As seniors finalize their decisions and choose the colleges they'll be attending, an
important component to consider is housing. Gone are the days of freshman being limited to tiny dorms with a bunk bed, two desks, and a roommate they don't meet until they move in. Today's college students are offered a myriad of housing options both on campus and off. Picking the right choice can be maddening.
Let's start with the on campus options. I should say that I'm a huge proponent of students starting their college experience living on campus. Indeed, many schools require it. The colleges have increasingly used plush dorms as a recruiting tools so those 400 square foot rooms that many parents stayed in their first year in college are rarely built any more and are slowly being replaced but larger, suite-style dorms. These are larger and the bathroom situation is much improved---sinks in room, toilets and shower shared by two to four people instead of an entire floor. The nicest dorms can be hard for freshman to get into, upper classmen usually have first choice. However, these days there are enough options to go around that freshman are seldom completely shut out.
Most colleges also have some online mechanism now where students can interact as they pair up as roommates. This is different than the old days when they colleges loosely matched two students together and that was that. I'm also a big fan of students matching themselves up with someone they don't know. I think it broadens their perspective and provides for friends beyond their high school and local circle. They'll survive the experience and will be better for it. I promise.
Many students will opt for off-campus housing. Just as the colleges have built more and more elaborate and high end residences, the apartment complexes have followed suit. Fine furnishings, extravagant pools, and other amenities can translate to student living that is significantly more luxurious than what many parents have at home. It is more common for a student to live with a friend or person they already know in an apartment than in a dorm, but the apartments are generally willing to match you with a random person as well. This is particularly true in 3 or 4 bedroom apartments where maybe two people know each other but need someone else to fill out the apartment.
Apartments are often more expensive than dorms and that is the first thing to consider. Another is location. Often, the most opulent apartment complexes are the ones that are farthest away from campus. Parents and students must be realistic about how that can affect a student’s attendance in class. How difficult is it to park on campus? Is public transportation a hassle? What is the commute time? What happens if a the student ends up with one, two, or three hours between classes? It is easy to explain the answers to these questions away but families to need think deeply and honestly about how these problems can be handled on an everyday basis.
Families also need to carefully consider leases. In some cases, if one roommate flakes out and has to leave school, the other roommates are on the hook for that portion of the rent. The same can be true for utilities. There are generally more protections built into a dorm lease so students would be wise to have some understanding of their lease as it relates to roommates before they sign.
