I've started to explore colleges for my DD, and I'm concerned that so many of them have coed bathrooms. I don't mind coed dorms, but I don't like the idea of my DD showering in the same room as men. Have any schools besides southern schools and Catholic universities avoided this trend? |
Unfortunately, the answer is yes. You need to look at religious schools to get away from coed dorms. |
Some schools have all-female (or all-male) suites with their own bathrooms. Or you can pay $$$$ for a dorm with a private bath. |
We've toured five very different colleges, from a huge state school to a tiny LAC, and all had dorms that were coed--but men and women were on separate floors, or on the same floors but in separate halls or wings. The whole point was so that the bathrooms were not shared. I'm sure that shared bathrooms were probably mentioned too but it depends on the dorm. Have your kid ask for more details and ask if she can request a dorm with single sex bathrooms. I'm sure this would be an issue for my DD as well. But after what we heard on visits, I can't believe that every single college dorm has every single bathroom set up for coed showers, to the point that a religious college is the only option. |
Gosh, I'm old. How did this become a thing? We had coed dorms, but single-sex bathrooms. Don't kids want some privacy? |
My daughter had coed bathrooms in her dorm this past freshman year. There was also a single bathroom on each end of the floor that you could use. She said it was no big deal. If your daughter is worried then ask for an all female dorm or floor, most schools have that option. |
Both my boys go to schools that do not have co-ed bathrooms as the norm. It is not universal. |
I'm old too, and the coed dorms with coed bathrooms at college were way more private than my home life. The whole family shared a bathroom! |
Historically single sex schools with old dorms who have coed floors. 25 years ago my freshman dorm had coed bathrooms. I hated it. The boys went to one of the nearby academic buildings to poop! |
We have toured 20+ colleges, all VA state schools and northeast LACs. Not a single one had coed bathrooms. Many had coed floors, but had separate bathrooms for each gender on the floor, and several also had a gender neutral bathroom. |
I'm also suprised to see that this is so common. My kid is going to UMD and their dorm bathrooms are single-sex. |
This is our experience too. My DD is at a state school where floors alternate male/female with their own bathrooms. DS is at a SLAC where floors are coed but have 2 bathrooms/floor, one male, one female. I don't recall touring any schools where men and women shared bathrooms with showers. |
My daughter was in a coed dorm that had a coed 1st floor, all girl 2nd floor, and all boy 3rd floor. I was thrilled that she was on the 2nd floor. Then I found out that the RA on her floor was male. Rediculous!! |
I went to college more than 20 years ago and my RAs were male - I never even thought about that being an issue someone would think of until now! I was in a coed dorm with suites but the guys were on different floors. |
OP here - I'm ok with an opposite sex RA. There are usually other RA's in the dorm if someone has a pressing personal issue. |