My daughter currently a junior is putting together a list of colleges and her top choices are Vassar, Williams, Swathmore & William & Mary. How likely is to get a single room (as a freshman) in any of those schools,(provided she is accepted) she wears a prosthetic eye that she removes at night and she does not feel comfortable being seen with her empty socket so she does not feel comfortable with the idea of a roommate. Any input will be appreciated.
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Not sure about those specific schools, but you should contact their office for accessible education (office for disabled students) and ask.
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Yes she can register with the Office for Disabilities, and request a single room as an accommodation.
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Lots of schools tiday have singles. Sometimes they are two singles shares a bathroom or four share two with a common space. My son had that…his own room at Bama but shared a bath.
I agree. Call each school but also research others to see what they offer. After all, the schools you mentioned are not easy for the bulk of kids to get in…
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@debono - You may also want to check to see if freshman housing has singles or if freshman that receive single rooms due to accommodations are housed in the dorms more popular with upper classman. This could be a category when you are comparing schools. This happened to my daughter’s friend and she ended up hanging out in the lounge area of the freshman dorm - but her housing was further away with the upper classman and she felt like she missed out on a lot. I am guessing this is not common to have no singles in the freshman area.
From the little I know, the request/approval comes after your child is admitted and filling out the housing forms, but great to get a jump start on what schools offer and where on campus.
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Two of mine had singles for health reasons. The first one was put in a dorm not usually for freshmen, because that was where the singles were. It was worth it to her.
The second one was unhappy and felt left out, and moved to a double.
Depends on personality. It is possible that a roommate would not be bothered by the eye issue, and that might be a good experience for your daughter.
Hard to know in advance! She can start off with whatever makes her most comfortable.
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Also, you may not be aware that if a person requires a single because of a disability, they can ask to be charged only the double room rate, if there is a difference.
Certainly, some freshmen wind up acquiring a lifelong friend in their roommate. But just as often, I hear horror stories of roommates who are frighteningly mentally ill, or who lock/bar the other roommate out so that they can host their paramour overnight, or who behave in such a nasty, horrible way to the other roommate in an attempt to push them out, simply from stress, and be left with a single. Now imagine that you are paying top tuition dollar and the highest per square foot rental rate in the entire city, just so that your child can suffer the amount of stress from their roommate that would lead others to have a nervous breakdown.
This is why I feel that colleges should move towards a small singles for all model for freshman housing.
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I disagree, yes there are the roommates from hell, but no one in my family has experienced it, and for those I know who had a bad experience, it was rectified and they have some stories to tell. I think traditional dorms are a great bonding experience, I was surprised when my 20 year old was ready to sign a lease for a 6 bedroom townhouse for the following year a month after college started, but closeness happens quickly in a tight environment (she was in a forced triple, I think they could all hold hands).
I loved living in my own apartment after college, but loved my 4 years of 6th floor cinderblock living at college with my friends (I had the same roommate for 4 years, wasn’t always perfect but we made it work).
At my daughter’s campus they brought students back in the spring but all single rooms, it did not go well for many who felt lonely, isolated and homesick.
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Living in communal houses with one’s own bedroom, where one can shut the door and have privacy, is totally different from sharing bedroom space, and usually a very small bedroom space, with someone who is mentally ill, or behaving in a sociopathic manner. The cases that I knew of were NOT quickly rectified - in fact, they were not rectified at all. College dorm space is so tight that it’s gridlocked. If there is a problem with a roommate, students are told that there is just no other space for them to move into. As for the isolation of Covid, there is a HUGE difference between having a single while being able to hang out in shared space (lounges, halls, visit each others’ rooms), and being locked-down in one’s own room, with no social interaction whatsoever!
For all who say that it’s fine, I say, YOU try living in a room with someone who is frighteningly mentally ill, or is behaving like a sociopath. It never ceases to astonish me, the way that adults will ignore incredibly stressful situations for children, and claim that it’s GOOD for them, that they just have to learn to live with it, when of course they themselves would NEVER be able to tolerate such situations, nor should they.
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I never said it’s good to be in that situation, but I think that the majority of times it works and there is a huge benefit in communal living. I think there should be better protection for students in bad situations, but to make all students live in singles is not the answer. Dormed students were allowed to meet in communal areas and visit within the same dorm (with limits), and it still wasn’t the same. In most cases, living in tight quarters with others is a good learning experience. I’m sorry if you didn’t have that experience.
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I think Haverford offers many singles, OP, in case your daughter is still making her list.
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Yes - a large percentage of Haverford’s dorms are singles, even for first years and there is no difference in the board cost.
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We are talking about top schools - how likely is your daughter to get into one of these? What are her stats and interests? Are these schools realistic or reaches?
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Well, those schools are reach for everybody, she has some others in the list including ivies and State schools as well, but I those are her top choices and I feel she is Very accomplished, she most likely make it into one of them. She wants to go to law school and practice human rights law down the road. Stats:
GPA 3.98 uw 4.7w
1490 SAT (talking her into taking it again)
IB diploma (4 HL 2SL classes)
Seal of biliteracy
national honors society
spanish honor society
by the time she graduates she’ll have 16 AP/IB classes
president of MUN club
President of Mock trial
Treasurer of ethics bowl
Elected Student body president 2021-22
3 summers internship for local legislator
volunteers at horse ability (horse therapy for children with special needs)
camp counselor at autism siblings summer camp
Part time job at local supermarket
Latina (that might help)
first generation (maybe helps)
Passion project, “Estudiantes para estudiantes”, peer mentoring and school advocating group for newly arrived immigrant kids.
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oh and I forgot, she is political director of high school democrats of America Latinx caucus, and NY high school democrats communication director.
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W&M is likely a target given her #s. (but no $$) - but yes the others are reaches. I asked - just to make sure you had a longer list - because if you were just focusing at those, I had concern - what if she gets into none.
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Williams is known for having lots of singles.
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