<p>My d graduated in 2010 so she was a freshman in Fall 2006. She found out she was in a triple in July. There was no preference question about living in a triple or not at the time on the housing form but there was a place for those who wanted a voluntary triple because of discount (same situation at my other daughter’s college). The triple rooms in Gilbert were really adequate for three and would have been really large doubles. There was no other questions asked at all other than the smoking question, placement was totally random. No one on her floor was de-tripled during freshman year. She was not especially friendly with either of her roommates-three girls who had zero in common other than being female freshman at the U of R but had plenty of friends on her floor.</p>
<p>My daughter is a junior. On her forms freshman year, she was able to select that she preferred to be put in a triple. She wanted to save some money and thought with two roommates she would probably like at least one of the girls. She did get a triple and it was a wonderful experience for her. One of the girls is her best friend at the U of R. By the time they graduate, they will have lived together all four years. (triple as freshman, double as sophomores, apt with 4 other girls as juniors and 2 person apt as seniors). She is still extremely close friends with the other girl and with 10+ of the kids who were on their floor freshman year. In fact they have tended to live in the same area of campus throughout their time at U of R. I guess everyone’s experience is different. U of R in general has been wonderful for my daughter. It is hard to believe that in one short year we will be getting ready for her graduation.</p>
<p>Remember that students sometimes get assigned to floors they don’t want. My d was assigned to a “quiet floor” which she didn’t want, and hated it - no dorm bonding and few activities. (She did bond with the others who were involuntarily assigned to that floor.) But she loved her randomly assigned roommate, and they are still best friends after graduation.</p>
<p>In a similar vein, I remember checking the “co-ed hall” box, but found out a few weeks later that I was placed on a single sex hall. There are no guarantees with freshman housing unless you are an Early Decision student. I believe that ED students are placed in there first choice selection. I would definitely call Res Life to check, as policies can change.</p>
<p>If Gilbert is the hall with triples, should my ed student not choose that dorm and be more certain of not having a triple? I know the college is dealing with a situation they can’t control. But at 55k, having to put up with an uncomfortable overcrowded living situation the first year away from home would not be something I’d appreciate.</p>
<p>Gilbert has triples, but so do other dorms, including Sue B. And a RD student will not have the option of specifying a hall preference. I believe even ED students only get to choose Quad or Sue B.</p>
<p>Tripling, while a disappointment, isn’t the end of the world. </p>
<p>And it could be worse, one year (2006? 2007?) hall lounges were converted into 4-6 person rooms.</p>
<p>WayOutWestMom, while tripling may not be “the end of the world” your dorm room is supposed to be your safe haven, not the place you want to escape from because you feel so uncomfortable there.</p>
<p>Can we dial back the rhetoric here?</p>
<p>I will stipulate that a overflow trip is not ideal, inconvenient and a disappointment, but it doesn’t necessarily follow that it automatically becomes “a place you want to escape from.”</p>
<p>A living space like most things in life is what one makes of it.</p>
<p>Part of going to college is learning to make adjustments. You can live in a triple in Gilbert or another hall with wonderful roommates and floor mates or you can live in a double with the roommate from hell. There is no guarantees, learning to deal with others and make compromises is part of learning and growing. Ideally all should have wonderful living situations with great roommates but for many students at all colleges, that is just not the reality. Most people get by perfectly fine and for those with serious roommate problems, appeals can be made and adjustments do get made but that is not the common experience for most people. Some people become great friends with roommates, while most get along and are respectful of each other’s space.</p>
<p>And even a bad roommate becomes a story. One of mine would sleep for days, then shower and dress in a suit to bounce checks for food. He would bounce 20 or more checks a month. He managed to tear my desk off the wall by leaning on it while drunk and lost my high school class ring - which for unknowable reasons, he’d wear along with another’s roommate’s clothes. He would fall asleep in a chair wearing headphones with a record on full volume and the turntable on repeat. And he’d been specifically matched with the rest of us by a really great and thoughtful dean. He was in no way the worst I saw. One guy next door was expelled. A guy in the next entryway smelled so bad his roommates soaked him while asleep with foul smelling liquid just to get him to shower. </p>
<p>I can pretty much guarantee none of this will happen at UR. Schools don’t put up with that anymore. Each floor has an RA with a list of mandatory duties and checks - my kid will be one in the new upperclass dorm. The freshman have the D’lions as well. There are many more rules and the occasional safety inspection. The worst you’re likely to get is someone who has an opposite morning/late night schedule.</p>
<p>As is always the case, looking backwards at a situation for those of you who have been through this is not the same as being on “pre” side waiting for it happen. Those of us who are at the beginning of the process see asking about the dorm situation just the same as every other step we have explored in the college process. It is why most of us are on cc in the first place-- to find out the options.</p>
<p>My hope and expectation is that things will all work out and of course the entire college journey is a learning one, including roommates. I have stories to tell myself but don’t fault or make light of what one would want to know to avoid a situation. </p>
<p>This is no different than pre-finding out if you can avoid a less good teacher to class you have to take. And thanks for the input of the additional support in the dorms, Lergnom.</p>
<p>Could you please give me an idea about international students housing? Is there anything different?
