That might sound like a meaningless question, but I’m wondering if it’s big enough to fit my studio monitors. They’re basically a pair of large speakers, each speaker is ~20-30cm tall and 10+cm wide/long. It’s the type of speakers that have 2 circles on it (they’re called woofer and tweeter). I obviously won’t be able to find the ideal studio dimensions in any dorm room (my bedroom doesn’t have it either anyway), but I want to know if I’ll at least be able to fit them on the desk. They also have some cables and cords for connection, and I don’t have an audio interface right now but I might have one by next fall which also takes up desk space (that’s about the size of a textbook). I know with college workload I won’t be able to produce music often or on a regular basis, but I prefer to have everything set up at all times.
Also how much space will I get in general?
Entirely dependent on the school, with many schools having rooms, and possibly desks, of varying dimensions. Have you tried googling “college dorm desk size”? That gives me a bunch of images with measurements for various setups.
Check the housing websites of your colleges. Most will have a floor plan with room and furniture dimensions. Even if the desk isn’t very large, the furniture is often made so it can be placed side-by-side to make a longer work surface. I think my son has a set of drawers, the desk, and another storage unit all lined up which makes a long, continuous work surface. He’s got a large monitor on a stand in addition to his laptop.
The standard is 30" high.The length and width vary, but somewhere around 42 X 24 is common. But really, worry about this after you actually get accepted,and then you can ask the residential life office.
@skieurope Yeah of course, I was just wondering if there was a generic average size or something that majority of dorms have.
Varies school to school and sometimes even dorm to dorm. My daughter had a very nice sized desk with a large shelf. Something to worry about after acceptances.
As an international student, I would think you would worry first about being accepted.
Sometimes, dorms are assigned with 2-3 people. Those dorm-mates may not want their shared room to become a production studio. You need to be considerate. I don’t know what your expectation is for dorm room sizes but it is typically not a large room. All 3 of my children’s dorm set-ups were very different. Rooms were small in 2/3 of my children’s housing such that they spent most of their time out of the dorm room (used mostly just to sleep).
Son’s desk is underneath his bunk in a small room with one small window.
Middle daughter’s triple was a tiny room and had a small desk with barely enough room for a computer and a lamp.
Elder daughter’s single had a small desk at one level, built-in dresser, and a large closet.
If you get accepted, how will you lug all of these items on a plane?
Agree with the above comments. I would not count on being able to produce music in your dorm room.
My kid’s desk is 48 x 24. His 32’ monitor takes up about 2/3 of the length of his desk, so if he had 10 cm wide speakers on either side, they would fit fine.
My freshman daughter is in a two bedroom suite with two people per room. Sounds big but the bedrooms are too small for desks. The two bedrooms aren’t even the same size as each other. The common area has an entrance way with a small area with a fridge and microwave then 4 desks in a square type arrangement with barely enough room for walking. Rooms aren’t necessarily sound proof so even if roommates are okay other people might complain. It is probably best if you focus on acceptance then once you know where your living speak to residential life for your building. You can tour 5 different colleges and quickly realize there is no standard for college dorm room size or desk size.
Check out the music department at the colleges/universities on your list. They may have production space and equipment that you can reserve (it was free when I went to school but that was 20 years ago.) The availability of this equipment/space could even be a factor that helps you to make your admission decision. Echoing what others have said, even if you have room on your desk, it is not practical to do that in a dorm room. You’ll annoy a lot of people.
As others said, it will vary. Even within one university, it might vary from one dorm to another. For example, at my university, some residential areas had desks, other dorms didn’t have them at all. In one area, the desks were large, in another, quite small. There is no average, no general, and no way to assume or know until you decide which unis you’ll apply to.
And even if you find out the standard for the university (if there is one), some rooms end up being tripled and all of a sudden there are bunk beds and far less personal space for everyone. Honestly, this should be the least of your concerns at this point.
Well I just thought it wouldn’t hurt to ask in this forum bc I’m buying some monitors soon and wanted to know if there was a general size I shouldn’t surpass…
After all that was said above, you still intend to
You aren’t considering the fact that you may not get admitted to any schools??? It happens.
You are asking, as an international student, for financial aid, so that minimizes your chances and acceptances.
You appear to have enough money to buy multiple monitors, yet many US students can’t afford one monitor.
Starting on the wrong foot, by assuming that your roommates won’t mind your multiple monitors, given the light and the sounds that are emitted, is really an inconsiderate step on your part.
Reread the above comments: rooms are typically full and cramped. You won’t be able to set up your production studio without creating a problem with roommates and floormates.
How would you even get them there if you are an international student? Do you think your roommates will be down with loud music playing on them?
And on another thread, you’re buying a new laptop, one that is not at the opening pricepoint.
http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/college-computers/2111246-is-this-good-enough-laptop-spec-for-engineering.html#latest
There seems to be a lot of income for luxury items from someone who needs full FA.
I’m reminded of a song from my youth - “One of These Things”:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsRjQDrDnY8
I think you fail to appreciate:
– Money for college should be your only priority. IF you are fortunate enough to get a full ride to a US college as an international student you should be saving all you can right now. Even a full ride scholarship does not take into account a number of incidentals (ex. travel, books, medical insurance, spending money to name a few) which can add up quickly. Now is not the time to splurge on luxury items.
– Dorms are a shared space with a lot of people living together in close quarters. Think twice (or even three or four times) before bringing any large and potentially loud items such as monitors into that space.
–The focus of your attention should be on getting into an affordable college, not on monitors.
I think the OP is just excited about college and trying to make some plans. The question was about desk size. I’ve seen guys cram all kinds of gaming equipment into the dorm, BUT I would hold off on any large purchases, OP, until you move in. It’s not just the desk space but availability of power outlets. You may only get one, and it may be halfway around the room!
@chercheur ^ yeah that’s exactly what I had in mind when I posted this. I don’t post on CC about EVERY aspect of my situation, no one should be able to say some things like that from knowing just what I post here. Thanks for being the one person who actually understands the point of my question and not bashing my excitements.