College Dorms Question

[bellarella]

I'd be really upset if all accommodations were the same price. If freshmen are required to live on campus, there should be some ability to choose different priced accommodations to try to control costs. Likewise, if I were living in the "less desirable" dorm, I'd at least like my bank account to make up for it.

The notion that only "poor" students would chose the "cheap" dorm, I think is an unfortunate stereotype. I'm sure there are many students who would choose lower loans or more "fun" money over a nicer dorm room. And if some are below the average, they shouldn't have to pay the same price for them if that is all that is left.

 

[Princess_Meghan <3]

Yup, this is the norm.

The school I live in has 4 housing options:
traditional housing with 1 roommate and a bathroom down the hall
suites where you still have a roommate, but only share a bathroom with 2 other people
single room, bathroom down the hall
an apartment with 3 or 4 other roommates, 2 bathrooms, kitchenette and living area

I live in the apartment- it costs more, but the safety is better(it's the newest and has the best technology out of all the dorms), and we get more space, and can cook in our room some. We don't have a stove, but there is one down the hall for the floor residents to use. We control our air and heat, and have a few other perks.

And on our tours, the school does emphasize activites a lot- it helps get the attention of potential students. Academics are talked about, but not majorly emphasized.

 

[PollyannaMom]

I think I can see the focus of the tour being on the campus facilities rather than the academic programs. - They probably figure kids have already narrowed down their lists of schools in terms of academics on paper, and are now touring just those few they're impressed with to see if that's also where they want to live for four years. - I know that's what the tours really did for me.

 

[MrsPete]

I think I can see the focus of the tour being on the campus facilities rather than the academic programs. - They probably figure kids have already narrowed down their lists of schools in terms of academics on paper, and are now touring just those few they're impressed with to see if that's also where they want to live for four years. - I know that's what the tours really did for me.

I agree -- mostly.

By the time we toured a school, my daughter'd already done some legwork. She already knew something about the academics (and a whole lot of other things too). She asked questions to fill in the blanks about things she'd read: "I read that your college has a textbook rental program. How does that work?" Or things that aren't really going to be advertised on the website: "Does the wifi service work well all over campus?" But tours are typically run by students, and even though they pick good students (and it's a job, a job for which they are trained), you can't expect a student to be prepared to answer heavy-duty academic questions about every academic department. Usually we'd have a tour in the morning and visit the nursing department afterward.

But mostly the tour was about SEEING the school, soaking up the atmosphere, determining whether our impression of it was correct or not.

 

[tara lynn]

I'm surprised to hear this is the norm. At my alma mater (The College of New Jersey) housing was all based on luck. Freshman year dorms were assigned and the following years it was based on a lottery system. Obviously some dorms were better than others and those were chosen first by people with the good numbers, but we all paid the same. I only graduated a few years ago and I don't think things have changed. My sister goes to a private school and pays more for her air conditioned dorm, I attributed the difference to public vs private schools but I guess I was wrong!

My school (private) in New York was/is the same. There are 5 different dorms. One is just for freshmen and transfer students who get randomly placed. Everyone else gets to pick their dorm and room via a lottery system, with seniors choosing first, and so on. There are 2 dorms that are considered the senior/junior dorms, so those fill up first and then juniors with low lottery numbers and sophomores choose between the 2 remaining buildings. It's all the same price, unless you choose to live in a single room, so you just had to weigh the pros and cons of living in each dorm (ex: some have air conditioners, some don't... but the ones with air conditioners are known to be dirtier than the other dorms).

 

[tvguy]

The students have no floor-lounges for that 'third place' (in architectural-planning parlance) or quiet study-areas for the rooms

And while we're at it, could we please have some type of kitchen or at least a bare room with counterspaces and lots of plugs where crockpots/coffeepots/electric-grills/cooking-utensils could be used?

Vent over.
agnes

As for quiet study area, that's what the library is for...was that way for me in college in the 1970's...and is that way now at both my kids colleges.

As for cooking, certainly can vary from region to region, but around here that would violate the fire code. Crockpots, coffee pots, electric grills and any cooking appliance is strictly forbidden in dorms. A few have a stove and oven, but they have to have expensive fire supression systems over them.
One college my daughter and son toured only allowed a special microwave/refrigerator combo in the rooms, and you have to rent it from the University. The unit was wired so that if the microwave was on, the refrigerator was off, and vis versa, to prevent overloading of circuits.

 

[agnes!]

As for quiet study area, that's what the library is for...was that way for me in college in the 1970's...and is that way now at both my kids colleges.

