Looking right now at the moon, McGraw tower, and Libe Slope out of my dorm window, I would definitely recommend giving West Campus at least a consideration. I think living there at least one year is a great experience.
I lived on West as a sophomore and junior, and I currently live at Collegetown Plaza (same landlord/similar apartments as Collegetown Center). Happy to answer any specific questions you have (you can PM me).
Location: Southern California -> Cornell '16! Go Big Red!
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So apparently there are also apartments on West Campus, which I would prefer since they are bigger and allow me to use the dining halls. It seems kind of silly to me that Collegetown apartments are more expensive than West Campus ones.
Does anyone know anything about Ravenwood or Campus Hill?
My D and friends are also going to live in Campus Hill along with another apartment of friends in the same building. Collegetown seemed too expensive so she and her friends decided to live there at least for one year. The landlord seems nice - they had an issue with the girls from the year before deciding to stay in the apartment after they signed the lease, so they gave a nice incentive to the girls to make sure the girls would find another apartment that they liked equally. Technically they could have taken the apartment since lease was signed but it turned out better in the end.
My son lived in College Hill his sophomore year. Perfectly acceptable housing -- purpose built apartments as opposed to converted houses. Just a short walk to the dining halls if you wanted a meal plan. Several frats in the vicinity.
My son lived in a 3 bedroom apartment. There was one larger bedroom and two smaller, plus a bathroom, a kitchen with an eat-in area, and a living room area open to the kitchen.
Reasonably well planned and laid out, the finishes were older and mid-level. So -- laminate countertops instead of granite, and I believe laminate cabinetry, not wood. Vinyl tile for the hard surface flooring and a basic wall to wall carpet for the living room, hallway, and bedrooms.
Is 550 sf big? Think about a standard 2 car garage -- that is approximately 25x22 or 550 sf. Can you fit the rooms you need into that garage? 550 sf, in my opinion is not a huge one bedroom apartment, but it's liveable. I think for a 2 BR it would be tight.
Edited to add: go to some apartment websites and look at floor plans. You'll quickly get the sense of how big a 550 sf apartment is.
Last edited by cnp55; 11-06-2012 at 06:27 AM.
Reason: more info
550 sf studio apartment is huge. NYC studios are 300-400, one bedroom 650.
You won't find any apartment, even in Collegetown, to be hotel quality, unless you are talking about Days Inn or Motel 6. My kid lived at 312 College Ave. It had laminated counter, no frill bathroom. The only plus side was the location.
They don't necessarily have the best locations (even the massive group of new buildings they're currently putting up is a little far from campus), but they are real professionals. They don't mess up your lease or lose your rent checks. They don't cheat people (my daughter and her roommates got every dime of their security deposits back). They answer your calls, and they fix things promptly. And they own a variety of different properties, new and old, expensive and cheap.
