Living in North Hill

This post goes out to those who are thinking of moving into the new North Hill halls in NTU, and incoming freshmen, who, last I heard, are guaranteed 2 years of hall stay instead of 1. North Hill halls are the latest halls in school, and are situated at the Jalan Bahar exit. They are split into 3 halls: Binjai, Tanjong and Banyan. Each hall is split into 2 blocks, A and B.



Most of the A blocks are occupied while B blocks are rather vacant. North Hill halls are mainly built for REP students and these students are required to stay in these halls. Their classrooms are situated at the B blocks, which require an additional key fob for access. The mini-mart and canteen in the cluster closes by 9pm, so you'll need to hurry if you're thinking of a late dinner because else, it would be Macs all the way at North Spine for you. There is a study room beside the lobby entrance at Binjai, with a printer outside of the study room. The study room closes at 2am and is frequently packed nearing examination periods. Much like the CresPion halls, North Hill halls have lift lobbies which are accessible only by residents' key fobs. Validation will take place every time you enter the lift lobby. Compared to other halls (I've stayed in Hall 8 for a couple of months before North Hill was built), the double room of Hall 21 (Banyan) seems similar in size to that of Hall 8. The table is significantly smaller in size, so as the bulletin board and the shelf which is usually placed on top of the table has become a movable one with relatively low clearance. My books are lying horizontally on the shelf because there is no space for them to be placed upright. A problem with North Hill rooms are their soundproofing system. The rooms are so close to each other my roommate and I get a shock when we hear a laugh from our neighbor's rooms because we thought the laugh was in our own room instead. This is made worse by the ventilation louvres installed, which I realised was necessary as the room is often stuffier and warmer than the corridor. However, opening the ventilation door would mean absolute zero soundproofing and I do not like that. In addition, North Hill's location is madly inconvenient. Other than the absence of 179 which runs through half the school, it is far from the campus red bus stop, which is all the way at Grad Hall 1/2. Although campus blue is right at our doorstep, it is inconvenient to leave North Hill halls after the last bus. Suppers at extension sound like a dream. I may be moving out next year. Consider your options carefully before choosing the hall that you want.
Their classrooms are situated at the B blocks, which require an additional key fob for access. The mini-mart and canteen in the cluster closes by 9pm, so you'll need to hurry if you're thinking of a late dinner because else, it would be Macs all the way at North Spine for you. There is a study room beside the lobby entrance at Binjai, with a printer outside of the study room. The study room closes at 2am and is frequently packed nearing examination periods. Much like the CresPion halls, North Hill halls have lift lobbies which are accessible only by residents' key fobs. Validation will take place every time you enter the lift lobby. Compared to other halls (I've stayed in Hall 8 for a couple of months before North Hill was built), the double room of Hall 21 (Banyan) seems similar in size to that of Hall 8. The table is significantly smaller in size, so as the bulletin board and the shelf which is usually placed on top of the table has become a movable one with relatively low clearance. My books are lying horizontally on the shelf because there is no space for them to be placed upright. A problem with North Hill rooms are their soundproofing system. The rooms are so close to each other my roommate and I get a shock when we hear a laugh from our neighbor's rooms because we thought the laugh was in our own room instead. This is made worse by the ventilation louvres installed, which I realised was necessary as the room is often stuffier and warmer than the corridor. However, opening the ventilation door would mean absolute zero soundproofing and I do not like that. In addition, North Hill's location is madly inconvenient. Other than the absence of 179 which runs through half the school, it is far from the campus red bus stop, which is all the way at Grad Hall 1/2. Although campus blue is right at our doorstep, it is inconvenient to leave North Hill halls after the last bus. Suppers at extension sound like a dream. I may be moving out next year. Consider your options carefully before choosing the hall that you want.