<p>My son just found out his residence hall assignment for this fall 2013. He was placed in Clara Dickson in room 2519, which is a triple. This does not feel like an ideal situation, but he/I am trying to maintain a positive attitude and look at all situations as having positives and negatives. It just seems like too little space for 3 people to share, and that it will be easy to get on each others nerves. Also, a great majority of the building houses students in single rooms which means that the students in the triples are 'odd'. Can anyone offer any insights from your own experiences or from your friends'?</p>
<p>Well a pro is that a triple is $650 cheaper than a double and $1700 cheaper than a single. I had a double and I didn’t know anyone in a triple, but I can assure there will be no ostracisation solely on the basis of living in a triple. It may not be ideal or what he wanted, but it’s a great lesson in how sometimes things don’t work out the way you want, and it’s best to make the most of the situation. He’ll have two good friends on campus from the living experience. It’ll be great experience for him to get used to having roommates. It might be difficult to study in the dorm, but a lot of people find it difficult to study in their dorm anyway (regardless of single,double,triple). The great thing is Cornell is a huge place, so there are many places to study. If your son gets involved in many activities in Cornell, he would rarely be at the dorm anyway. There might be some privacy issues, but that is true with any roommate(s).</p>
<p>Would I choose a triple? No. Is it going to be a bad experience? Probably not. If everyone gets along and establishes boundaries, it should be a great experience and they’ll probably be happier than many people in doubles who hate their roommates. I think most people end up in doubles than singles since I don’t think there are twice as many singles as doubles. In terms of space, most dorms aren’t particularly spacious anyway. It may encourage your son to venture out of his room more than he otherwise might, but that’s probably not a bad thing either…</p>
<p>“This does not feel like an ideal situation, but he/I am trying to maintain a positive attitude and look at all situations as having positives and negatives. It just seems like too little space for 3 people to share, and that it will be easy to get on each others nerves.”</p>
<p>Time to step back. He’s not a special case. He’ll do fine. And even if not, they will be learning experiences. And guys are generally very different than women – usually have a higher threshold of “getting on nerves”. Step back. Don’t color his impression of things. It’ll be fine.</p>
<p>Just get ready for when he mistakenly refers to his dorm room as “home” when at your house for Thanksgiving Break. Please forgive him in advance. It’s gonna happen. GL to you, ticki.</p>
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<p>…great advice. Your attitude towards the situation will have a big impact on his. My D was in a triple in one of the High Rises (by her accounts the least attractive of all dorm assignments) her freshman year. We consistently responded to her initial complaining that “everything would be fine”, and for the most part it turned out to be just that.</p>
<p>I lived in Dickson about a million year ago so this info might be dated. The triples when I was there were NOT converted doubles (which are very cramped for space) but converted lounges at the corners of the hallways and were actually very big. Not sure if that is still the case for all Dickson triples.</p>
<p>tickytavi,</p>
<p>looks like our sons will be getting to know each other as my son will be in 2517. In fact, he said he had hooked up through Facebook with someone from 2519. May have been your son. My son took getting a triple in stride, it was me that was a little more worried about it. The triples do look pretty good size compared to doubles, so there should be enough room. </p>
<p>I am sure we will be meeting on 8/23. Where are you folks from? We are in MD in the DC suburbs.</p>
<p>He’ll be fine. I had friends in Dickson triples that weren’t close with their roommates and still liked living there. Any room they make a triple is fairly large and shouldn’t feel much, if any, more cramped than a standard double.</p>
<p>My daughter’s best friend was in a triple and it worked out fine for her. If your son wants a different room, he could contact Housing. There maybe some students who wouldn’t mind getting out of single into a triple - believe it or not, a lot of students are put in single even tho it is not their preference. As mentioned by others, it would mean higher cost.</p>