I was in a forced triple way back in 1981. They are nothing new. Ironically none of my kids was ever in a forced triple. Just depends on the school. It’s not ideal but in my opinion there are other things about a college that are more important for most students. That said, for certain kids I can understand that it might be a deal breaker. My middle child would have had great difficulty in a forced triple.
The adage goes “Two’s company, three’s a crowd.” I know my kid - she’s focused (STEM major), needs her space (and sleep), doesn’t drink/party. A living arrangement that throws a potential wrench into the situation is a concern, especially given the overall cost of an undergrad degree. In the final analysis, I know kids are adaptable, but I don’t see triples or quads as optimal living arrangements for a freshman.
^ I could have said the exact same thing.
My oldest D is very structured and regimented. She needs a lot of sleep and likes her alone time. She was put into a forced triple her freshmen year. It was probably the best thing that could have happened to her. She was forced to relax her regimented ways and learned to be flexible and compromise. She had a good year with her roommates. It also made her really appreciate the single she had as a sophomore.
Marcie123 - I find it ironic that your daughter opted for a single as a sophomore if the freshman triple was such a life-changing experience for the better 
@ChillDad I don’t find it ironic. She wouldn’t have opted for a triple but made it work. She happily chose a single when she had a choice.
My D has a roommate this year and it is going well…but if given a choice would definately want a single next year. Just because someone makes the best out of a situation doesn’t mean it was really the ideal situation for them.
My only child who is in a forced quad said she loves having roommates so much that she is not going for a single. She’d prefer a double but is open to a triple or another quad. And her preferred roommate is going to be an RA so she doesn’t even know who she’ll be living with.
My 2nd kid is in a forced triple. 33% of freshman in his class are. Honestly, if I knew this in advance, I would have discouraged applying. But my kid is ok with it.
Literally, all 3 cannot be working at their desks at the same time. 1 lofted bed and 1 bunked. Not a big enough space to loft all 3.
The sickness level this month through the dorm is ridiculous.
I was in a double and never remember two of us studying at the build in desks at the same time. I don’t remember us studying that much in the room at all. Same for my daughter in a double. My daughter in a single may have sat at her desk a few times, but she had required study tables in the school library for many hours per week so did most of her work there, or at other places (on a bed, at her boyfriend’s house, in a study group)
I think a group of singles around a group sitting room is the best. Everyone gets a small cell to call his/her own but a little extra room to talk to roommates or have a friend over.
I am also a believer in offices at work. I hate cubicle land - no private phone conversations, too many interruptions by people just stopping by the open cubes. When I’m king, everyone is getting an office with a door that closes, even if it is a closet.
When we first toured D’s school, we saw a forced quad in the freshman dorm. I was horrified; it was claustrophobic (to me). The prospect of a quad did not seem to concern my kid a bit. As it turned out, the majority of freshman rooms were triples… and she didn’t know her roommates before she got there… they were all 3 very different and they all got along just fine… she had a great freshman year and is in a double now. (She has also become a minimalist and packs light these days when we travel!) She assures me that these concerns are, in general, much more of an issue for parents than for students.
@chilldad verbatim - that is my stance. It is a deal breaker.
A forced triple might indeed triple the problems one of my children is having with a suitemate- thankfully not a roommate. Close quarters made to feel that much smaller by being rather crowded would stress me terribly, as I pick up on my kid’s stress.
My eldest actually checked the box for being placed in a double, then a triple, and selected a single only as a last option. To our disappointment, he was placed in a single his first year. We felt it allowed him to become more comfortable with being insular and “in his head”,
Update on my daughter - she and all three other roommates are opting to live together next year. They are trying for a true suite but their back up is their existing room (a converted triple). Being together is more important than the space. DD has friends in traditional doubles who are having major roommate woes. IMO, it’s about the kids, not the space.
Forced triples are nothing new. Back in my day (80s/90s), they called these “converted triples”. We also had many converted quads, where they put two bunk beds in what were double rooms. My impression is that housing and food are much better today than they were a generation ago. People now complain about the lack of A/c but I recall sweltering in Chicago in concrete dorms and being forced to live in “coffin singles”. We just took it in stride. I also recall eating “mystery meat” and “fish pizza” where they put tomato sauce on day-only fish cutlets.
Worst tour we had was a forced triple with three beds, two dressers, two desks, two closets. (Everything about that room left me suspicious about that school, not one that generally shows up on CC.) My kids both had 4 in set-ups originally built for two (bedroom and common room.) They each firgured it out with their roommates in the ways that worked for them. Not a lot of colleges have all perfect rooms for all kids.
@exlibris97 : " I also recall eating “mystery meat” and “fish pizza” where they put tomato sauce on day-only fish
cutlets."
Ugh. Don’t take me back, please. Now that’s got to be the start of another thread!
Went on a tour of UVM this weekend and the tour guide told us that UVM has no forced triples. By law in Vermont they are required to have a certain amount of square feet per student, so triples are always larger. Just thought that was interesting after reading this thread.