Dealbreaker: students required to live on campus for 3 or even 4 years

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think it's weird that it's a requirement. I couldn't imagine living on campus my senior year of college. I agree it's a red flag. You aren't signing up for boarding school. This is college.

I am from Europe (cue the eye rolls), and this is kind of how I feel too.

And yet, so many Europeans live with their parents well into adulthood. Go figure.
DP

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think it's weird that it's a requirement. I couldn't imagine living on campus my senior year of college. I agree it's a red flag. You aren't signing up for boarding school. This is college.

As PP said it is a requirement often to maintain peace with local community. Same at my undergrad.

I view it as a plus. If you don't, don't go.

I lived off campus three years. That was a mistake. I wish I had done more on campus. I think I missed something.

That's fine. But living off campus, I finally got to have my own room (in a large shared house with other students) and some privacy. I paid my own rent which was half the cost of the dorms (no small thing as a student on financial aid with very little parental help). Not sure what the policies are at these schools, but they usually require students to have roommates. I was giddy having a room to myself, a real kitchen to cook in, and space to have guests. And save thousands of dollars. Plus we had the best parties -- not possible to do this on campus where I went to school.

The bold is inaccurate. Plenty of single rooms in dorms or single bedrooms in shared suites on many campuses. Yes, some campuses are horribly overcrowded and cramming three students into what was a double room etc., as other threads have noted. But it's not correct to use huge generalizations like "they" usually require...anything.

As far as saving money, as another PP noted, most landlords want at least 12 months of commitment. So you lose money if you only want nine months of renting, or you have to find someone to sublet (if that's even allowed). And some landlords near colleges truly do gouge, knowing students can be desperate for housing at some schools. How long ago were you in college?

THIS. My son lives in an off-campus apartment and we pay rent - all 12 months, even though he's home in the summer. It is PAINFUL.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The school is taking responsibility for Student Life, an aspect of college for which that many universities feel no responsibility. It's education the whole student, not just academics. The school probably has a much richer Student Life/Activities focus than other colleges. And much richer financial resources.

This is a very American point of view. Which makes sense! Because this is a US-based message board. But in many (most?) places in the world, this is not how college is. At all. When I moved here, it definitely took some getting used to and felt a lot like prolonged adolescence. Where I'm from (Germany), you mostly just go to school for classes like people go to their job in real life. Very few students live on campus, they live in the city in their own rented apartments (or some with family). "Student life" does not really exist- for personal life, we do things in the city rather than the structured events that are organized and ran by the college. You are expected to learn and live independently and the university is not going to organize a social life for you. In fact, many of your friends might not even go to your university. As a result of all this, you don't have the rigid separation between the university students and the greater community like you do in a lot of places in the US. Students just integrate into the city and are treated more like "regular residents. I personally think this is a good thing; others (see: many comments on this thread) prefer a more insulated experience, more like a boarding school, and that's fine. Different strokes.

Yes and this is why Europe sucks.

+1
I'm starting to agree, simply based on the European poster's insistence that his/her experience (in Europe, no less) is the standard to which everyone else should be held. Sorry, no thanks. Sounds very unappealing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is the purpose of your post? If it’s a dealbreaker, he should go elsewhere. Not sure what the question is.

OP here. The purpose is merely to express surprise that this re$idential requirement is as common as it is, even at schools that aren't tiny enrollment rural LACs. I've a

Sometimes on DCUM people create posts that don't ask for advice. What happened to this CA family? $1 million in Brightwood! APS mask policy contradicts CDC. And that's ok.

I think you may be defensive because you have realized how limited your world view was. And that's ok too.

Actually, I would say the opposite. When it comes to university study, things like living on campus all four years, life revolving around campus stuff, "student life" etc. are all VERY VERY American things. It is very uncommon in the rest of the world. If the OP's experience is with universities in other countries, it is not at all surprising that she would be surprised by residential requirements. If you are surprised that OP is surprised (whew!) by residential requirements, I would say it is you who has a limited worldview. And that's ok too.

Perhaps English is not your first language? You don't seem to know grasp what "world view" means, as it was used in the PP's posting.

NP -- that is just rude. You should ashamed of yourself.

DP. What a stupid comment. The PP already said they were from Germany. So English is probably not their first language.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't understand why this is a concern I went to Dartmouth, and pretty much everyone lived on campus all four years (including Greek/interest housing) and it was just the norm. I just assumed this was how college was and thought it was kind of weird when I learned people at other schools lived off campus. I couldn't imagine being apart from my peers and not just being able to wander out of my dorm room and talk to a bunch of people my own age, or dash across the campus to the library to pick something up late at night.

Somehow I, along with all my classmates, managed to figure out how to live independently after we graduated.

I think this should not be a concern.

Completely agree. This was my college experience as well and I wouldn't have it any other way.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our family is narrowing the list of reach/match schools, and as part of this process, we are closely reading about the details of 'student life.'

It had someone escaped our attention that DS's #1 and #3 choices require students to live in on campus, in assigned housing, for 3 and 4 years, respectively. One of these schools goes on and on about how nobody is likely to get an exemption from that rule (unless you're married with kids, significant ADA issue that can't be accommodated, etc.). What the hell?

On a whim I went down his 'Maybe list' of 15 schools and I see that the 3 year requirement is not a rarity. The notable exceptions are giant state schools and/or California schools. Why would a university mandate that their 22, 23 yr old students live in little dorm rooms, potentially with a roommate, and have curfews, alcohol bans, visitor limits and so on? Not to mention limits on having a pet, having a car, and more.

Local woman cannot understand why the world doesn’t bend to her will.

