<p>The closet thing may not even be an issue. My son put almost everything in drawers while his roomate hung almost everything on hangers. They will figure it out.</p>
<p>In my daughter’s dorm, the triple rooms were a little bit larger and they moved an extra free-standing closet into it.</p>
<p>Certainly every kid will have his own desk! I would have a real problem with sharing a desk.</p>
<p>So one kid gets 1/3 or each closet? Umm. I don’t think so. Usually, what happens is one kid offers to share the closet and a coat rack and some stackables are bought. Desks are considered communal property and it’s first come, first serve, in terms of use. If all three kids are reasonable, that one thing, but too often there are at least one or two or maybe all three have some issues. And yeah, first kid in the room always gets the best deal. Once your stuff is moved into the place and the bed is claimed, it is an issue to throw the kid out regardless of the rules. There are squatter rights that just naturally occur. Get there early and get the best picks. You can always be the nice guy and give it up. Getting it when someone else already claimed it reduces your chances greatly, and the last one there will definitely get the dregs.</p>
<p>And no, each kid did not get his own desk. No room for a third desk in the room.</p>
<p>Cpt, I wouldnt expect, and didnt mean to say that each kid gets 1/3, rather that no one should count on getting all, and dont bring too much stuff and dont take entire closet.</p>
<p>At many state schools near me, all they do is move in one bunk bed. Two closets, two desks, two sets of drawers.</p>
<p>Maybe closet space is more of an issue with girls.</p>
<p>OP…I can sympathize with your anxiety. This was something my D was fearful of as well. Her school did place some students last year in triples. I believe they were all boys. Because of summer melt, these young men were moved to doubles by the end of August. </p>
<p>Our D’s double room had only one closet. Both she and her roomie are preppy and had a lot of nice clothing that needed to be placed on hangars; so, my husband and I bought a relatively inexpensive wardrobe (around $130) from Lowe’s for our D. It fit in a corner and did not take up too much room. During orientation, we measured everything and then came home and worked on a floor plan to maximize space. Lastly, neither my D nor her roommate ever used their desk to study; they always plopped their books and laptops on their beds and studied or went to the library.</p>
<p>Although it’s not the ideal situation, I wouldn’t be too concerned. Your S won’t be in his room that much, and it’s likely to be a non-issue.</p>
<p>Wow, thanks so much to everyone for all the advice and sympathy!!! My son doesn’t know yet about his assignment - I am the one who constantly checks his student page and the class Facebook page for news, and I saw the Facebook kids discussing their room assignments last night. I was really worried about how to tell him, but now I have lots of ways to be positive about it. As for closets, he doesn’t even own a heavy winter coat or many clothes at all, as I guess a lot of guys don’t. I guess we will find out more at his orientation. He is very easy to get along with, so getting along with the roommates has never been a concern of mine, it was more the storage and bathroom issues that were worrying me.</p>
<p>Honest, not to be sexist, but I suspect guys have less storage/bathroom issues.</p>
<p>YOu are doing a great job staying on top of sitch. Have you made hotel/air reservations, whatever to see that you can be there right when dorms open. </p>
<p>As to coat, you can always order one online and send to him, after he figures out what he wants.</p>
<p>I was willing to pay for a double, but gave DD daughter the option of picking a triple and keeping the difference in $$ as her spending money. She chose the triple - and LOVED it. Turns out, the double was SO small, there was very little room to breathe (or much natural light.) The triple was a substantially bigger room, and all 3 girls not only fit in it OK but the room became more of a gathering place, socially, than any doubles. </p>
<p>So yes, a triple can be a very good option, OP. Don’t fret ahead of time.</p>
<p>Katlia, you are comparing a room meant for a triple. What some kids have to deal with are “double” rooms housing 3 kids. Like I said, two desks, two closets, two chests for 3 kids.</p>
<p>As for storage space, S has consistently had TONS of storage space throughout his college years. In fact, he & roomie would store EMPTY BOXES because they had so much space & that way packing up & moving at the end of the year would be & was extremely easy. We had him bring a rolling duffle that would flatten to nothing so he could store it in very little space, but honestly, he had really a LOT of space to spare. They could easily have fit a 3rd person his his two bed dorm room.</p>
<p>D, on the other hand, manages to fill the space she is given & beyond whenever given a chance. I’m not sure whether it’s gender, personality, or some combo. </p>
<p>I agree that if he doesn’t have a heavy coat/jacket, you may wish to wait & have him see what others have before investing in one, so it will meet his needs & “fit in.” My S brought up what he had worn in HS & that was what he wore most of the time in college. I still remember when he called sophomore year, grumbling that it was cold & he finally had to switch from shorts to long pants as temps dipped into 40s & below! I gave up trying to buy him clothes as it was too hard to figure out his size & tastes. Have also finally given up on D’s tastes & size. They are happier if we can give them some $$$$ & let them figure it out.</p>
