Has anyone felt disappointed by the dorm?

[Anonymous]

My kid is no snowflake, and we are just an ordinary MC family. For the past 18 years they have had their own room and bathroom, a full-sized bed, and air conditioning. Now they are at a supposed to be "elite" college, sharing a tiny room that barely fits two twin beds and two small desks, using crappy drawers that were literally tucked in the tiny closet, having no A/C in the 90 degrees weather with a useless window that doesn't open (maybe because it's on the first floor), and trekking down to the communal bathrooms 100 ft down the hallway at night. The noise from the laundry room next door doesn't make it easy to get a good sleep. The tiny beds are awkwardly placed in the middle of the room, and I can definitely see DC rolling down the bed at night, but it's impossible to make both beds against a wall due to the size of the room. Overall, it's worse than a motel.

My kid is tired and excited right now and it hasn't hit them yet that they are going to need to fit in a fridge, a microwave, and storage for various supplies. I am sure they will figure it out by themselves later (or happily living in a chaos), but as a parent I am disappointed. Those Youtube dorm tours are so deceiving! I can only hope the education they are getting there will be worth it.

[Anonymous]

It is all a part of the experience.

[Anonymous]

literally every persons who has ever lived in a dorm felt disappointed by the room itself. It builds character. You want nice things? Work hard.
I look forward to the day my kids learn just how cushy they’ve had it here at home! 😂

[Anonymous]

Lol. Does your kid go to Georgetown? That description takes me back....

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kid is no snowflake, and we are just an ordinary MC family. For the past 18 years they have had their own room and bathroom, a full-sized bed, and air conditioning. Now they are at a supposed to be "elite" college, sharing a tiny room that barely fits two twin beds and two small desks, using crappy drawers that were literally tucked in the tiny closet, having no A/C in the 90 degrees weather with a useless window that doesn't open (maybe because it's on the first floor), and trekking down to the communal bathrooms 100 ft down the hallway at night. The noise from the laundry room next door doesn't make it easy to get a good sleep. The tiny beds are awkwardly placed in the middle of the room, and I can definitely see DC rolling down the bed at night, but it's impossible to make both beds against a wall due to the size of the room. Overall, it's worse than a motel.

My kid is tired and excited right now and it hasn't hit them yet that they are going to need to fit in a fridge, a microwave, and storage for various supplies. I am sure they will figure it out by themselves later (or happily living in a chaos), but as a parent I am disappointed. Those Youtube dorm tours are so deceiving! I can only hope the education they are getting there will be worth it.

You may label yourself as ordinary middle class family - but I would guess that you aren't. In Maryland that would be family income from about $60K - $160K.
Or was MC Montgomery County?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kid is no snowflake, and we are just an ordinary MC family. For the past 18 years they have had their own room and bathroom, a full-sized bed, and air conditioning. Now they are at a supposed to be "elite" college, sharing a tiny room that barely fits two twin beds and two small desks, using crappy drawers that were literally tucked in the tiny closet, having no A/C in the 90 degrees weather with a useless window that doesn't open (maybe because it's on the first floor), and trekking down to the communal bathrooms 100 ft down the hallway at night. The noise from the laundry room next door doesn't make it easy to get a good sleep. The tiny beds are awkwardly placed in the middle of the room, and I can definitely see DC rolling down the bed at night, but it's impossible to make both beds against a wall due to the size of the room. Overall, it's worse than a motel.

My kid is tired and excited right now and it hasn't hit them yet that they are going to need to fit in a fridge, a microwave, and storage for various supplies. I am sure they will figure it out by themselves later (or happily living in a chaos), but as a parent I am disappointed. Those Youtube dorm tours are so deceiving! I can only hope the education they are getting there will be worth it.

Our kid's elite college with multimillion endowment, charged us a fortune but had really bad dorms.

[Anonymous]

I mean ... it's a dorm...

[Anonymous]

I'm a foreigner who has never had to live in a dorm (students either commute from home or rent apartments), and I do not encourage my kids to apply somewhere with a high risk of getting a tiny dysfunctional space. My oldest just moved into a nice single at GW... the doubles are a bit cramped, but the dorms are overall on the nicer side - renovated, A/C, amenities, etc. I am NOT paying these American prices for my kids to get poor quality sleep for 4 years. Comfort matters. And we live in a tiny, old house! But it's still comfortable and well laid-out.

I entirely reject the notion that discomfort is "part of the college experience". Not at those prices.

[Anonymous]

You are not middle class - middle class kids in this area aren't having large bedrooms with a private bath. You are wealthy. Time for them to live in the real world.

[Anonymous]

Has your kid never been to sleepaway camp? Some of those accommodations are really shabby and threadbare. I'm UMC and I say GOOD. It's a safe way for them to know they're starting to be on their own, and mommy and daddy aren't going to be there to make everything all nice.

Also, to worry about your college-age son rolling off his bed is a bit infantilizing.

[Anonymous]

Is this Wesleyan?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You are not middle class - middle class kids in this area aren't having large bedrooms with a private bath. You are wealthy. Time for them to live in the real world.

I know plenty of middle class families out in the exurbs who have that much space. My daughter's best friend lives like this, and her parents work in the same field we do, where we all make a very middle class income. We could afford their house, but choose to sacrifice space for a shorter commute.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kid is no snowflake, and we are just an ordinary MC family. For the past 18 years they have had their own room and bathroom, a full-sized bed, and air conditioning. Now they are at a supposed to be "elite" college, sharing a tiny room that barely fits two twin beds and two small desks, using crappy drawers that were literally tucked in the tiny closet, having no A/C in the 90 degrees weather with a useless window that doesn't open (maybe because it's on the first floor), and trekking down to the communal bathrooms 100 ft down the hallway at night. The noise from the laundry room next door doesn't make it easy to get a good sleep. The tiny beds are awkwardly placed in the middle of the room, and I can definitely see DC rolling down the bed at night, but it's impossible to make both beds against a wall due to the size of the room. Overall, it's worse than a motel.

My kid is tired and excited right now and it hasn't hit them yet that they are going to need to fit in a fridge, a microwave, and storage for various supplies. I am sure they will figure it out by themselves later (or happily living in a chaos), but as a parent I am disappointed. Those Youtube dorm tours are so deceiving! I can only hope the education they are getting there will be worth it.

Have you seen VCU's dorms this year? My friend posted one and there is no room for desks and one closet. Two beds crammed in a tiny room. No A/C. I'd be PISSED if I were paying for that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Has your kid never been to sleepaway camp? Some of those accommodations are really shabby and threadbare. I'm UMC and I say GOOD. It's a safe way for them to know they're starting to be on their own, and mommy and daddy aren't going to be there to make everything all nice.

Also, to worry about your college-age son rolling off his bed is a bit infantilizing.

Not a lot of families send their kids to sleepaway camp in this area. We're not in NY.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Lol. Does your kid go to Georgetown? That description takes me back....

Georgetown is redoing some of their largest dorm buildings - huzzah! It won't be long...