meestasi

Balch is pretty confusing if you don't live there, you'll figure it out soon enough. Although I have to say that the low-rises had the most confusing architecture out of any of the north campus dorms.

cornellmama

Oh dear. Daughter was (initially) stressed about the idea of a roommate; has never had one. After reflective thought about her tendency to be a loner, and how she relies on more social friends for a nudge to do something "social", she decided it would be best to go for a double, to accelerate a potential social life. She loves her girlfriends, (some in small doses), but she definitely wanted a co-ed dorm, as she has greatly enjoyed her male buddys in her high school life. She's the "outdoor/sporty" sort and doesn't own a dress. (Okay, we have the prom gown - but it doesn't count.) So, she was looking forward to her room assignment and finding out who her roommate would be. But, to her (at least at the moment) complete horror, she learned she was assigned to a room in Balch. Adding insult to injury, she has been placed in a TRIPLE. To make things even curious-er the Balch stationary has this very feminist look to it, and promotes it's"womyn's" center. (What is that?) Certainly, a coed double may be the most widely requested situation, but ... also to change from a double to a triple??? So, just wondering ... any wisdom anyone can share about triples in Balch and Balch in general. Honesty is the best policy - no need to sugar-coat. And, seriously, is there even room in one room for three women, three beds and all their stuff? The 300 square feet est. size is actually smaller than her room at home. (not a castle - she just has a nice big old room) Are they bunk beds? Are there closets? Should she try switching to a single? Oh yeah - she's also a varsity athlete and now concerned how her early training schedule might affect her roommates. HELP! & Thanks!

meestasi

deal with it. A part of growing up is learning to deal with other people and with new experiences. It might be difficult for her immediately, but as long as her roommates are bearable and nice, then there shouldn't be that big of a problem. I would only worry if her roommates are unbearable. And being a varsity athlete, one would think they would get more preferential treatment because this past year a lot of athletes living in Mews and the newer dorms or in the townhouses. A lt of girls I've talked to initially didn't want to be in Balch, but they seemed to all grow to like it and bond with the other girls on their floor.

sockerchick23

i'm in a triple at Balch... I didn't even know there were triples but I am totally cool with anything...is 283 square feet a small or big dorm??

ceruleanyankee

The triples in Balch are massive. My friend had one freshman year, and she ended up loving it. She became quite close with one of the girls, and managed to live with the other girl (there were no issues, they were just not as close/had different friends).
Please feel free to p/m if you have any specific questions! I haven't been on in awhile, and it's been some time since I've been in Balch (2 years now! college goes fast), but I'm here to help!

fd36

hopefully your daughter will be the first one to move-in...that way she can claim the best bed

that's what i plan to do with my room this year...i'm on north but moving ASAP ^__^

cornellmama

ceruleanyankee -

Nice to know you are still checking the boards as a sort of Balch ambassador! I'll ask some questions here rather than PM since I see soccerchick has a triple too! (Soccerchick - are you North or South Balch - my daughter is North?) Good to know that in your experience you feel there's plenty of space in a triple. Are the beds bunk beds at all? Did your friends loft their beds in the triple to get additional space? (Are the ceilings high enough?) From the floorplan - looks like maybe there's a fireplace between 2 windows - or a built in bookcase? Is that possible? (no dormer windows - flat wall with 2 sets of windows). How many closets in the triple - two or three? Are there 3 phones or do they share the one line? Are there 3 internet ports (North has no redrover)? Would you say better a triple in Balch than a triple in Dickson? It's very comforting to hear good things about the few people who have had the "triple" experience... Thanks for your input from all us triplets (& their families)...

ceruleanyankee

(1) You can request that your bed be bunked once you arrive on campus. Considering the number of facilities requests, it may not take place for a few weeks, but they will do it (my friend in the triple got hers bunked, and put her desk under it - made the room even bigger!). The ceiling is maybe a little lower than desirable if you do that, but certainly livable.
(2) I did hear of a few rooms with fireplaces, but never saw one. There is no built-in bookcase- every resident gets their own bookcase/shelf that they can move around the room.
(3) Every room is different in terms of windows and closets. Since it's a triple, you'll probably have 2 large windows. My friend's room had 2, and had 3 closets - two with the built-in dresser, and one without. The third resident gets their own dresser (I believe, although I can't remember for certain).
(4) Everyone gets their own internet line, although the room only has one phone (since most people have cell phones, this usually isn't an issue - they never even touched their phones).
(5) Yes, triples in Balch are almost twice the size as triples in Dickson. I had a friend with a triple in Dickson, and when we hung out, with five people in the room plus beds it was a little cramped. In Balch, we had upwards of 15 people in the room when it started to get crowded (everyone had a few friends over at once).

