Amherst allows it after freshman year (you can’t pick a roommate frosh year at all), but there is some kind of statement about the inadvisability of moving in with a significant other.
@NEPatsGirl, heck, yes! I agree with you. I really don’t want to know about the hike she took alone in a foreign country, or the party where some of the guests were lighting shots of alcohol on fire IN THEIR MOUTHS. No, thanks. Just tell me later that you went to a wild party and are now home safely.
I don’t understand how this is acceptable. But then, there is a lot I don’t even want to think about today.
I now see why my mom said that she would never want to grow up in my day. I feel the same way now.
Our college just adopted it this year
It’s acceptable because college students are adults and adults get to choose who they live with. It’s one of the perks of adulthood. (For most people. Of course there are lots of exceptions for lots of reasons.)
My uni didn’t have gender neutral housing when I was there (or maybe they did towards the end- I don’t remember) but my then-bf essentially moved into our room because my roommate was generally MIA.
If I had the choice, I would’ve chosen to live with men in a heartbeat. Both during and after college (even now that I’m married) I’ve had both male and female roommates. I have had bad experiences with both but living with males has always brought WAY less drama into my life.
I think students should be able to pick whether or not they want to live with men, women, or either. I (personally) think the whole same-sex by default model is kind of dumb. Everyone should be able to choose.
ETA: If a parent is paying for housing then sure, they get a say. But just remember that not all of us had that and our choices shouldn’t be limited.
This is so foreign to me…what about hanging around your bed in your pjs watching chick flicks, eating ice cream,crying over the broken relationships? And yes, this does happen; in fact, D had a sleepover with her best friends just this past week and watched Disney movies, ate ice cream, and chatted up a storm about all the cute boys at their different colleges. And these are all high-achieving students at good schools, nerds YES, but not out of tune with “today”.
Young women who want to sit around in PJ’s with their female friends and watch chick flicks can choose living arrangements conducive to that.
I don’t think I’ve ever done that sort of thing. And I found I liked coed floors better (no coed rooms at my school) largely because most people on the all female floors were into stuff like that so I didn’t click with as many of them.
But the thing is, @NEPatsGirl, they can still do it. No one is being forced to live with the opposite gender. It’s just a choice for those who want to go that route. It’s not taking choices away from anyone, just giving more options to everyone in an effort to make sure everyone is comfortable and has their best needs met. Dorms are already coed at the vast majority of college campuses so I don’t see how this infringes on anybody’s choice. The majority will still go the more traditional, conventional route. What I like about our kids’ generation is that most are accepting and it is all in tune with “today”, the disney/pajama thing or other options, with very little judgement. I think the acceptance for young people of today is very freeing.
3 females and a transgender “female” (no surgeries, just makeup and clothes) are going to be sharing a dorm room next year at my college. They are all friends and requested the room arrangement.
I wouldn’t choose it, I don’t think either of my kids would either, but it’s not being forced on anyone at most schools (the co-ed bathrooms might be the only option at some schools).
I’m more used to the bigger public schools where most kids only live in the dorms one year and then can pick any living arrangement they want to.
I like that it’s a choice for people.
I wouldn’t recommend it for a gf/bf situation because if they break up-gah, you’re stuck with them for the rest of the year and that could wreak havoc with your educational equilibrium.
I’m not passing judgment and I mean no offense, I personally just don’t get it. Why not keep it simple?
trying to find someone you’re compatible to live with is never simple! 
D16 and her male best friend are already talking about sharing an apartment after college. They are very compatible in an Oscar and Felix kind of way. Zero romantic interest, but I think they will be good roommates. D is attending a women’s college, so the odds of a mixed gender room is vanishingly small (though, I think she’d be open to it with the right person.)
Sharing an apartment after college is much different than sharing a dorm room where there is zero privacy. I think the male-female sharing probably works great in an apartment.
^^That’s how I personally would have felt. But if the kids are okay with it and parents don’t object (if they are paying), I don’t see it as a problem. Not my cup of tea, but to each his own.
As Hannah noted. Often this isn’t about living with a romantic partner. I know a few females who live with gay men. They commiserate over relationship issues with guys etc…
Lol… Won’t girls feel uncomfortable? Since I studied in Girls school,I will definitely feel Discomfort 
“what about hanging around your bed in your pjs watching chick flicks, eating ice cream,crying over the broken relationships?”
No one does this better than a gay best friend!
To OP - Yale had the option of mixed gender suites back when I was there in 1978. Almost did it my senior year and the only thing that stopped me was that my dad would probably have killed me. They have had co-ed bathrooms forever also. If for example two suites on one floor have a common bathroom in the hall, if one suite is male and one is female, they will be sharing. Since after freshman year students bid on rooms, those that don’t want this can easily bid on a room configuration or location that this is not an option. But that is not foolproof because if someone of the opposite sex has “stayed over”, they may very well be in the shower stall next to you in the morning.
Now my D is there now. When I was visiting, I went out to the hall to go to the bathroom and there were two guys in there is their shorts, brushing their teeth. At my age, I wasn’t comfortable going into a stall at that point so I just held it until I got on the highway. Guess the thought of going to the bathroom with 20 year olds made me feel a little weird. But, I am getting old.
I understand this may be a problem for some students and parents so I always talk about this during my recruiting activities. This is also where “FIT” comes in. No matter how much someone may want to go to Yale, if this type of atmosphere is not what they are comfortable with, they might want to go elsewhere. There are plenty of great universities that still have very strict gender separation rules.