What about males and females in dorms… Separate buildings or floors?
Thanks</p>
<p>International freshman students are paired with domestic US students as roommates. It’s school policy to do so to help international students assimilate into the larger student population.</p>
<p>Internationals have a special orientation in advance of regular freshman orientation to help them “learn the ropes” of the US higher education system and provide some insight into some the different cultural expectations they may need to deal with.</p>
<p>I believe that incoming internationals are also offered a set of American host parents who live nearby. (But I could be wrong about this…but I know it has been the case in the past.)</p>
<p>There are many cultural affiliation groups on campus who can also help provide a sense of home.</p>
<p>First of all, all freshman rooms are segregated by gender. Males will always have a male roommate; females a female roommate. </p>
<p>Dorms are all co-ed, with 2 different housing options:</p>
<p>1) co-ed by room. A hall will have both male and female rooms on a single hall, with a bathroom on each hall designated for use by each gender. (IOW, a male bathroom at one end of the hall and female bathroom at the other.) You must specidifcally request a co-ed by room hall and assignment to this option is not guaranteed.</p>
<p>2) co-ed by hall. All rooms on a hall will either all male or all female, with appropriately designated bathrooms. Male and female halls are be adjacent to each and on the same floor, usually separate by a turn of the hallway or a lounge.</p>
<p>So there’s no private bathrooms in dorms at all! This is so a negative point… </p>
<p>Thank you for the great pieces of information you offered.</p>
<p>No private baths in the freshman halls, AFAIK.</p>
<p>However, there are semi-private baths in the upperclass suite-based dorms. One bath for each suite–which usually has 4-6 bedrooms. The apartment-based dorms at Riverview have private baths for each bedroom.</p>
<p>The bathrooms for freshman are fine. You should bring a pair of flip-flops or bath sandals. </p>
<p>The freshman rooms at UR are larger than you’ll find at most schools. They are really big. You’ll get a bed, a dresser and a separate wardrobe and a desk with a hutch on top. Plenty of storage. Many, if not most kids raise their beds. They come with, I think, 3 settings. If you put it all the way up, you could stuff an entire locker under there. Some kids bunk their beds. You’ll find videos on line that show various room arrangements.</p>
<p>Thanks WayOutWestMom and Lergnom…
I think I’ll give it a shot and go for living on campus specially that I am international and this will keep me practicing english most of the day…
I believe there’s no students from Kuwait inside the University Of Rochester at all… It might be postive so that I build new friendships…</p>
<p>@Mai, if you’re a freshman, please know that ALL freshmen are required to live on campus. The only exception granted is for freshmen who will live at home with their parents. Sophomores are also required to live on campus.</p>
<p>If you’re a trasnfer students, please know that housing for transfer students is not guaranteed.</p>
<p>WayOutWestMom: it’s the first time for me to know this! I am a freshman…</p>
<p>There is a Muslim Students Association at UR. They have a website.</p>