On roommate assignments

<p>DS was admitted to the Honors program at his school of choice for fall. They had the opportunity to request roommates/suitemates online in May. We were hopeful he would be on the Honors floor, which he REALLY needs, as he has problems with being easily distracted from his work. He had worked out a request arrangement with 3 other people. </p>

<p>Assignments are out today, and he is not even in the dorm WITH the freshman honors floor. Even worse, the roommate is known to be a partier (which the requested persons are not). I have a call in to Housing (he isn't going to advocate for himself - he's 18 after all). Don't know how hard to push or even what to say to them exactly, as this has come as a surprise to us. IMHO they have set him up for potential academic disaster.</p>

<p>I hope you get this changed to your satisfaction. If not, encourage your son to get into the habit of heading to the library or some other quiet spot between classes or after classes to study and do homework. Then, the dorm will become just a place to hang-out after studying is done. And, of course, if the roomie is a partyer, then he may be gone from the room a lot. </p>

<p>I’d also invest in some custom-made ear-plugs…lol…I saw some at Sams Club in the hearing aid area that are like $40.</p>

<p>Interesting thread…</p>

<p>Was this a situation where your son was misled to believe that all honors students were housed together or one in which the time of deposit influenced housing?</p>

<p>Since we don’t know which school this is, cannot comment on the mishap otherwise…</p>

<p>Sylvan – how do these things get decided at his school? I wonder if Housing really doesn’t know/understand the impact on an Honors student being with a partier. </p>

<p>I wonder if you should also try Admissions? They clearly like your child and thought he could handle the more challenging Honors curriculum. I don’t know who has the power to make Housing decisions – does Housing have the last word or could you persuade someone in Admissions to intercede once you make the point that in order to give your son the best chance of excelling and contributing to the school, he would really benefit from being with another Honors student. </p>

<p>Good luck</p>

<p>How do you know this person’s a partier? Do you know for certain that’s not what your S wants? There must be some honors level students who also plan to ‘party’ to some extent and even if they’re not currently planning it, eventually will do it anyway.</p>

<p>Does the honors program guarantee the honors dorm? If so, what’s their explanation as to why your S isn’t in it? Maybe they just made a mistake they can correct - hopefully.</p>

<p>The person he was assigned with is someone S went to high school with. </p>

<p>Just talked to the housing director, who says there are a limited number of honors beds and S made his deposit quite late. In addition, not all of the people with the roommate requests put down the same people, so they didn’t all match up. The other guys on his list are not in the honors floor either, but there is some hope they can do some switching once school starts if they all agree to it.</p>

<p>I know from reading the FB page for the class of 2015 at my S’s school, 99% of the kids list partying as a primary actvity they look forward to. I think they all look forward to having fun without their parents looking over their shoulder. I just hope they get it out of their system the first few weeks.</p>

<p>

And speaking of that, college administrators have specifically told students/families that the housing questionaire needs to be filled out by the student without the parent looking over their shoulder or directing the student what to write or else most of those who plan to party will indicate they don’t - as if filling out the form a certain way will somehow guarantee it won’ be done. For colleges that truly try to match these parameters for roomies it’s a problem because although the parent forced the student to say “non-partier”, the student will, in fact, party. Maybe this is what happened to your situation sylvan, assuming the form asked that question - maybe the other kid was basically forced into stating the wrong attribute.</p>

<p>I hope other options avail themselves to your son early on… or for the 2nd semester, at a minimum. I cannot believe the school partnered him with someone from his HS, and it wasn’t someone that he requested? I would think they would try to find new exposure and experiences for their students.</p>

<p>^^it was probably a randomly generated computer program; that’s why I asked what school it was; alot of large schools use it even though they have surveys etc…</p>

<p>although those said schools USUALLY pull out the honors kids so they are together (whether or not they are in the official honors dorms)</p>

<p>^It was randomly generated, the director was surprised that they knew each other. Not sure if the other kid is in honors program or not…</p>

<p>^^what remedy did the director offer you (since he/she was surprised they went to the same HS?)?</p>

<p>Just talked to the housing director, who says there are a limited number of honors beds and S made his deposit quite late.</p>

<p>ahh…hmmm…that’s a sure warning out there for future school applicants (to any school) that the later you deposit could negatively influence dorm selection/placement.</p>

<p>Some colleges will allow room switches if both students request them.</p>

<p>At my daughter’s college, every year, some freshmen who want singles are assigned to doubles and are upset because they wanted to live alone. At the same time, some freshmen who wanted doubles are assigned to singles and are upset because the singles cost more. (No, I don’t understand how this can happen – but it does.)</p>

<p>These people start threads here on CC – or go onto whatever Facebook groups their class has formed – and try to find people of the same gender who are willing to switch rooms with them. And when they find a person who is interested, the two of them contact Housing, which usually allows the switch to be made.</p>

<p>Similarly, if your son goes to a Facebook group or his college’s forum here on CC and says “I’m a guy in the Honors program who got assigned to a regular dorm. I would rather be in Honors housing. Is there anyone in Honors housing who wants to switch with me?” he might get a “yes” answer. Some people don’t like the idea of Honors housing because it might have less of a party atmosphere or because it might cut people off from the rest of the university community.</p>

<p>First, though, it might be a good idea to try to find out whether such switches are allowed.</p>

<p>I wouldn’t assume that an honors floor would be any less distracting–many high achievers believe in the “work hard, play hard” credo. Getting into the habit of studying in the library is key regardless of the roommate or floor. Just the presence of another person is distracting to those whose attention easily strays, and it’s silly to assume that a roommate, no matter how much of a non-partier, will always be quietly immersed in studies. Roommates have friends over, play music, get chatty, and nap at inopportune times. As the parent of a student with ADHD, I know that the dorm room is the worst place to study.</p>

<p>

It’s more of a question of influence rather than what they are doing in the room.</p>