Chris, I can tell you what my D's choice was. She got in E.D. so had her choice of dorms. She'd pretty much seen all of them prior to sending in her prioritized list, so she had a pretty good idea of what the choices were. She made the decision that she wanted a traditional style dorm because it was likely that she'd be living in an apartment every year after that. She wanted to be close to WSP, she wanted a dining hall in the building, and she wanted air-conditioning. If you knew her, you'd know that she researched this (as she does everything!) to death!
She talked to LOTS of students and these were the things which continued to come up in discussions of housing.
Her first choice was Weinstein because it fit every one of her criteria; traditional style, closest to WSP, several dining choices right downstairs, and it's air-conditioned. She never regretted her choice during freshman year. Yes, the rooms are somewhat cell-like when you first move in but with posters, a rug, and some personal furnishings, her room was actually very home-y and comfy. Plus, with Weinstein, if you get in there, you know what your room will be like because they're pretty well all the same. In other dorms, that isn't the case. Rooms can vary greatly from floor to floor and room to room. So that was her choice and her reasons for the choice and she ended up happy.
Socialbility of a dorm is going to vary each year depending on who is living on a particular floor at the time but these other issues are consistent from year to year. You'll find Tischies in every dorm, NYU doesn't group or assign roommates based on which college you're in. Her recommendation is to get the smallest mealplan allowable. You're right about lunches on studio days and she's found that even if you want to eat out for dinner occasionally through the week, you can easily do it for less than what it works out to be per meal through the mealplan.
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