<p>One of our kids' strangest roommates was a kid who came from a nearby town. THe college, although rural, drew students from the entire country and abroad.</p>
<p>The nearby girl's family had the concept that she was 18 so had to move out of the house. Completely. Everything she owned in this world had to go with her to the college dorm. Although they lived as 2 in a triple (sophomore year luck), my D was very crowded. One whole bed was taken up with the girl's unpacked boxes, piled many high. I didn't learn about this until after the year was done, or I'd have counselled my D better. She did get singles as a jr. and sr.</p>
<p>Sometimes the roommate situation works out well. The college students get along well and form a social, support group. I think that is rare. More often the roommate situation is uncomfortable and difficult to endure. There are plenty of stories about really bad outcomes.</p>
<p>I see no advantages to sharing rooms with strangers. I don't think there are any valuable learning experiences, unless the students need these skills later on in life to cope with a prison environment. The only advantage is to cut living costs. Considering the very high costs of a college education, the small amount saved does not seem to be worth the potential costs. For an extra $1K, my D was able to get a single. She had plenty of friends and interactions with floormates and was able to shut her door and study or sleep, when necessary. I think it is past time for students and parents to start pressuring college administrators to make improvements.</p>
<p>edad: I think you've nailed the prison violence problem-- not enough college grads are incarcerated.</p>
<p>I tried to talk both of my DDs into singles and they both thought that dorms/roommates were a big part of college life. Unfortunately, the drama was sometimes overwhelming. </p>
<p>DD and her roommate are renting a 2 bedroom apt this year. The bedrooms are huge (each about the size of a dorm room) and on opposite ends of the living room. They are looking forward to having the space. </p>
<p>Is it just me or do others see a "Mean Girl" trend in colleges? Be such a horrible roomate that the other lives in the lounge or moves out so you get the room alone?</p>
<p>Our sons college(RPI) had him fill out a profile too which they used to help match room mates. Q's asked included smoking/non, messy/neat, early riser/nite owl, and other which I cannot recall.</p>
<p>Despite this he did not become close friends with his roomie, though they did not have any serious conflicts. They merely chose to part ways the next year.</p>
<p>"Is it just me or do others see a "Mean Girl" trend in colleges? Be such a horrible roomate that the other lives in the lounge or moves out so you get the room alone?"</p>
<p>Maybe girls AND boys. The housing move-in pamphlet from Chapman acknowledges that THIS year there's a space constraint causing nearly all freshmen to begin tripled in double rooms, and describes various processes for de-tripling these doubles, but: "Please note that if it is determined that any student is attempting to force another student to move out, they will be referred to the conduct process and may be involuntarily moved."
Fair warning.</p>
<p>"Counting our lucky stars here that S's first roommate experience was SO good."</p>
<p>We pay tons of money for college and then hope our kids do not have a roommate who is a boozer, stays up all night, is immature, overly demanding, or uninterested in college, or worse. At many colleges, those same concerns should be extended to include the RA staff.</p>
<p>How easily we become victims of the system!! We are so interested in seeing our kids accepted into a good school, we forget to exert our influence as consumers. Our teenage kids just want to fit in so they accept the system as well. Fortunately, my D spent several weeks in summer programs at different colleges. Some bad experiences were enough to convince her to get a single or look for other options. A single dorm room worked out well. Now for her third year she is excited and ready to share an apartment with close friends. She will have a huge room and the room and board will be a lot less even though she needs to pay rent and utilities year round. Makes you wonder if the colleges could provide better housing options with the same costs.</p>
<p>My D almost rocketed Hampshire College to the top of her list when she saw they only build single rooms. There are lounges on every floor, for every l0 rooms or so. Personally, that'd be my favorite floorplan, too. The room size is monastic but even so, I think it's the best since singles are then universal there.</p>
<p>Or maybe we think that learning to live with someone difficult will prepare them better for marriage? Or how bad could someone possibly be that I'd be willing to pay whatever it takes so my darling isn't inconvenienced? Or that maybe in comparison, coming home to mom for the summer won't be all that bad? Or his brothers will look far better in comparison? Or that my precious baby will be willing to work hard so that someday he can afford to live without a roommate?</p>
<p>I'm thinking that when the residential colleges began in this country, kids must have arrived with a suitcase, some books and a reading lamp. They also had maid service and waiters to serve meals in dining halls. </p>
<p>That's a far cry from: electronic music, tv, gameboy, cellphone, expectations of microwave popcorn or self-assembled vegan alternatives, personal irons or dustbusters, and kids originating from homes with 2.4 children on average in 3200 sq.ft. homes...Sharing? What's that?</p>
<p>Having a reasonable dorm experience is not the same as living in a large house with electronic entertainment and plenty of conveniences. If you had reasonable dorm experiences, you might want to visit the College Life forum. You will find plenty of horror stories about dorm life. There are plenty of kids who go to college mostly to party and have fun. If your kid has an 8 am class and a roommate who is up most of the night, how does that help them prepare for marriage? What value is there to being sexiled or having a roommate throw up on the floor? There are plenty of very undesirable roommates. Even the mass murder at VTech was someones roommate.</p>
<p>My D's freshman roommate sounds like one mentioned by Westcoastmom as well. Her hours-long and loud conversations with boyfriend occurred every day/night and were also apparently VERY sexually explicit. D was terribly uncomfortable for the whole year. Additionally, when he came to visit, they had sex in the room while D was in there...and believe me, it was a TINY room. </p>
<p>When she would complain bitterly to me about her, I continuously urged her to speak to an RA, make a change, etc, but she never did want to rock the boat.</p>
<p>She never speaks to this girl (D is now a senior) and considers this girl completely insensitive and selfish (although she happens to be brilliant).</p>
<p>My D's 1st year was certainly negatively impacted by this situation and I agree with those who aren't really sure about the value of having a roommate.
Suitemates, yes. But sharing a very small personal space with the wrong person can have devastating effects.</p>
<p>S, on the other hand, was paired with a guy who turned out to be a great match. </p>
<p>payinge, I had a maid and that was at Ohio State in the mid 60's. The woman who made our beds and tended over us like a mother hen was Ruth Redmond whom we all loved. Stradley 7th floor.</p>