<p>I'm new to CC (really enjoying getting acquainted with all the good info). Here's my question: D is HS Junior, 4.2 GPA, 99th pcntile PSAT (hasn't taken ACT/SAT yet), AP, dual-credit, and honors courses, lots of community service, and well liked at her small Cath college-prep HS. Wants to stay in upper Midwest (within 3-4 hrs of Chicago). Unsure of major, but interested/talented in Music (vocal performance), English, French. Looking at schools like Lawrence, Illinois Wesleyan, Hillsdale, Knox, Ripon, etc. She very much wants to have her own room at college. Enjoys time with friends, but has different life-style from most teens. Needs 8 hrs of sleep, likes to go to bed early/get up early, enjoys fair amount of solitude, needs quiet to study, and doesn't want to have to go elsewhere (library) for peace & quiet. After she narrows her choices down to top 2 or 3, this could potentially be deal-breaker for her. Any thoughts on 1) how prevalent are single rooms these days? 2) what is likelihood of freshman getting a single? 3)any info about single-room-situation at these particular schools? 4) any other schools you think meet her situation/needs? 5) is this appropriate to ask about during her interviews with admissions officers during campus visits? Thanks very much for any thoughts!</p>
<p>Look into St. Olaf and call or email the housing divisions of all the schools she is considering. I wish all dorm rooms were singles (it’s the norm elsewhere in the world), but since it’s so rare here, this will be one easy way to narrow her college list.</p>
<p>It is completely appropriate for her to ask about it in her interviews. Likelihood is probably low everywhere, but in some schools it may be completely impossible and in others it may be at least within the realm of imagination. Usually in schools with many singles they tend to get snapped up by upperclassmembers, but not always.</p>
<p>The University of Chicago is one of the only places I know of where single rooms are sufficiently prevalent that it’s almost certain that any freshman who wants one will get one. This is something that was very important to my son, and was certainly a factor in Chicago being his first choice.</p>
<p>She might want to look at St. Norbert College (Green Bay, WI)
You can pay extra $500 (“buyout”) to reduce room capacity–from a double to single, for example.
Just call the housing dept. of each school and ask if singles are available and at what cost.</p>
<p>It varies from college to college and also varies in that some colleges “reserve” the singles for upperclass. It is a good question to ask as she begins her college search if, in fact, it is a deal breaker. She can ask in communication with admissions or certainly e-mail the housing department at each college as someone suggested.</p>
<p>Very unusual at most schools for freshman to get singles. I know that Cornell (NY) has them.</p>
<p>You can check on websites…search for “Residence Halls” or “Domitories”. Here’s the info. for Lawrence:</p>
<p>“Lawrence students have many options for housing. First year students are housed in double rooms in the major residence halls. Upperclass students then choose their own housing in the lottery in the spring of each year.”</p>
<p>[Housing</a> Options - Lawrence University](<a href=“http://www.lawrence.edu/dept/student_dean/reslife/selection/chapter1.shtml]Housing”>http://www.lawrence.edu/dept/student_dean/reslife/selection/chapter1.shtml)</p>
<p>It would be OK to ask about during college tours. It is likely also a question that could be asked over the phone to the housing office, without having to leave a name.</p>
<p>It is appropriate to ask about during interviews, but I would be careful. To me it might indicate someone who is either spoiled or anti-social. That may not be the case…but…I would find it to be one of those “red flag” interview questions for certain campus cultures. The wording is key…rather than saying “I really need a single, do any freshman live in singles?”, it would be better to say “Do most freshman live in doubles or triples? Do any live in singles?”</p>
<p>The University of Pittsburgh has an entire tower of singles, and my daughter requested one for sophomore year (and enjoyed it a lot). She said there were also freshmen living there, but I don’t know if it could be guaranteed your daughter would get one her first year.</p>
<p>My son had a single freshman year at Penn. It literally used to be a janitorial closet and was almost impossibly small. He liked the privacy, but it still didn’t keep out the all night long noise from the hall/other rooms. Dorm situations can be tough for kids who need sleep and don’t want to stay up until 2am. Most kids didn’t have class until 10 or noon, and there was noise all night long. It was a problem. There were a number of singles- you were NOT guaranteed one, but you could make the request.</p>
<p>I love the idea that “it’s the norm elsewhere in the world.” In many countries, university students live at home; I’ve seen pictures of dormitory rooms at top universities in China that are less “luxurious” than homeless shelters in this country.</p>
<p>^ True, the real norm is living at home, even if it means traveling several hours each day to school and back. Dorms are mostly for students from abroad. But I am familiar with dorm rooms in France, China, and Japan and have never seen anything but singles.</p>
<p>Call each school. My yongest DS’s school, Dartmouth, had to give singles to kids who requested roommates his freshmen year because they ran out of doubles.</p>
<p>I don’t know about the availability of singles but I will say that my D who is a college freshman is much like you describe yours. Was an only when older bro went off to college, used to a lot of time by herself due to parents owning their own business…
loves her solitude, early to bed, etc.<br>
She has had to adjust and has done just fine. She and roommate are not besties but get along like sisters…she is used to getting up while roomie is sleeping, going to bed first, etc. It’s all part of the college experience. If a single is a deal breaker for her she may be seriously limiting her options.</p>
<p>Please forgive me for being crude, but my first college roomate said:</p>
<p>If college dorm rooms were all singles, the rooms would always be half empty.</p>
<p>Think about it.</p>
<p>I know a lot of freshman at Beloit College, in Wisconsin that have singles.</p>
<p>Cornell’s largest dorm is full of singles for freshman - will she go that far??</p>
<p>Smith College has a high proportion of singles; first-years should ask for rooms in the Quad. In Northampton, MA…3-4 hours by plane. :)</p>
<p>Illinois Wesleyan does have singles, and at least some available for freshmen. It is one of the school’s my D is looking at so we’ve looked at the dorm options.</p>
<p>You should keep in mind though that with most (maybe all) schools, you won’t know your housing situation until well after you turn in your deposit. I know at Smith for example, you don’t get your housing assignment until mid to late July. So she’ll have to pick some school where at least having a single is a possibility and then just hope for the best, but there will be no garauntee.</p>
<p>Another thing your daughter might want to keep in mind is the material of the walls. If the singles have cinder block walls it is likely that she will able to hear just about everything that happens next door and in the hall. </p>
<p>To your daughter: ear plugs are your friend.</p>