<p>There is a difference between one temporary triple on a floor, vs. large numbers of triples on a floor. Some universities know that a certain percentage will leave in the first couple months, and all the triples soon end up as doubles. </p>
<p>However, at another university, the triples often last all year, and there is no where to go to escape them, particularly since they turned many of the lounges into quadruples. That should be avoided at all costs.</p>
<p>A study found that the common reaction to living in a triple is for the students to go home more often on weekends.</p>
<p>I knew a few people who were tripled during freshman year. Most of them wound up untripling by the end of the first semester or by the next year. Certain rooms had the type of beds that you could bunk and other rooms had the type of furniture where you could loft your bed on top of your dresser and wardrobe. Biggest problem we had was that this was pre-wireless internet and there were only two internet connections so someone was constantly unplugging the other person.</p>
<p>Two sons; both were put as freshman into “tripled doubles” so squeezed. The outcomes were different due solely to personalities, not space. S-1, who had a very inconsiderate drunken lout of a roommate who brought more bodies IN to the room to party, kept his ears open in class and around campus. He found a chance in November to move himself out at start of second term. He landed in a sunny double with a sophomore roommate, in a foreign language house where many go away 2nd term for semesters abroad so need filler-up people. The following year he got a single, as a sophomore, in the language house. He said that more than made up for the bad first-term. </p>
<p>S-2 was also squeezed with 3 guys into a double room, but these 3 were considerate, so got along extremely well. By senior year they were not only good friends but did numerous academic projects together throughout college. A turning point in the first day of arrival was the guy who arrived last (his parents’ fault for leaving home late) expressed upset when he had been left the top bunk bed. The other roommate graciously offered to swap. My son said if nobody was happy they could switch beds after a month, or a third of the year. That set the tone. </p>
<p>Point is: it can work. And if it doesn’t, the college knows they have triples. If your son hates the situation due to lack of cooperation, he should keep his ears open for chances to switch. The administration will probably not impede his switching roommates when his reason is he found them a way to untriple a tripled double room.</p>
<p>Generally, triples are easier for guys than girls (usually much fewer “stuff”)…</p>
<p>Both of my D’s were in triples…they each kind of created their own little cubbyhole in the bottom bunk. Usually, the closet space was the biggest issue.</p>
<p>My son was in a triple freshman year - a very small room. It turns out that all his good friends were in a different dorm, so he spent most of his free time in a completely different dorm and often slept on the floor there. He was happy, it all worked out. Just goes to show you that you just can’t predict how your son’s experience will be. I wouldn’t worry about it too much.</p>
<p>This is happening at an increasing number of schools. He will manage somehow. College is all about these new and “fun” types of experience. A lot of schools detriple people over the year, so at least he has some hope.</p>