DS recently returned from a campus tour of what was one of his top schools. He appears to be eligible for a very large merit award at this school. He learned that freshman are mostly assigned to dorms with 3 people per room and is freaking out. He has been away at camps which roomed 2 people per dorm room and can’t imagine 3 per room. He has also watched videos of these dorm tours on YouTube. The dorm situation may now be a deal breaker for DS. This has been distressing for DH and I as everything else about the school is a perfect fit. Please note that I want to keep the name of the school private.
I started researching this issue and realized that there are many schools that appear to require freshman to live 3 people per room.
Does anyone here have experience with this issue? How did your child survive the year? Was it as awful as he/she imagined?
Not all triples are alike!
My daughter was in a suite that had a double, and a triple. She was in the triple, and discovered it was much better than the double. She said the triple had much more breathing room than the double, it was better laid out, and a nicer space to be in, in part because the girls were more aware of the space constraints and tended to keep the space tidier.
Don’t let a housing situation in freshman year derail your son from a school that’s otherwise the perfect 4-year fit.
As long as he is not tripling-up in a room meant for doubles, I don’t see an issue. I may be nice to have another personality as well. The issue would come if there was a housing shortage or too many students, therefore cramming too many kids in one small room. Check out the room sizes for the triples as compared to double. That might help ease his mind.
My D is in a triple that clearly should be a double. Two small closets, the girls can all touch each other from their beds, desks in the middle of the room so no walking space. My heart dropped at move-in when I saw the room. But honestly, it bothered me more than her. The girls are making it work. We brought a lot of non-essentials home with us after move-in. They are utilizing every inch of space in the room. My D says they keep it pretty neat because there’s no room for mess. They have learned to share and to be respectful of one another. It’s only one year and I think it’s been a good experience for her.
My son was in a double that had been converted to a triple and he was fine with it. 2 of the roommates had a closet, desk and dresser, and shared a bunk bed. The 3rd had a lofted bed with a desk and wardrobe under it. The school assigned a specific spot to each of them so there was no arguing over who go what. But in the end, the 2 that had their own closets, etc. were very good about sharing their spaces. Maybe he just go lucky but those 3 are still very close and have continued to room together off and on over the 4 years. He said most of them spent little time in their rooms anyway- studied at the library or in study rooms, and spent a lot of time in the great room on their floor. I definitely worried more about it than he did- definitely not a deal breaker.
One of mine was in a double converted to a triple. It was a corner, bigger room with nice windows. in the end, the third student, from overseas, never showed up and they never put another student in the room. So for him, good experience to have an over-sized double but not the norm.
D2 was placed into a “forced triple”-- a double room with 3 roommates assigned. Each girl had her own bed, wardrobe, desk & chair, small set of drawers and small bookcase. The fit was tight, but once all the beds were lofted, space issues were manageable. The drawers fit under the desk and the desk & bookcase fit under the lofted bed. Luggage went into a storage room that the university provided. There was plenty of room for a micro fridge and microwave in the room.
The biggest issue was one set of parents came and left a dozen or more cases of Costco multipaks of snacks and bottled water–stuff that wasn’t needed or wanted and there was no where to put it. Seriously, the room was less than 150 feet from the student union bldg and all the dining options there. Their daughter wasn’t going to starve.
The girls managed to coexist without any drama or major problems, but never became friends. (One was an international student who spent all her free time with students from her home country. Another lived nearby and went home every weekend; she eventually transferred out at the end of freshman year.)
The year DD was a freshman at her college they very overenrolled freshmen. They asked for volunteers to be in doubles converted to triples. Because this was a school issue, they actually offered a reduction on the room cost.
At the end of the first quarter, there were vacancies somthat those in triples would relocate. According to DD, not very many kids moved. They were very happy in their doubles turned triples.
My DD, otoh, was in a double…and her roommate moved into the dorm the boyfriend lived in after two weeks. It took the school from September to January to find another person to take the second bed in DD’s room. Friends in triples were perfectly happy…and didn’t want to move.
DD would be in HEAVEN - the more the merrier! She’s been at camps where they would shack up 8 kids in someone’s room, especially if a roommate was gone that weekend and there was fear of the survivor being lonely.
Mine was in a quad which was really a converted lounge. It was awful. However, she managed to get reassigned to a double within a month by continuing to harangue the housing office. She loves her current roommate and is still friendly with two if her old roommates.
My son was in a corner double room that had been converted to a triple. It was fine for the 3 boys. Two boys had a closet, desk, drawers and had the bunk beds. The third boy had a lofted bed with a desk underneath (with LOTS of room under that desk, it was the length of the bed) and a closet attached to the end of the bed.
My son requested that particular dorm which he knew would be a forced triple. It worked out fine. None of the boys studied in their room (and never intended to) and instead studied at the library nor did they do much socializing in the room. It was a place to sleep and store your stuff. My son and one other boy also had their bikes in the room placed between a window and their desks.
My daughter was tripled as a freshman in a double room. The girls all got along pretty well. This room was small but did have great built in storage and the school provided lofts. The biggest problem was the bathroom situation. Basically the entire floor was tripled so the overcrowding in the showers and bathroom was tough. The floor was designated for honors students and the school had a better yield than expected. This made it very difficult and almost impossible to de-triple the next semester. While it worked out for my daughter, it should have been a clue that the university has some serious housing issues. (This year D has been in temporary off campus housing because new dorm was 6 months late being built. What a mess that has been!)
Freshman housing is crowded at my daughter’s school. While most end up in triples, she ended up in a quad. It was not easy being on a top bunk and having all of her stuff shoehorned into a corner, but she managed. The four girls weren’t best friends either, but did agree to get along to live with each other. The ability to make social connections was easier in the packed freshman dorm compared to the apartment style dorm that she is in now.
Not an option at her school, but she wishes there was a traditional style dorm with all singles at her school instead of all apartment style as there is. Though she likes cooking her own food and is saving a bit on that cost. Living off campus is not a good option for her right now so it is what it is.
My D was in a forced triple her freshman year. I think the room was supposed to be a double (it only had 2 closets) but all the needed furniture fit (3 beds, 3 desks, 3 dressers, 3 bookshelves).
She got along very well with both roommates and didn’t have any issues.
Only universities where I heard this was commonplace was from some folks who are undergrad/grad alums of Oxbridge.
The ones who spent their undergrad years there seemed stunned and aghast at the idea of sharing the same sleeping space with other people.
On the flipside, the individual rooms are exceedingly tiny so most students only used the room to sleep, store things, and to wash up in the morning(basic washbasin/sink).
@Waiting2exhale, not at US schools. Though my daughter did a week long STEM experience at an Asian overseas university when she was a junior in high school and the dorm they stayed in was like that, all single rooms, coed by floors (though that may have been because high school students were using the dorm). She really liked that set up, though it was only a week long.
May have been stall like (I didn’t see it) but it was her own stall each night. Her single room in the apartment style dorm is pretty small too, but it is her own.
@NorthernMom61 - I don’t want to derail the thread, but if someone really wants a single, the majority of dorm rooms at Haverford are singles. There’s an entire dorm of singles just for first-year students.
