. Trying to reach an agreement about where to live, who to live with, etc,, is tough because people take housing a little too seriously,” Phil Kemp, SEAS ’09, said. Kemp had originally planned to live in a suite with friends, but when his group got a bad lottery number, they ended up in adjacent singles in Broadway after dropping to general selection.

“People tend to ... get themselves way too emotionally involved in the process, when in truth it is really just pointless to get so worked up about it,” Kemp said. “It all comes down to your lottery number, and that’s just out of your hands.”

“It really is all about luck,” said Mika Pegors, SEAS ’09, who has lived in Furnald and East Campus. “Find people you want to live with and keep your fingers crossed.”