<p>I have a HS sophomore son who has always been interested in becoming an engineer (leaning toward mechanical). He has some issues (ADHD, dysgraphia) but does very well in school and I would imagine will be competitive for most schools except the really tippy-top schools like MIT. He's also VERY introverted. When we visited engineering schools with his big brother, I wasn't taking careful notes, but my recollection was that a number of them put freshmen in QUADS! I really think this son would do best in a single. So I am wondering if anyone can suggest schools with strong engineering programs where a freshman can get a single room and this isn't a weird or socially isolating thing. (His brother ended up at Cornell where this is the case. Chances of him wanting to go to the same school as his brother, even with only 1 year of overlap are slim.) Our preference is for schools in the northeast and schools that offer good merit money for strong stats are especially of interest. </p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>This may be a bit off topic but if you have not yet done so, you might want to send your son to an Engineering summer camp at one of the big Engineering schools. This will give him 1-3 weeks of living in a dorm and sharing a room. You might find, after this, that he will be okay going to a school he loves and sharing a room, or you might find that having a single will the a critical factor in your decision.
We homeschooled our youngest for quite some time (youngest of 3) and he had some issues with interaction (he was worse off IN school!) and ADHD. We also have another with ADD. Between week long scout camps and a summer camp at a University I have been suprised to find that sharing a room is not as hard as I thought it would be. But both will need colleges close enough to home where they can come re-group once in awhile!</p>
<p>Hope this helps.
T</p>
<p>It’s a good suggestion Taben. He does go to overnight camp every summer and shares a “room” with 15 or so other boys. He loves camp, but being able to do it for a month in the summer is different than being able to do it all year and keep up on schoolwork, etc. An engineering summer program would be a better proxy, to be sure, but still it’s only for a few weeks. </p>
<p>I wouldn’t say that the ability to have a single will necessarily (at this point) be a deciding factor, but I think it certainly will be a factor in his comfort level.</p>
<p>I’ve heard many good things about this Engineering camp at Rose Hulman
[Rose-Hulman</a> Institute of Technology](<a href=“404 | Rose-Hulman”>Operation Catapult | Rose-Hulman)</p>
<p>If you go there, they credit you the cost of camp. (Or maybe 4x, ie every year). DH and I are both engineers, and we never heard of RH until I started researching for DS… then I ran into it a lot.</p>
<p>Thanks for the summer program pointer, colorado_mom. </p>
<p>Do you know if they actually do have residence halls with single rooms for freshmen? It didn’t look like it from the website. Or were you just recommending it as a summer program?</p>
<p>I was recommending the RH summer camp. I never did get DS interested in Terre Haute, IN. But it sounded like a neat school, and they offer merit scholarships.</p>
<p>I have an LD, and had an IEP for part of HS…I was able to overcome it and all the struggles that came with it. I never had many friends in HS, and certainly not in Grade School and I was dreading living with someone in college. It turns out living with a roommate was one of the greatest things to ever happen to me, I made a good friend and through him I have been converted to a very social person with many friends. I guess, what Im saying is that having a roommate is a unique life experience that for me at least has been a blessing.</p>
<p>Of course you know your child better then I do, so really that is a decision for you two to make. Another option would be to find a college with special learning communities, such as an “alcohol free community”…generally the roommates your son might end up with there would be much calmer and less intimidating then in a normal residence community.</p>
<p>It’s really the introversion that’s the issue. An introvert needs time alone to recharge, and if he doesn’t have that in his room, he may avoid other “more draining” social situations which could end up isolating him more than if he has a single, and then goes out and socializes when he’s up for it, knowing that he can ultimately get back to his room and have some “alone time” later.</p>
<p>Something like a suite with private bedrooms could be perfect.</p>
<p>Off the top of my head, I know Ohio University has lots of single dorm rooms in their “South Green” Residence Halls, and to my knowledge they are not exclusively for upperclassmen. You might want to check that out as a starting point, but I really don’t know many colleges that offer Freshman singles.</p>
<p>When you tour more colleges, be on the lookout for alternate “alone time” areas. A library is quiet, but there are lots of people. Some dorms have single or double study room (and in my dorm eons ago, the double one was always empty… or perhaps had one person, usually me… my roommate had a steady boyfriend). Not as good as alone time in room, but it could be a decent compromise.</p>
<p>definitely will, colorado_mom, have been thinking about options like that</p>
<p>I also remembered that our on-campus apartment (for upperclassman) had 2 double bedrooms. But it also had a study room. You could call it a tiny room or call it a very large closet 
</p>
<p>My roommate still had the same boyfriend junior year, so I used the apartment study room a lot. (The happy ending is that the couple married shortly after graduations and is still very happily married 27 years later).</p>
<p>Interesting about the study rooms – I haven’t seen any small “single” study rooms before – only larger study “lounges” which are meant to be quiet, I guess, and may do in a pinch because if you’re not supposed to chat, you can turn “off” the social interaction stuff for a bit.</p>
<p>Good news - I remembered that the suite style dorms at Clarkson have singles.</p>
<p>Bad news - There are few, and they are by spring housing lottery (so sophomores/juniors/senior)
[Clarkson</a> University: Frequently Asked Questions](<a href=“http://www.clarkson.edu/residencelife/faq.html#9]Clarkson”>http://www.clarkson.edu/residencelife/faq.html#9)</p>
<p>I wonder if there are schools that ask about one’s introvert/extravert tendencies on the housing match forms. I can see how many introverts might enjoy having an extravert to facilitate some social situations, introduce them to more people etc., but I can also imagine it being a bit overwhelming in some cases.</p>
<p>Some colleges do say that they rely heavily on surveys for matching. The match factors I’ve heard about include sleep habits (night owl vs early bird), study habits (music vs quiet), and habits (messy vs neat etc), academics (like major vs not - sometimes that is accomplished via Engineering dorm). Not sure on extravert/introvert kind of things. </p>
<p>It does not always work as expected. My messy D admitted that on survey but ended up with neatnik roommate.</p>
<p>Because my D’s neatnick freshman roommate was so tolerant of D’s mess, my D was tolerant of her TV habit. It made studying tough, one of many reasons the engineering college didn’t work for her. So I’ve been thinking a single could have been better.</p>
<p>But recently the suicide at MIT gave me pause. Very few kids have problems of that magnitude. And a roommate probably would not prevent disaster in that case. But looking back it seems like having a double with “bathroom down the hall” was a good thing socially for my very shy D. It got her out of her room a lot.</p>
<p>A new idea - maybe warmer climates are good for kids that need “space”? If weather was usually nice, they could have outside place of refuge. Also, it would encourage walking / biking… and exercise can be a good thing or ADHD and perhaps other issues too.</p>
<p>An interesting idea about school in a nicer climate. Not sure how that squares against being closer to home…</p>
<p>Alas mathmomvt… for your kid warm climate and close-to-home are mutually exclusive Assuming vt = Vermont. </p>
<p>There may be other families from milder climates contemplating schools in Boston etc. My idea could give them food for thought. The fewer “cons” the better.</p>
<p>Indeed, Vermont is not “close” to anywhere “warm”. But yes, for others with similar issues, it’s worth thinking about. </p>
<p>Amusingly, my oldest son refused to go anywhere “too warm” for school. That included Philadelphia! He likes his winters snowy, and his summers mild. That left him plenty of options close to home ;-)</p>