<p>The good news is that they generally use the biggest double rooms for triples. Some triples will be rooms that actually were once triples, but made into doubles, and now doing duty as a triple again.</p>
<p>Actually, as was said, it appears most places add furniture to make it work–lofting one bed with desk underneath & bunking other two beds. Being sure there are 3 desks, so everyone can have one. Most Us have some experience in the matter & make things as smooth as they can. It’s a better situation that those kids who are housed in the lounges rather than having an actual room, and as has been said, it often sorts itself out sooner than later with attrition, change of heart, etc.</p>
<p>Back in the day…I lived with 60 women in a sorority house with 8 showers–four in each of two “gang” bathrooms on each floor. So six guys sharing a shower doesn’t seem like a problem to me. </p>
<p>Fact is, most of our children have not shared rooms even with siblings. It’s an interesting phenomenon that colleges and Greek chapters with housing now must consider in planning for living facilities.</p>
<p>Having had three brothers and two sons, I’m sure the guys will work it out.</p>
<p>“Katlia, you are comparing a room meant for a triple. What some kids have to deal with are “double” rooms housing 3 kids. Like I said, two desks, two closets, two chests for 3 kids.”</p>
<p>— wow, if that is the case, I’d be irritated too. At those prices all kids should get their own desk and chest!</p>
<p>That said, my D never used her desk. She did most of her work at the library and, when in the dorm, on her bed (as she did at home.) Within a couple of months she moved the desk out of her triple and put in a comfortable reading chair.</p>
<p>At UW, when the regular dorms filled up they would move people into the floor dens - four people to each den. Four beds were put up, and a large table was in the middle of the room, plus additional desks and shelves. I was really jealous, actually, since the room was huge and it was air conditioned and had Wi-Fi in a dorm that did not have these things in the rooms. They just used the bathroom everyone on the floor used. I would have loved to be in a den, it was much nicer than the rooms. No closets, though (I don’t know what they did) but a much nicer space overall.</p>
<p>The above “expanded housing” at UW is temorary until the housing sorts itself out, no triples there in regular rooms, in fact, no triples at all. </p>
<p>Stayed with H in a dorm room for the summer orientation at UW a few years ago. A trip down memory lane, a chance to refresh memory of college dorm life and notice changes (coed housing meant one bathroom in each wing of our floor designated for each gender- we were close to the one designated for males, nothing like middle aged women traipsing a long way down the hall in their robes…). Also remembered why we don’t continue with dorm living forever. </p>
<p>Young people are typically not as fussy as their parents when it comes to their housing. Their home is the entire campus, a room may be just a place to sleep. Yes, there is a whole generation out there not used to having a roommate- but after 2 dorm years with roommates my son even added one to his apartment after we agreed to his lease thinking he was getting his own small bedroom, sigh.</p>
<p>5 minute showers??? Maybe away at school, but here at home 45 minutes is more typical for our son.</p>
<p>One my friends has a son who was put in barracks style housing for a few weeks. He was at U of Iowa. By mid semester, rooms had opened up for all of those so placed. </p>
<p>UMD does not have housing for some freshmen for the fall semester so kids are offered admissions with guaranteed housing in the spring or they have to find their own housing freshman year if they come in the fall. This seems to be a problem every year.</p>
<p>My one son ended up in a quad one year because he did not enter the housing lottery and when I found out, got what was left. That room was huge but was the leftovers room with kids going in and out all year. My son ended up in a space off the main room which made it essentially a single for him. He had digs off campus on his own, however. That turned into a disaster and he then moved into the room in November where he stayed for the rest of the year. </p>
<p>Good for those kids who make the triples work out. Not something I would want.</p>
<p>at op… you’re assuming they all have class at the same time every day…</p>
<p>Our biggest concern was that except when we all stay in one room at a hotel, our kids have not shared a room since S was 4 & D was 2 years old. One of the reasons we moved was because that didn’t work too well for them. 
</p>
<p>We have been pleased that both have learned to live comfortably with room mates. It can be a great experience–as parents, we just tried to be positive and think that was helpful to them. Most of their experiences were good, tho each had some bumps along the way and learned from them. FWIW, S is excited about having his own place as he starts his new job–he does NOT have a room mate and does not plan to get one.</p>
<p>HImom, dont know what survey you have seen that “most” places add a desk. I know at least one that doesnt. I suspect both our surveys are too limited to be of value.</p>
<p>My S2 was in a freshman suite of four rooms/eight guys. There was one shower,one toilet,one sink. They had no problems. Everyone had diff. schedules. Some showered at night and some during the day.</p>
<p>I was in a double turned triple freshman year. The only thing added to our room was a bed in the middle of floor. A room in another dorm became available around T’giving and she moved out.</p>