Colleges where most students stay in the dorms all 4 years

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:University of Richmond. Freshmen and sophomores are in typical dorms while junior and seniors are eligible to room in the on campus townhouse village (2 story, 2 bedroom apartments, 4 students per apartment). They’re pretty nice. Almost everyone lives on campus.

I don't care how nice the apartments are, sharing a bedroom when you're 21 or 22 would blow nuts.

I am always amazed at the privilege of some people. My dream is to have my very own bathroom that no one else touches. But the reality is, your own bathroom is a privilege.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ugh...dealing with this now. Spouse and I graduated from a small private 4 year college, staying in dorms all 4 years. It was easy.

DC is now at JMU first year and this has been tough. Making friends takes time (for him) and this has been a challenge. But there are so many groups that help with roommate matching, just like with roommate selection first year. FB parents off-campus housing posts a lot, as do certain student-only apartment complexes, and JMU itself has a matching page. The thing is, like everything, you have to just put it out there and look for roommates. The one mistake we see over and over is kids being pushed to sign leases in October with 3 people they just met. Don't fall for that!

So yes, dorms are easier to figure out. Less stress. But our quiet musical really really is over sharing a dorm room and ready to have more space to himself.

So yes, definitely pros and cons of each.
Pro's on small campus/dorm: being close, hallmates, not having to sign leases, not having to have a car
Con's: Having roommates, dining halls (though some have apartment-like housing now)
Pro's of larger, off campus: Feels more like 'real life', can get away from noise/partying (our dc's tipping point).
Con's of larger/off campus: push to figure it out.

Thank you for this post. I have one high school kid left, so I've gone through the college process twice before. I went to a college where most students lived on campus all four years and we didn't pick our roommates for sophomore year until the 2nd semester of freshman year. When we toured UVA with our oldest, the tour guide told us you needed to secure housing in October of Freshman year, and that really turned DS off from UVA. He's at W&M where there is a 2 year requirement to live on campus, but most students stay all 4 years. My second is at a SLAC that has a 3 year requirement to live on campus and they are in the lottery process for picking housing for next year. My youngest is drawn to the big schools and on all the tours we've done so far, it seems like most sophomores do move off campus. I don't have a problem with a sophomore living off campus but "find an apartment/roommate by Oct" is what I find stressful.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ugh...dealing with this now. Spouse and I graduated from a small private 4 year college, staying in dorms all 4 years. It was easy.

DC is now at JMU first year and this has been tough. Making friends takes time (for him) and this has been a challenge. But there are so many groups that help with roommate matching, just like with roommate selection first year. FB parents off-campus housing posts a lot, as do certain student-only apartment complexes, and JMU itself has a matching page. The thing is, like everything, you have to just put it out there and look for roommates. The one mistake we see over and over is kids being pushed to sign leases in October with 3 people they just met. Don't fall for that!

So yes, dorms are easier to figure out. Less stress. But our quiet musical really really is over sharing a dorm room and ready to have more space to himself.

So yes, definitely pros and cons of each.
Pro's on small campus/dorm: being close, hallmates, not having to sign leases, not having to have a car
Con's: Having roommates, dining halls (though some have apartment-like housing now)
Pro's of larger, off campus: Feels more like 'real life', can get away from noise/partying (our dc's tipping point).
Con's of larger/off campus: push to figure it out.

When you recommend not falling for signing a lease in October, what do you recommend? The most desirable locations will be gone if you wait. You will end up paying much more or being far out or ??? You do not really have a choice.

[Anonymous]

At Loyola in Baltimore, the housing was designed to turn the school into a place people would want to stay.

It had been a commuter college.

They purchased apartment buildings in the area and made them dorms.

Some of the housing (Garden Apartments) have 2 bathrooms for 6 people. When you call maintenance due to a plumbing issue, they ask how many toilets are working in your room now, to prioritize the calls. I remembering going to some rooms and being aware that graduation was going to be a let down.

Seniors get preference on nicer housing, so moving off campus was not an incentive. If people lived off campus, everyone assumed something was wrong (they got kicked out or were having a financial problem).

[Anonymous]

Almost all students at Swarthmore stay on campus all 4 years.