As for cooking, certainly can vary from region to region, but around here that would violate the fire code. ...

Yeah, we know all about the banned cooking appliances and all the rules are absolutely followed. About the microwave/fridge, the sizes of any outside appliances are strictly monitored and a combo is offered for purchase. I was just saying it would have been nice to have a place to maybe cook sometimes or even just to plug in a crockpot, I'm not saying anyone I know is going to violate the fire code.

And yes, of course there's always the library for quiet study and yes they can go out (to where? why the many bars that are all over most college-towns heh) for social activities... But are your kids in triples? I think it's pretty wearing/overwhelming to have 6 students in a space that was (supposedly) only designed for 4 - 2 bedrooms (with three kids each), one bathroom (one shower, one toilet, two sinks). These kids are living on top of each other, there are no real public social spaces/lounges in many of these newer hotel-type dorms...these 'third places' that would help build some esprit-de-corps among, say, dorm-residents.

This past fall I know the University of Maryland was so crowded that students were tripled up in their rooms and desks were put out in some hallways and the floor-lounges that I think would be so nice were used as housing/dorm rooms for some students at William & Mary.

agnes!

 

[The Mystery Machine]

It depends on the college.

Mizzou for example is HUGE and many many choices for living, apartments, very nice dorms, married housing, and then the reg. dorms.

However as an incoming freshman they lump you into "groups" according to your interest area. Or if you do not have an interest area you are assigned to certain dorms.

As a sophomore and up you get to choose your housing, seniors get first pick and so on.

Some colleges are smaller and pretty much there is not much to choose from.

Same with appliance rules. It varies.

 

[NotUrsula]

Most schools design the rules based on how much space that they have available, and how much demand there is. More urban schools generally are going to have wider choices because they have to compete with the off-campus housing market, while more rural schools usually don't.

Some other factors that play in are the religious affiliation of the school (generally, religious schools are going to segregate genders more carefully), and the kind of money that is floating around, both in terms of the funding that the school has, and the usual socioeconomic-status of the average student. Schools that have affluent student bodies pretty much have to provide some options for high-end living spaces, or they will lose those students (and students who have family money are VERY valuable, because they grow up to be alumni who have family money and are able to make contributions that endow buildings and faculty positions.)

A good friend of mine has worked for 20 years now for the leading US builder/operator of commercially-run campus housing for public universities. They are all over the US. The deal for the school is decent; the company builds the building and usually sets up the purchase model that has the university buying the building from them over a period of about 25 years. All facets of building mgmt and room assignments, and rent collection, are done by the company. Housing almost always loses money and/or barely breaks even when a university runs it, but this company has perfected the business model for dealing with this community -- they even create separate leases for roommates living in apartment-type units, so no one gets stiffed if a roommate quits school. Their units have high occupany rates and they very seldom lose money, so I think that they are doing something right. In order to make these ventures profitable, the company is very careful to make these units appeal to the more affluent students at each school, at a price point that will make them popular enough to stay rented. Sometimes the properties are built on university land and sometimes off-campus nearby, in which case it is clear that you are renting the space from a private company and not the university itself.

 

[punkin]

As for quiet study area, that's what the library is for...was that way for me in college in the 1970's...and is that way now at both my kids colleges.

That reminds me...my DD complains all the time that the library is extremely loud and she cannot study there.

 

[Disney Doll]

Well money in fact does buy a lot but personally I'm not so sure that it's in a kid's best interest to live so well in college..................especially if it's on mommy and daddy's dime. The 'college years', for too many, are not much more than a period of extended adolescensce. What a shocker to some of these young adults when they graduate and find out what living on their own is really like (unless of course mommy and daddy are going to subsidize that too).

But isn't that more "mommy and daddy's" fault than the college's?

 

[Pembo]

But isn't that more "mommy and daddy's" fault than the college's?

I'd say yes.

 

[MrsDuck]

Definitely the norm.

 

[LindaG4458]

Back in the Stone Age when I was in college (1966-70) there were all different dorms and costs. I was looking for a moderate price. Unfortunately all the upperclassmen had taken up their old rooms so I was assigned to an all-freshmen fairly new dorm at a price that was higher than I wanted to pay.

Sophomore year we (from the freshmen dorm) were told that we HAD to move into a brand-new dorm at the highest price on campus. It was beautiful but very expensive.

Third and fourth years I moved into a sorority house which was cheaper and a lot more fun.

But, to answer your question, yes, it is normal to have differing prices for different dorms.