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I think a lot of colleges are low on dorm space in these "demographic hump" years with the highest number of HS grads applying to colleges.
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<p>Well... they might not have any control over how many people apply but they most certainly do have control over how many people they accept. It's unfortunate if the school decides to take on more students than it was designed to handle.</p>
<p>"Well... they might not have any control over how many people apply but they most certainly do have control over how many people they accept. It's unfortunate if the school decides to take on more students than it was designed to handle."</p>
<p>The number of students is a function of the number of people that return and the number of people accepted that attend after being accepted. The latter number is then a function of all acceptances that students have received as they decide where to attend. Not a lot that they can do when their models, probably based on history, have to deal with a boom in students. There is also the issue of more commuters requesting housing due to gasoline prices.</p>
<p>DS was tripled in a double last year. </p>
<p>Second semester one of the roomates was able to move to a different room in a vacancy left by a departing student. </p>
<p>You might advise your daughter to be alert to this type of situation.</p>
<p>Good thread. I'll be asking questions for sure. I had know idea this sort of thing was going on. They treat folks in prison better. I bet they intentionally didn't disclose this information up front. They know its too late for you to make other plans now.</p>
<p>One warning, you can ask the questions at the information sessions but you probably won't get a straight answer. You need to ask the "student on the street". We asked about putting three students in a room made for a double at the parent's summer orientation and were told, "we don't do that anymore". DS's room - tripled up - was actually smaller than some doubles.</p>
<p>Parents seem to be much more concerned with this then students. In many cases it is not always a bad experience, they also learn to be adaptable, which is always a good thing.</p>
<p>D has had the "I don't really care about the dorms, I will have a bed and bathroom" ( not quite sure how she is my D!)</p>
<p>Thanks for all the shared stories. I realize the situation is a done deal and all I can do is vent and hope for the best.</p>
<p>Annika:
Didn't really appreciate the smug "lecture" about the larger cosmic issues and to count my blessings, etc...Why do people feel the need to do that? Of course, the school was chosen for many reasons. And of course I am not equating her situaton with some of the horrors of the world. BTW,
"my" D (following your lead of putting "your" in quotes for no reason) was admitted early with a scholarship, so her admission isn't a result of the tripling. The tripling results when the admissions people admit too many students and don't reasonably estimate the yield, and err on the side of increased revenue (more tuition paying students).</p>
<p>College students are adaptable. Really, I think that getting along with your roommates and hallmates has a bigger influence on the quality of your dorm experience than the number of roommates (within reason - five people in a double would be a problem - but three people in a double is a different situation).</p>
<p>Yield rates fluctuate from year to year at many schools, and they can't always predict very well how it's going to turn out in a given year. Their models are not an exact science.</p>
<p>S2 (moving in for freshman yr. this weekend) just found out that the state u. he will be attending is dealing with a dorm room shortage also. He was a little annoyed at first when he got his dorm assignment to one of the smallest rooms on campus in a dorm that was not preferable. Now he is happy to be there in light of the situation..</p>
<p>Two classmates from h.s. who are attending the same u. will be living in off campus apts. (leased by the state u. complete with RA's) due to the dorm shortage. S's friend told him that the university expected to be able to get them into a dorm before first semester is over. I wonder which would be worse....being tripled or being off campus completely (in a very nice apt. complex with bus service to campus) to start freshman yr.? </p>
<p>Coincidentally, I attended this same state u. in the 80's and was tripled freshman yr. The beds were not bunkable so we literally had to walk across the beds. We were not notified in advance. The third girl arrived in our room after spending the first week in some kind of temporary set-up on campus while hoping a room would open up. She ended up having to store a lot of her stuff in a study room closet in the dorm because there just wasn't room. We all got along OK but were all glad when a room came open in November and the third girl moved across campus. Space was more the issue than anything else for us.</p>
<p>My son's school has 400 students that don't have housing yet. I'm going to call his landlord today to renew the lease. I'll feel better when that's taken care of.</p>
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The number of students is a function of the number of people that return and the number of people accepted that attend after being accepted. The latter number is then a function of all acceptances that students have received as they decide where to attend. Not a lot that they can do when their models, probably based on history, have to deal with a boom in students. There is also the issue of more commuters requesting housing due to gasoline prices.
