Skip to main content

Housing & Residential Life

Just About Music (JAM)

brick residential building on cornell campus

 

Low Rise 9, home to the Just About Music (JAM) Program House, is a vibrant residential community, providing a welcoming home for students whose interests range from performing and songwriting to music production, listening, and exploring the role of music in everyday life. Residents come from a wide variety of academic disciplines, not just music majors. What unites them is a shared enthusiasm for music, creativity, and collaboration.  

Living in Low Rise 9 gives students the opportunity to deepen their connection to music, develop leadership and event-planning skills, express themselves creatively, and form lasting relationships with peers who share their interests. Whether performing on stage, recording original work, attending community events, or simply discovering new music with friends, residents help create a welcoming and dynamic community that feels like home. 

More About Just About Music (JAM)

Opened in 1970 as part of Cornell's North Campus residential expansion, the building remains officially known as Low Rise 9, though it has been closely associated with JAM since the program house was established there in 2000. As a Program House, JAM offers students the opportunity to build friendships and community through common interests while contributing their own talents, perspectives, and ideas.

Residents enjoy access to unique resources, including a concert stage with professional sound and lighting, a recording studio, a 24-hour piano and practice room, and shared instruments. Community traditions such as monthly Open Mic nights, listening parties, social events, craft nights, and student-led programs create opportunities for students to perform, collaborate, and showcase their creativity. At the same time, established quiet hours and dedicated study spaces help maintain a balanced environment that supports both artistic pursuits and academic success.

JAM is an ideal fit for students who want to live in a community built around a common passion while still enjoying the energy and opportunities of the broader North Campus experience.  

"Everything is very close by in JAM, and the rooms themselves are pleasant with high ceilings, updated light fixtures, and an entire studio dedicated for music." — Mayisa R. 

Community Features

  • Open to first-year, transfer, and upper-level students
  • 166 residents
  • Located on North Campus, near Robert Purcell Community Center and Appel Commons
  • Social lounges and a study lounge; TVs are in the main lounge and the Unit 2 lounge
  • Basement-level laundry facilities
  • A concert stage, recording studio, and practice rooms
  • Bike storage room
  • A ping pong table
  • A foosball table
  • Corridor-style with bedrooms directly off a hallway.
  • There are communal bathrooms shared by a varying number of residents of the area.
  • Each group of rooms includes one double, one triple, two singles and a shared bathroom. Room groups are single gender; floors are mixed gender. Please visit Residence Hall Configurations for more detail.
  • Single and double bedrooms contain, for each occupant: an extra-long twin bed, a closet and a dresser, a desk and desk chair, and a wastebasket
  • Triple and quad bedrooms contain, for each occupant: an extra-long twin bed (lofted and bunked), a space-saving wardrobe/dresser combination, a desk and desk chair, a wastebasket, and floor carpeting
  • Wireless Internet access

JAM rooms do not have air conditioning.

Housing Population Type

Faculty Involvement

JAM has several Faculty and Community Fellows that provide students with opportunities to explore and cultivate their academic, intellectual, and cultural interests. You will find them attending events in your building, dining with students, and leading on and off campus trips to lectures, plays, films, concerts, and regional points of interest. 

Helpful Information and Important Links

Below are resources and guidelines to support your residential experience at Cornell University. Please review the tabs below and bookmark these pages to apply for housing, browse through meal plan options, find mail and package information, and explore the JAM community pages in CampusGroups.

Just About Music Contact Information 

Just About Music, Ithaca, NY 14850, USA

For more information about JAM, email just_about_music@cornell.edu or call (607) 255-4645.

Mail and Packages

Your mailing address:
Your Name, NETID
107 Robert Purcell
Room Number, Building
Cornell University
Ithaca, NY 14853

Visit the Service Center website for student mail and package information.

How to Apply 

 Rising junior and rising senior students may select to live in a program house as part of the fall Housing Selection process while rising sophomores can select during their General Room Selection process in the spring. New students can indicate their preference to live in a program house on their New Student Housing Application.

*Please note in some years when housing space is limited and there are available spaces in the Just About Music (JAM) residence hall, some students who did not preference housing in JAM may be placed there. While the JAM community is intended for all students who share in a passion or appreciation for music, all students of all identities and interests are welcome. Regardless of their housing preference, all students residing in JAM will have the opportunity to connect with each other, build community, and grow. Finally, given the theme of JAM, all residents are expected to be thoughtful of the intention of the space and engage with every student in a respectful and open-minded manner. 

Dining Options