How to get the best dorm room - ahead of time

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When I was a freshman, my roommate got there first. She picked the bed that was stable. I got the one tilted at a 45 degree angle to the floor. As I had flown out to Stanford alone, I figured out how to get the wheel casing back on the bed leg by myself.

Getting there first is definitely advantageous. But be careful what you foist on your roommate.

My kid is a sophomore. Arrived first for freshman year, second this year.

First year, better bed orientation to a window sill and did not have the HVAC vent near the bed.

Second year, parents and kid had to figure out how to recombine all the modular furniture to unloft the bed. The desk has to be against the HVAC unit. And worse closet door location (blocked by main door to room when open).

Of course, this is kind of minor. But if you're picky it might be an irritant.

My DC's freshman room was a quad. One of the kids just marched in there. Walked up to the bed desired. Put all their stuff on it and had no discussion with any of the others about how to decide who was going to get what bed or how they were going to set up the room. And the rest of the year seemed to go like that.
Needless to say, three of them are still friends and one the other one has continued to socially struggle. But presumably has a good bed. Not sure it's worth it if you have to act like a selfish fool.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m interested in this too. DD would just love for her room to have its own bathroom, she doesn’t care about a single.

This is still asking a lot for most university housing.

Clean and no mold is asking a lot for most university housing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Perhaps this would be a good time to let your kid adjust to not always getting “the best” of everything.

Amen. What is there to work towards if you have the best of everything at 18?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I never heard of “Honors College”- so kids with top grades, high school honor student's, get better, first choice dorms?

Not always. My DC was admitted to UMD -Honors and the honors dorm needed a major redo and did not have AC.

[Anonymous]

Be a recruited athlete.

Other than that, there is no definitive way. What I'm seeing on here does not apply to my DC's school. The housing is a lottery. You have no say.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:When you get there, the RA will have your kid’s name on a sign on the door. If your kid’s name is on the left, left-hand bed. Right, right-hand bed.

This is cute but not a thing.

[Anonymous]

Totally college depending. My student only got to rank choices of areas 1-3 (quiet, not so quiet, in the middle of the action) and roommate was random. No choosing allowed. As a sophomore, student was allowed to stick with same room and roommate or move. If students choose to move in with a different roommate though, they can't keep the same room and had to move to a different dorm.

[Anonymous]

LLCs (living and learning communities) sometimes have newer dorms, depends on the school.