Hopefully you have a great triple experience too!

mercury31

i'm in balch this year! are there kitchens on each floor or something? or access to a stove and microwave..

ceruleanyankee

Yes, every unit has a kitchen with a fridge, oven, stove, microwave, etc. Of course, if you're in Balch, you can go straight into the Tatkon and get coffee/muffins/etc in your slippers - that's the best deal of all!

cornellmama

ceruleanyankee -

I hope you know how helpful your answers have been!

And now that you bring up food ... do you pay for coffee, etc at Tatkon? Tatkon's open for breakfast!? Did we hear there are milk & cookie socials at Balch (not necessarily in Tatkon)?

As switching meal plans is permitted early on once you figure out your schedule/lifestyle, we chose 14 meals/wk (careful budgeting) at first which may be too many ... knowing now that the dorm is Balch). Did you find you rarely went to the North Campus Dining for breakfast (meal plan) (opposite direction of class) ? Did you utilize Risley Dining at all, or stick with North Campus (dinners on meal plan?). And, if there's a fridge in each unit, would there be any additional need for a fridge in your room?

Regarding triple sleeping - if one of the three in the triplet has a need to power nap at an odd hour - (or even crash early on a weekend nite) - are there out-of-the-way quiet places to do that in Balch so as not to disturb the social plans of the 2 other roomates in the triplet?

cornellstudent09

cornellmama- I would recommend the 10 meal plan option but your daughter should stick with 14 for now and try it for the first two weeks or so. She'll most likely end up eating at Appel or RPU for dinner. No one really every eats in Risley except the people who live there. She'll also probably be using her Big Red Bucks to get sandwiches or whatever from the a-la-carte places between classes.

Also, some people keep fridges in their room to hold personal things such as milk or beer.

ceruleanyankee

Haha, it's a good thing I don't have much to do at work... otherwise my productivity would be terrible...
(1) Yes, everything at the Tatkon is BRBs, and they open at 8am. They have sandwiches, coffee, snacks, etc... great place to go late at night. And I don't kid you, everyone gets VERY jealous about the slippers.
(2) Shh, you must know someone on the inside! Yes, every Friday at Balch the RAs/mentors host something called 'Tasty Treats'. One RA will go and buy a zillion yummy things, and one of the Faculty Fellows will come. Every week has a theme - chocolate, desserts around the world, milkshakes, cookies, etc. AMAZING! Plus, the RAs in Balch are very good at hosting programs and doing fun things (I have a very close friend who was a hallmate in Balch who will be an RA there again this year!) - not that all of the RAs aren't amazing, but I found that Balch really did a decent amount of activities (not too too many, because then you'd wonder how they did well in school).
At the beginning of the year, the Faculty-in-Residence (who actually don't live in the dorm, but at a house nearby) hosts a milk/cookie social for all residents. They also (when I was there) had a 'birthday party' every month for residents, and brought cake and ice cream and balloons!
So, in short, there are many ways to gain weight in Balch.
(3) I personally went to the dining hall for breakfast, because I liked having a warm meal/time to sit. However, Appel is the only one open in the mornings, and it's a little bit out of the way in terms of going to class. I thought it was worth it... but most of my friends didn't go there, and skipped breakfast/grabbed something in the cafe/didn't eat.
I found that I went to the dining halls fairly often, mostly on North, to eat with friends. I had 14/week which worked out fine, maybe it was too many, but you figure out what works best eventually (you can always change 2nd semester). Risley is on North, so eating there was great (always empty for lunch, and Friday dinners were great there).
(4) I had a fridge because I liked the accesibility of having milk, yogurt, fruit, water, etc in my room (breakfast, the days I didn't go to Appel). This year I didn't have a fridge, and I wish I had just so I didn't have to go to the end of the hall every time I wanted milk (although I lived in Cook, and having a dining hall in your dorm is as convenient as it gets). I would find a cheap small one just to have - even if you rarely use it, you'll appreciate it - especially if you have roommates who will use one, you could split the cost (my bf did that w/his roommate freshman year). It's just nice to have some quick snacks at your disposal!
(5) Absolutely. Every unit has a beautiful lounge- unit 1 has a beautiful study longe, unit 2 has a beautiful study lounge and TV lounge, unit 3 has a tv lounge, and unit 4 has both (although both are smaller). It's so easy to go around the building that you really bounce around - and as I recall, my friends didn't have too many problems w/sleeping/noise - they got used to each others' schedules.

glad to know this helps. please ask more if you need to!

Saucy930

Are all of the units connected?

sarahhhh

how noisy is balch. would living near the stairs be annoyingly noisy? where is the elevator located? i really cant sleep with a lot of noise.