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<p>There are a lot of issues that come into play, but the schools actually have a very good idea of how many student's they'll get... even with an increase in applications. They know that they're setting themselves up for this situation.</p>
<p>In some cases the forced triple is not so bad because the rooms are quite large to begin with, but in other cases this results in some truly poor living situations.</p>
<p>"The tripling results when the admissions people admit too many students ...."</p>
<p>It's a shame you weren't available to advise the many schools that accepted "too many" students based on historical yield rates. Any parent in your situation could see that those professionals were relying on questionable methods -- at least in retrospect.</p>
<p>Let it go. Your D will be fine.</p>
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There are a lot of issues that come into play, but the schools actually have a very good idea of how many student's they'll get... even with an increase in applications. They know that they're setting themselves up for this situation.
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Not true. Historical data hasn't worked.</p>
<p>For example, at my d's school:
Class of 2010 - they accepted the same number of students they had always accepted and expected the same yield. Result? Yield increased by more than 10%, and they suddenly had to find room for all these students. Students were tripled, and some lounges were transformed into quads.</p>
<p>Class of 2011 - they accepted 15% fewer students than they had accepted for 2010. The yield increased again, and students were tripled. (The model did work better, however, since no students needed to be put into quads - lounges became lounges again.)</p>
<p>Class of 2012 - yield is high again, but they've transformed part of an upper class dorm into a freshman dorm (more junior & senior housing has been built).</p>
<p>I truly believe that schools are doing the best they can. Remember, "past performance is no guarantee of future results."</p>
<p>a lot of schools are dealing with this type of issue. i know of several schools that we looked at just two years ago where we were told that tripling of freshman was rare (and this was confirmed by students) that now have large numbers of tripled students. and also schools that claimed upper class men had no problem staying on campus who are now pushing more upper class men off campus to make room for the large number of new students.</p>
<p>the large number of students applying is just making it a lot harder to predict yields and there is a huge trickle down affect. if that wasn't the reason and it was the schools deliberately trying to get more tuition money out of the same dorm space, why would it be happening in so many places all at once?</p>
<p>personally, i think the people who really have to worry are the next year's applicants -- i've known of a couple of situations in which over-enrollment at a school in one year resulted in tighter admissions the following year.</p>
<p>Since the op made it clear in her first post that she was just venting here and not venting to her daughter (in fact, said daughter "would just have to deal"), I am baffled by the posts telling op to get over it! She is getting over it-- by venting here, remember??</p>
<p>Folks,
Please remember that this class of incoming college freshman (2012) will be the largest ever. While the colleges can juggle classroom and lecture space, the housing situation is more problematic. The practice of tripling a double is an easy low cost solution for the colleges.</p>
<p>The other factor contributing to this situation is the current economic conditions. This year more upperclassmen are remaining on campus in campus housing. Many upperclassmen who normally would move off campus after their freshmen or sophmore year are deciding to stay on campus because it is cheaper. The upperclassmen have priority for room selection and the incomming freshmen get assigned to what is leftover.</p>
<p>I know we want the best experience for our kids, but life happens and we have to adjust. Have faith that you raised your kids well enough that they will handle this temporary (at most a school year) situation with humor and grace.</p>
<p>Something else that's related is how fast classes fill up. Our daughter wanted a class and looked it up and found only one slot left so I went into panic mode to get her signed up for the class this morning. A few years ago, students could take their time in signing up.</p>
<p>Yes, many schools are experiencing the same thing...unexpectedly high "yes" responses from students accepted. I am hearing about tripling at many schools. I know it is not what you were expecting, but let's look on the bright side.....your child will get to know so many more people with the tripling. My guess is that as rooms open up they will de-triple the students and be more careful in future semesters about their acceptances.</p>
<p>*Our daughter wanted a class and looked it up and found only one slot left so I went into panic mode to get her signed up for the class this morning. *</p>
<p>are you going to do that every term? Profs will accept overloads , they add new sections and students drop. Kids learn to cope.</p>
<p>"are you going to do that every term? Profs will accept overloads , they add new sections and students drop. Kids learn to cope."</p>
<p>Our daughter is a high-school student so I had to talk to a special advisor that handles students under 18 - not the regular advisers, to get her into the class. Sometimes this sort of thing gets messy with the school requesting paperwork such as a letter from the Superintendent's office or other documentation or a placement test or an in-person meeting. Things generally go more smoothly when I take care of things.</p>
<p>I was going to have our daughter email the professor if the class was full. Our son took a class from him several years ago and the students dropped like flies after the first week.</p>
<p>Edit: I got a call from the Dean of Admissions asking for a bunch of documents so I have to go around and collect those.</p>