Exactly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't get some of these comments, I went to a large state school where most people moved off campus sophomore year. Some stayed in dorms as sophs but definitely by junior year everyone had a house or apartment. "Off campus" doesn't mean moving thirty miles away, it just meant we were paying rent to a landlord instead of to the school. We were still physically right in the mix. In fact the places I lived were all closer to most of the academic buildings than my freshman year dorms.

+1. My college only required Freshman year on campus. I'm surprised no one mentioned cost! It's much more expensive to live on campus! We had to buy the meal plan, which you had to be a linebacker to be able to eat all the prepaid food.

Living off campus was a good "in between" stage between living hotel-like on campus without privacy and living on your own.

omg, the cost! My daughter is at a school that requires on campus all four years. We are paying $7200 for her to live in a 3 bedroom, on campus "townhouse" with 5 other girls (3 bedrooms, two per room). Two bathrooms. So about 800/month in rent for the 9 month school year. I know this doesn't seem like that much if you live in a high COL area, but this is a smallish city in the midwest. I looked up off campus rental options, and you could get a 3 bedroom duplex or apartment half a mile from campus for $1500. If that was split between six people, it'd be $250 a month! Less than a third of what we are paying now! Even if it were 3 people and everyone got their own bedroom, it'd still be almost half of what we are paying.

It's a money maker for the school, plain and simple.

Campus housing is furnished and includes cable and wifi. Add those costs into your 3 bedroom duplex or apartment and see how much cheaper it actually is.

PP here, I have. My other daughter shares a house with 4 other girls in higher COL area and it's still cheaper. They split wifi and utilities and each girl pays about $50/month. (What college students have cable these days?!) What the hell kind of wifi are you using?! And most of their furniture they got off Craigslist, the sidewalk, or marketplace. It's college. nothing fancy necessary.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think it is mostly small private schools that have this requirement, especially LACs and especially if they are in more rural areas where there wouldn't really be any good options for students to live off campus. If this is a deal breaker for your kid, look at state schools or bigger private schools.

The Ivies have them as well.

Basically, the highly ranked schools require on campus living three or four years. The large state schools do not.

Well, a difference between private and public. Private universities want to cultivate community so alumni feel connected and donate and they get a better reputation leading to more applications... you get the picture. Public universities -- you know, with public funding -- are far less vested in this kind of thing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think it is mostly small private schools that have this requirement, especially LACs and especially if they are in more rural areas where there wouldn't really be any good options for students to live off campus. If this is a deal breaker for your kid, look at state schools or bigger private schools.

The Ivies have them as well.

Basically, the highly ranked schools require on campus living three or four years. The large state schools do not.

My daughter is at Penn and they do not have a four year residential requirement. Sophomore year was her last in the dorms.

[Anonymous]

Local woman cannot understand why the world doesn’t bend to her will.



Exactly.

Reading is fundamental. But it's so hard.

OP said they were taking certain schools off the list now they know about the dorm requirement. There's no attempt to change the system

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think it is mostly small private schools that have this requirement, especially LACs and especially if they are in more rural areas where there wouldn't really be any good options for students to live off campus. If this is a deal breaker for your kid, look at state schools or bigger private schools.

The Ivies have them as well.

Basically, the highly ranked schools require on campus living three or four years. The large state schools do not.

My daughter is at Penn and they do not have a four year residential requirement. Sophomore year was her last in the dorms.

Guess Michigan UCLA UC-Berkley aren't highly ranked anymore

[Anonymous]

I would not rule out a school for this reason. This seems like a positive to me! There are lots of benefits to living on campus and there is only one time in your life to be a college student.

[Anonymous]

You sound like a ninny OP. Hopefully, your kid is smarter than you. You must be financially illiterate. Do you really want your kid to take on a lease + expenses that a roommate bails on? I am a professor + countless students have come to my office crying that their roommates left them holding the bag on a lease.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Our family is narrowing the list of reach/match schools, and as part of this process, we are closely reading about the details of 'student life.'

It had someone escaped our attention that DS's #1 and #3 choices require students to live in on campus, in assigned housing, for 3 and 4 years, respectively. One of these schools goes on and on about how nobody is likely to get an exemption from that rule (unless you're married with kids, significant ADA issue that can't be accommodated, etc.). What the hell?

On a whim I went down his 'Maybe list' of 15 schools and I see that the 3 year requirement is not a rarity. The notable exceptions are giant state schools and/or California schools. Why would a university mandate that their 22, 23 yr old students live in little dorm rooms, potentially with a roommate, and have curfews, alcohol bans, visitor limits and so on? Not to mention limits on having a pet, having a car, and more.

They mandate it because dorms are a cash cow. They charge outrageous rates for old buildings that were long ago paid off.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our family is narrowing the list of reach/match schools, and as part of this process, we are closely reading about the details of 'student life.'

It had someone escaped our attention that DS's #1 and #3 choices require students to live in on campus, in assigned housing, for 3 and 4 years, respectively. One of these schools goes on and on about how nobody is likely to get an exemption from that rule (unless you're married with kids, significant ADA issue that can't be accommodated, etc.). What the hell?

On a whim I went down his 'Maybe list' of 15 schools and I see that the 3 year requirement is not a rarity. The notable exceptions are giant state schools and/or California schools. Why would a university mandate that their 22, 23 yr old students live in little dorm rooms, potentially with a roommate, and have curfews, alcohol bans, visitor limits and so on? Not to mention limits on having a pet, having a car, and more.

They mandate it because dorms are a cash cow. They charge outrageous rates for old buildings that were long ago paid off.

They do not make money on dorms or meal plan. Not a dime.