<p>When we looked at schools for my first son, we didn't run into any that only guaranteed housing for freshmen. They all seemed to have plenty of housing (mostly LACs). In fact, the school ended up at requires kids to live on campus all 4 years.</p>
<p>This time around with second son I feel like we're running into schools (bigger universities) where housing is only guaranteed freshman year, and many of these seem to have student reports of very annoying housing problems in those subsequent years.</p>
<p>I would not be happy with a sophomore kicked off campus. Has this happened to any of your kids? Is this a new problem?</p>
<p>My D knows she will not have the opportunity for a dorm room after sophomore year. I think she is looking forward to an apartment. She sees this as an opportunity for a bit more independence. Also the food is really bad at her school. The costs for an apartment should be about the same or less.</p>
<p>Once upon a time there was a lottery for dorms rooms after freshman year at my S's large state univ....not any more. Apparantly savy developers have found a gold mine in building off campus student only apartments. In these apartments each student gets their own bedroom(furnished with bed, desk and a walk-in closet!) and bathroom, their own individual monthly bill that includes all utilities and can be paid online and a shuttle bus that goes back and forth to campus all day long. With all these amenities (did I mention washer/dryer in each apt. plus community swimming pool and exercise room?), many students (including my S) are choosing to leave campus after one year of dorm life. The difference in cost is not that much due to having more roommates in apt. So there seems to be more space in the dorms now than there was in years past.</p>
<p>I was kicked off campus after my freshman year. I moved into an apartment in a chopped up house in the nearby "student ghetto" and actually, that was one of the best parts of my college experience, having to learn to take care of my life needs while also managing my school workload (and a part-time job). As edad says, I loved the independence. I think this would be more of a problem for my S#2, since he isn't always very responsible about those everyday things, but it doesn't have to be awful for most students. Most such schools will have a bunch of landlords nearby who are happy to oblige.</p>
<p>Is this a new problem? Well... it's been a problem for, oh... 30+ years. ;)</p>
<p>At Rice most students move off campus either sophomore or junior year. There is plenty of affordable off-campus housing. It's hard to imagine when your kid is a rising freshman, but they are usually VERY ready to move off campus when the time comes. My daughter is absolutely thrilled with her 1 bedroom apartment. She was really "dormed out" and wanted to live alone. She is doing really well with her meals, and it is all costing less than the dorm room and board.</p>
<p>I cannot imagine living in dorms for four years. As much as I've enjoyed the experience freshman year, and as good as I think it is to live on campus for one year, I'm looking forward to having an apartment next year. The privacy and independece are very appealing.</p>
<p>To be honest, from one who moved off campus after my freshman year, I am glad my son has chosen a school that has 4 years of on campus housing: regular dorms 1st year, victorian dorms or new condos by 3rd year and small houses that groups can apply for. Though I had many friends and an interesting off campus life style, I think I lost touch with my school too early. I regret that now. So if your kid doesn't like the idea of moving off after first year than many other options exist. You just have to factor housing in as well.</p>
<p>One problem with living off campus is that some of these apartments are fire traps. At Penn all of the dormitory buildings are fire sprinklered. Just last week there was a fire in an small house a couple of blocks off the Penn campus and seven students were treated for smoke inhalation--one of them was listed in critical condition.</p>
<p>I was very upset w/ Rice when my S. was deciding schools. At the time, they would not guarantee housing for sophomores. I asked what I thought was a simple question: "How many students who WANT on-campus housing, are not given that opportunity?". They insisted they could not answer. I only wanted to know if the chances for no on-campus housing were high or low. I must have talked with at least 4-5 people at different levels, and each time, they answered that they do not have that data. I found that response odd.</p>
<p>I felt that it might be fine for Juniors or Seniors to choose to live off-campus, but that it was a bit to early to require some sophomores to do so. Plus for someone who wanted to stay on campus, but is kicked out, it might require added expense to semi-furnish an apartment, only to return to campus Jr. year.</p>
<p>My s. is in the same problem currently w/ CMU. He CHOSE to live off-campus second year, and now wants to return. It is my understanding that CMU will give NO guarantees. He thought he could return by pairing with students already "in the system" but was told that is not true. His name will be placed on the bottom of the list (below in-coming freshman). From some of the stories I've heard, that does not sound like a promising alternative. Many freshman are even temporarily placed off-campus in apartments due to "overbooking". The odds look worse for a returning student. He wants to take his chances. The "mom" in me is kicking in. My only consolation is that the surrounding area has many apartments, and that should worse come to worse, he might be able to find a CMU, Pitt. or Med. student looking for a last-minute roomate in the fall.</p>
<p>Thanks for the heads-up on Rice. It's one of the schools my son has applied to (& not heard back yet). I would like him to have the choice of moving out & then moving back in if he chooses & definitely would not want him FORCED to move off campus sophomore year if he doesn't feel ready or interested. Don't like the idea of kids put on the bottom of the list if they chose to move out of the dorms & then want back into the dorms. One more thing to consider before we chose our final school late April.
I lived on campus my 1st years in college & was glad I did. It was so convenient & I loved that the food was right there & not something I had to even think about. Loved having the washer & dryer on each floor of the dorms as well. In grad school, I only lived on campus my 1st year, which was fine as well.
