What size TV would you get for a dorm?

[HeatherC]

Any other college parents out there who recently had to set up their kids in a dorm? Looking to get my dad a tv to have to take to college next Sept. as a Christmas present and wondering what would be a good size?

Also going to ask on the budget board.

Thanks!

 

[soccerdad72]

I'm not sure kids even bring TV's a lot anymore unless it's to hook up game consoles to. Most of the colleges that we have looked at stream TV channels to whatever devices they bring. I would think you wouldn't want anything particularly large, depending on the size of the room. Make sure it's a 'smart' tv.

On a side note - your dad is going to college and living in a dorm? How old is he?

 

[HeatherC]

Thanks! Too funny, Love autocorrect. Not my dad going...he is 79. My daughter.

She is also considering commuting and getting an apartment with my eldest daughter who is graduating college in May. If that happens, they would need a tv anyway and we can always use an extra one here at home.. So I’m just curious about those who DO have one in a dorm what size they have and not so much whether to get one or not.

Thanks!

 

[kdonnel]

My daughter is towards to the end of her first semester at college. We had an old 32” tv she is using. It is by far on the small side compared to others. I would say 50” is more the average.

Will your child’s dorm be apartment style or door room style? My daughter is in a 3 bed 3 bathroom apartment style dorm. Each kid has their own bedroom and bathroom and share a common laundry, kitchen, and living. They decided they wanted a single TV in the living room. Her friends that are boys rooming together in the same dorm opted for a common TV and individual TVs in each bedroom. The common TV is for Chromecasting, the individual is for gaming.

 

[sksjasams]

Any other college parents out there who recently had to set up their kids in a dorm? Looking to get my dad a tv to have to take to college next Sept. as a Christmas present and wondering what would be a good size?

Also going to ask on the budget board.

Thanks!

My DS took his 39" tv with him for his dorm room. I think the 40 inch range or so worked well, and that's what I would recommend.
He actually just won a 55" tv at a raffle, so he lent his smaller tv to another kid on his floor, and he is using the 55". I am sure its ridiculously big in a dorm room, but he is happy with it.
He uses his tv to play video games, and also to watch football games and shows/movie with friends.

 

[HeatherC]

My DS took his 39" tv with him for his dorm room. I think the 40 inch range or so worked well, and that's what I would recommend.
He actually just won a 55" tv at a raffle, so he lent his smaller tv to another kid on his floor, and he is using the 55". I am sure its ridiculously big in a dorm room, but he is happy with it.
He uses his tv to play video games, and also to watch football games and shows/movie with friends.

Thanks! The 40 inch was what I was thinking. I appreciate your input!

 

[sam_gordon]

Any other college parents out there who recently had to set up their kids in a dorm? Looking to get my dad a tv to have to take to college next Sept. as a Christmas present and wondering what would be a good size?

Also going to ask on the budget board.

Thanks!

I think it depends on the size/layout of the dorm room.

 

[Floridaman999]

I'd say a 40" is a relatively safe size to go with.

 

[cabanafrau]

Back when my oldest was in a dorm we sent her off with a 27" -- which we found out she never used because if she watched something it was on her laptop. A lot of the kids do have really big sets though. In my daughter's freshman year the group wanted to have a party for Super Bowl and everyone decided it would be in my daughter's room even though the guys' rooms all had the bigger TVs because the guys' rooms were "disgusting". A couple of the guys had to carry over one of their TVs from the other wing of the dorm to my daughter's room because her TV was so small.

 

[kdonnel]

Be sure to coordinate with roommate(s). On move in day we saw lots of rooms with duplicate and triplicate of things that there only needed to be one of.

 

[stsomewhere]

My son has taken his 64 inch smart tv the last three semesters. he bought it last year for black Friday. While it does take up a lot of space in his dorm room, they use it for gaming. His room has a common area between the two bedrooms.

 

[Kellydelly]

I think it is more common for boys to have tvs, to use with their gaming systems. My daughter has no room in her dorm room for a tv. She is so busy she doesn't even watch netflix or prime on her laptop.

 

[clori]

My daughter (freshman in college) said very few people have tv's that she has seen. She is in a suite and none of the girls wanted a tv. They all have ipads, phones, and most likely also have laptops. There are tvs in the building that she occasionally watches sports with a group of people.

 

[Scifidiner]

75", a minimum of 65" but then I've been known to push the envelope. Oh yeah don't forget the THX 7.1 surround sound system.

 

[mjkacmom]

Dd22 and ds20 formed for two years, just streamed on their laptops. E vent when the went off campus and into apartments, didn’t want TV’s. None of my other kids want them, they just use their chrome books. Ds15 has a monitor for Xbox, ds30 gets hooked pretty quickly when he comes home, so doesn’t want an Xbox at school. I don’t think sn6 of my kids watch any programs on the actual channels. If it wasn’t for DH and I, we could easily cut cable.

 

[abdmom]

I have 2 kids in college. Both are in apartments. One used a TV for his gaming system. He inherited it from me when I moved long distance. When he moved long distance, he sold it and didn't buy another one at his new place. The non-gamer didn't want a TV at all.

 

[Colleen27]

We're holding off on buying the big dorm room items until after roommate match, so we know what DD's living situation will be and make decisions accordingly. Space and what her potential roommates are bringing will make a lot of those decisions, and we don't want to jump the gun on buying a bunch of things that she won't need. So we're doing the upgraded, college-worthy laptop for Christmas and leaving dorm room supplies for graduation and birthday gifts.

 

[tvguy]

Just depends on how much room in the dorm room.
I went off to College in 1975 with a 9" Black and White TV
My son went off to college in 2005 with a 9" Color TV with a DVD player built in.
My daughter went off to college in 2009 with no TV, but her roommate had a 40" flat screen that she bought at a garage sale for $25. The tuner didn't work, but she used it only for video games at home so only needed the line in. The Dorm included free cable, so I went to Goodwill and bought an old VHS VCR with a tuner built in for $6 so they could watch cable TV.
But both kids said most kids didn't have a TV.

 

[RedAngie]

40" or larger TVs in dorm rooms? Yikes!!!

Back in the stone age a 19" TV was considered large in college. Most had smaller ones, and almost all were black & white.

 

[kdonnel]

40" or larger TVs in dorm rooms? Yikes!!!

Dorms are nothing like you remember either.

My daughter is in a 3 bedroom, 3 bathroom apartment dorm. Each apartment has a full kitchen, living room, and laundry room. The dorm has a coffee shop in the lobby and a 24 hour Waffle House style food place in the lobby as well.

The dorm costs more each semester then the tuition, fees, books, and food plan combined.