It rains a lot in Tuscaloosa. Kid eschews such devices as umbrellas. I may get him to consider a shell.
I did get some Kiwi waterproofing spray and doused his backpack and shoes - twice. Hope that works.
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Oh. Really? A trailer? Hard to believe!
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My D got a dorm far away from her most of her classes. I was thinking she may be able to use a electric bike, UMD does not allow any charging devices, other than cell! So we are considering letting her take good old regular bicycle.
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I know that Tufts has used something similar. They certainly aren’t “cute“ or durable architecture, but the reviews I read of the ones at Tufts said they were actually pretty nice because they were new and clean and modern and air-conditioned and moderately roomy. AnonMom’s daughter is at a different school, but those units probably have some of the same positive characteristics. But if you are hoping to room in one of those classical dorms with the gorgeous architecture, it’s definitely disappointing!
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Back in my days at UCLA, it was about a 1.5 mile hike up/down a pretty big hill to get to/from the dorm and classes. It was a bummer at the time, but ironically that’s the kind of pain I intentionally inflict on myself now recreationally for exercise, LOL.
By comparison, S23’s dorm will be 350 feet from the building with most of his classes next year. And the main cafeteria and student health center are both 2-3 floors below his room in the same building as his room. Can’t get much more convenient than that.
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One of her elementary school teacher went to same college. She told my D that she had a good housing because she was in a sorority. So I am rooting for my D to join it!
I told my D that had she gotten a trailer dorm, I would have her take a gap year!
But unlike me who has unreasonable expectations(Perhaps from having to write a hefty check!) D said colleges probably needed those temporary housing to accommodate students during pandemic. So she is already better than me in coping with realities of life. I think I am wasting my money sending her to college!
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Yes there is AC, but the rooms are small, and hers shares a wall with the hall bathrooms, I hope they are well insulated for sound 
. I have heard the students bond and get really close, and rumors that they get priority somehow the following year.
Mine too, she really couldn’t care less, but hopes for a single next year. These mods were put up in a parking lot during covid…. It has free laundry right there so that’s a win.
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Ugh that is terrible if they aren’t well insulated!
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When I was a freshman in college at Fordham back in the late 80s, they did not have enough housing for incoming freshmen, despite having just finished a brand new dorm the summer before I started (I was fortunate to be an inaugural resident there) and another much larger dorm the summer after my freshman year. Just below my dorm room window were temporary trailer dorms. I had several friends who lived there. Not as swanky as my brand new dorm, buts its lack of appeal did create a certain camaraderie among its residents. They all survived! I was back last summer for a tour with D23 and there is now a large dorm where the trailers were, as well as a couple of other dorms built in more recent years. Hard to believe my “new” freshman dorm is now almost 40 years old.
Edited to add…a quick google search turned up this photo someone posted on Pinterest. I recognized the name of the person who posted it as as one of my classmates! I didn’t even remember there were this many of the trailers. They were called "The Villages."
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The interesting thing for S23’s school (because in my experience most are like what you describe where the housing just gets better each year) is about half the first year rooms are singles, so you probably can get one if you want one (though they survey about general interests and don’t explicitly ask if you want a single or a double), then you have less of a chance of getting a single subsequent years. You also move from being right in the core of campus to more likely adjacent to campus up to a few blocks away. I guess the theory is after first year you will have met potential roommates and be more familiar with the neighborhood to live further out.
I’ve taught high school in trailers like that!
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When my brother-in-law was doing his doctorate at Princeton three decades ago or so, he and his family lived in housing for partnered students, which was very clearly originally intended to be a bunch of temporary structures, and that had allegedly been put up in a rush to house GI Bill students right after WWII.
I don’t know if they actually dated to then, but they sure looked like they could have.
MIT Building 20 was a “temporary” WWII structure that was in use for over 50 years. Lots of great stuff happened in that shabby old building, I remember it well.
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Different country - but being a post-war generation and countries dealing with a sudden “baby boom”, I remember my first & second grade class room being in trailers setup on the school yard. And later, even some grades at junior high as the bulge moved through the years.
We were always closest/quickest to games at recess, though 
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I had high school classes in trailers like those! Dodgy stairs and the darn thing vibrated everytime someone walked around. Ah, good times.
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You’re probably referring to Butler Apartments. They were indeed built right after WWII and were finally taken down about 10 years ago. I was at Princeton in the 1980s and remember thinking that surely the grad students deserved better.
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Princeton is building a ton of new grad housing now, south of the canal.
26 days till move in. I’m dreading the no a/c in his 18th floor dorm.
Cons: No ac. Hoping the building doesnt sway. Fire drills will suck. Lots of waiting for elevators.
He is right off the elevator so I do worry about noise from that. Did I mention no air conditioning?
Pros: Its a split double dorm and there is a partial wall so you dont stare at your roommate and there is some privacy. Only 15 dorms per floor so get to know people. Penthouse open lounge just upstairs looks nice to get out of the dorm. The views will be nice. Laundry is on the same floor so no dragging to the basement. I hear there is an underground walkway to the dining hall next door for the winter.
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Where is this?
Our S23’s would have been similar except he ended up in a lower floor (6 of 14) and the college announced they were adding window unit ACs to each room this summer — until now no AC for like a hundred years. But he’s also right next to the stairwell and that is next to the elevators. He’s just happy to have a single…