One other thing I've noticed is that one of the benefits of some honors colleges is that some guarantee students on-campus housing & priority housing as long as they choose. One more reason to carefully consider that option as well.</p>
<p>Son has liked UT Austin in his freshman year. The most negative thing so far is that he is being forced to move out of the Honor's dorm to make way for next years's freshman. He really loved the Honor's dorm. Applications for the Honor's Dorm are way up. I get the impression about half of those who wanted to stay as Sophs in the Honor's dorm, which certainly is not everyone, are in the same spot.</p>
<p>A new dorm is opening right across the drive from the Honor's dorm in Janurary. I don't know what type of dorm it will be.</p>
<p>He has been offered space in a big dorm with the same roommate. I'm not sure what they will do.</p>
<p>I'm sort of surprised at Rice. I would think that 4 years of housing would be one of their strong points.</p>
<p>There is plenty of housing and so called private dorms within a hundred yards to a few blocks of the campus, though they tend to be about a hundred a month more, if they provide meal plans, than on campus housing.</p>
<p>I'm talking about 2 separate schools. The sophomore housing shortage was at Rice. The returning student situation is at CMU (Carnegie Mellon). </p>
<p>HImom, I'm not sure what Rice's policy is today. This was 2 years ago, and the housing situation may be different now. It's worth checking out, however.</p>
<p>My neighbor's kid went to Rice & lived on campus all her years there & loved it. I had been under the impression that students could live on campus as long as they liked. That was also the impression I got at Santa Clara U, but now I'll double-check. Impressions can be quite deceptive.
Hope your son makes choices that work well for him.</p>
<p>HIMom- my daughter is a junior at Rice, and I would be glad to answer any of your questions about housing. Basically, it depends on the residential college to which you are assigned. Some of the colleges have a shortage of spaces for sophs, other colleges kick some of the juniors out. I don't know of many kids who REALLY wanted to stay on campus who had to leave. Usually, you can form a suite of kids (3 of your friends) and put in the lottery to stay on campus. It is very rare that the 4 of you would NOT be given a suite.<br>
I can't emphasize enough how easy and adequate off-campus living is around Rice. There are many, many neat places to live (houses and apartmentes) within walking or biking distance. These places are safe. AND-you can still get the residential college meal plans. The social scene is not really impacted. With the residential college system, you don't lose that affiliation even if you live off-campus. You are ALWAYS "Brown" or "Hanzen" or whatever. You attend all the parties, study at the dorm etc. I am speaking as a parent who was also nervous about the prospect of off-campus living. It is a very easy transition.</p>
<p>At USC, only one year of on-campus housing is guaranteed. The one year was more than enough for my son. He was off-campus last year in an apartment and this year in a house. Next fall he'll be sharing the house used by ABC when they made The Scholar TV show. There is plenty of reasonable housing options around USC and he finds off-campus housing much more preferable to dorm life.</p>
<p>Some merit scholarships include a portion for on-campus housing. If you can't get on-campus housing after the first year that portion of the scholarship is pretty useless.</p>
<p>My son loves his 4-year dorm. Students enter a lottery to choose a dorm and can live there all 4 years. He has to cook his own meals (no cafeteria) but that has, for the most part, been either okay or fun. </p>
<p>He loves the fact that he gets to live with and learn from older students. His floormates have become a large part of his social life and he's very comfortable. </p>
<p>He was concerned about the Rice housing situation and that was one small factor in his deciding to go elsewhere. Now my high school son is looking very closely at the dorm situations at colleges as he's heard how much his brother likes his dorm. </p>
<p>Husband and I lived in greek houses and both loved the experiences we had living with a large group of people we knew and liked.</p>
<p>As A CA resident I can say "there is plenty of reasonable housing around USC" however I would not want one of my children living there. It is one of the worst areas in all of CA and I would be very worried if one of my children attended USC. When we visited the campus I was shocked to see that the students were fenced in much like a prison. Our tour guide advised us that no one should leave the campus at night, and even on campus female students should always call for an escort. Blue boxes (emergency phones) every twenty feet. I did not get a very secure feeling and urged my children to consider other schools. I am told by many people at USC and alumni that a lot of what happens does not even get reported.</p>
<p>The day were were there, there were police helicopters hovering over the campus, looking for someone or something but we never found out what.
USC has a great academic reputation and I am saddened by the fact that they cannot offer housing for the full four years.</p>
<p>Thanks momofwildchild. Will have to keep that in mind after we hear from Rice whether they want son & whether they want to offer any merit money. Have heard great things about Rice, but really don't have a good idea of which school my son is most interested in & have never actually seen Rice. He's quite ambivalent at this point too, so April should be an interesting time in our home.</p>
<p>I'm a freshman at the University of NH. They guarantee housing for freshmen and sophomores, although from the way they do room selection it doesn't really seem like they'd give anyone the boot. That being said, there is a serious housing crunch. A HUGE portion of lounges in each dorm were "built up". First semester and the first two weeks of this semester I lived in a lounge with 3 other girls. The amount of people living in lounges was based on space; we did have plenty of room. Some lounges on campus had 5 people in them. There are also a significant amount of forced triples on campus, and a lot have not been broken down, even now. In other words they're guaranteeing too many spaces here. I had heard that if you lived within a certain distance of the school you could be forced to commute, but this doesn't appear to be true, seeing as I have on campus friends whose homes are 5 minutes from here... Forced triples and built up lounges have been a way of life on this campus for a very long time. They'll have new dorms open by the fall of my junior year, but I can't help but wonder how much that will actually help. They simply accept too many students. A lot choose to move off campus junior and senior year, but that doesn't mean that I don't still worry about where I'll be living my last two years.</p>
<p>I'm trying to pull my best friend in as my roommate next year. She will be a transfer student next fall. Housing is giving us the whole run around about transfer students being on the bottom of the list (below freshmen) and all that jazz. I really want to live on campus next year (I am NOT ready for an appartment), but I also want her as my roommate. My hall director says it shouldn't be an issue, but we won't know until the middle of the summer whether it works out or not.</p>