<p>My son just showed me his apartment for next year. It's the worst apartment I've ever seen. I contacted the campus housing office to verify that it was to be renovated this summer, which is something my son had heard. Unfortunately, it's not on the list. Is it too much to expect kitchen countertops and closet doors? The countertops are peeling off. The housing office tells me that the doors fall off closets, but the kids have never had an issue with it. On top of the damage, it infuriates me to know we will be paying more than the going rate for an apartment in this town because of university rules</p>
<p>Take pictures. You never know, but they may hold you son and rommates responsible for those damages.</p>
<p>From what you’ve posted elsewhere about your S’s dorm this past semester, it seems that there are many very destructive students at the college, and I’m not surprised that the college doesn’t have the time to do all of the extensive repairs that are required each year.</p>
<p>What college is this?</p>
<p>" They already replaced one set of horizontal mini-blinds, but he claimed they were broken when he moved in. I don’t remember that being the case when we moved him in. His towel bar is bent. A wooden slat is falling off a piece of furniture. There is a dent on his wall from a door knob. Just last night someone spray painted on the outside of his dorm. He guestimates that 5 exit signs have been broken on his dorm wing. At least 4 steps have had the treads peeled off. A security camera lens has a big crack through the middle of it. An exit door had half of the handle broken off. He told me that someone took all the furniture from the common areas and put it in the stairwell this week, blocking the doorways to the stairs, and almost causing him be late for a final exam. What a bunch of animals!"</p>
<p>Northstarmom, I guess you’re right. I’m sure we’ll be paying for damages in the dorm, but I know they’ll fix the damages. Actually, the dorms are (were) very nice, as far as dorms go. These apartments are another story. They were built in the early 20’s and still have the original cupboards. (I know, as my house was built in '27) Linoleum appears to be from the 70’s. The kitchen eating area is now a bedroom, forcing residents to walk to the living room at the other end of the apartment, where the table is located. My son’s group of 5 boys were drawn at the end of the lottery.</p>
<p>Adding to the university’s financial problems this year, was a bad case of bed bugs. I think to the tune of $200,000. At least his room wasn’t affected.</p>
<p>Why can’t he live off campus?</p>
<p>I remember that your S has high grades. He may wish to start a movement at his college that advocates for a lottery system based on GPA. That way, the best accommodations would go to the students with the highest gpa, and those students also are likely to be more responsible than are students who are carousing their way through college. The college also could establish a rule in which students with disciplinary violations can’t live in the best accommodations. </p>
<p>This system is how things are done at my S’s college, and his campus apartment – the best accommodations on campus – was excellent and in perfect repair because the animal house types were forced to live elsewhere.</p>
<p>My daughter’s college does the lotter by credits earned and GPA. She just finished her freshman year - she and her roommates all have great grades and came to college with credits. They are one of few sophomores that will be living in very nice apartments next spring.</p>
<p>toledo - I would be furious. I think you should take pictures and take them all the way up the chain of command.</p>
<p>This university requires freshmen and sophomores to live on campus. Northstarmom…I like the way your son’s campus housing is determined. Maybe my son could go door-to-door in his rundown apartment building, collecting signatures from all the 3.0+ students that are stuck there. At least it could help future students.</p>
<p>“I think you should take pictures and take them all the way up the chain of command.”</p>
<p>I also think that the students should do this. It’s not right that they have to pay for substandard accommodations.</p>
<p>Northstarmom - I agree the students should do this - first. They need to get some backbone and learn how to stick up for themselves.
The parents can hopefully then, give some advice and encouragement if they get stonewalled.</p>
<p>You say that the housing office said that the kids have never had an issue with the fact that the closet doors fell off. Maybe if the kids HAD an issue with it, and raised it and complained about it and went with pictures of their crummy countertops (how safe is food preparation on a peeling countertop?) and broken doors and asked for repairs, something would be done. The squeaky wheel gets the grease, after all. It’s certainly worth a try.</p>
<p>Actually, my son hasn’t said a thing about his “new” apartment. I think he’s just happy at the thought of moving into his first apartment with a group of guys that he likes. Maybe it’s a “guy” thing versus a “mom” thing. I feel a little guilty about pointing out the problems, but I’m paying the bill there, plus I’ve seen a few more apartments in my lifetime.</p>
<p>Thank you all for the suggestion of taking pictures. I think that the problem gets worse when kids see broken/run down rooms, and see no incentive to keep in good condition. </p>
<p>Many colleges do have seperate dorms for honors students. One of my co-workers children was accepted into the Honors program and dorm at a SUNY, doesnt want to stay in Honors dorm, and he is hysterical.</p>
<p>Easier–go to the local TV news in the area and have them involved.
I would do that in a heartbeat.</p>
<p>Have you seen a just graduated student’s first apartment in NYC? Too many kids in too little space shared with cockroaches, one or two kids using the living room as a bedroom, maybe a bathtub in the kitchen or a refrigerator in the living room or closet because the kitchen is too small? Forget about air conditioning, besides it would be too expensive to run the air anyway. Oh yes, all this for, oh I don’t know, $2000 or $3000 a month each tenant?</p>
<p>This college apartment might be the nicest living space he’ll have for 5 or 6 years!</p>
<p>Thaaat’s college housing for you. You’ll be paying through the nose for a 10x10 shared cinder block, or something similar.</p>
<p>At my college the problem of oldness/disrepair is more of an off-campus thing (because demand for off campus housing is so high - not enough dorm beds - most landlords see no financial incentive to keep their houses in nice upkeep; and as long as you can’t die from anything, the city can’t get involved cuz of ugly countertops/etc.). </p>
<p>I would say if the closet doors are falling off, or there is any other item of DISREPAIR in the dorm, this must be fixed!! Certainly make note of it so they don’t charge YOU for the damage, but the college must have a work force that comes in to fix broken doors/leaky faucets/etc. A door going un-repaired is unacceptable.</p>
<p>But, alas, chances are there’s nothing you can do about the crappy layout and ugliness.</p>
<p>As far as the GPA-lottery thing, seems to be problematic to me. A student who is really challenging himself might have a lower GPA rather than one who picks courses to breeze through - yet this student challenging himself gets a lower housing number? At my school they DO deduct “lottery” points for such things as damaging a dorm, noise violations, alcohol violations, etc. But unfortunately even that doesn’t prevent some good kids from getting crappy dorms…such is college life.</p>