This is a terrible idea.

1. Universities are good at taking in money and spending as much as they can. I worked in higher education and can’t tell you how many of these so called “Cost Plus” programs either fail or end up meeting their targets by not accounting for resources used from campus. This particular idea not only uses resources directly needed by students but includes land and buildings. Universities are very bad at property management.

2. At some point Universities will decide they need to also serve some number of low income seniors. They will be attracted by a state tax incentive or something to do so and pass along the costs to everyone else.

3. At popular colleges, student housing is already in crisis. Singles are now doubles, doubles are triples and quads. The kids are on top of each other. Getting the courses you need to graduate in four years can be an issue. Lockers at the gym are in demand. Lines for dining and coffee are long.

4. It’s another example of boomers and older GenX taking space and resources away from GenZ and GenAlpha

5. Universities are not ruthless like corporations and they fear litigation. They will settle every lawsuit and when the whole thing becomes unprofitable , will not shut it down and kick out old people.

It's an interesting idea for colleges facing enrollment problems. But absolutely zero 18 year olds want to go to class with a bunch of cranky and opinionated 65 year olds. So it will quickly become an either/or situation. But there is definitely demand for senior living facilities based on learning. And it might be a way for these small town liberal arts colleges to remain viable.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Colleges are now doing Senior Housing on Campus. You live on Campus, access to meal plan, can attend classes for free (no credit given), attend campus events. Multigenerational living.

However, there are waiting lists and application process and hard to get into. One near use is offering it Goucher College. See link.

Looks like with Peak Enrollment hitting last year, colleges are looking to fill up space on campus and with the population over 60 booming why not make dorms on campus for the 60 and up crowd. But you have to go through the whole application process.

What college would you like to retire to? For older parents would you retire to same college your 18 year old kids is headed to?

https://edenwaldexpansion.org/

The link says they are constructing new buildings adjacent to Goucher’s campus for this. Are there colleges that are actually using existing dorms? I can’t imagine all that many retirees would want to live in old college dorms, at least not without some extensive renovations being done first.

I don't know. Some of these newer apartment dorms are really nice due to the HGTV affect.

Anonymous wrote:I think there was a documentary about this with Will Ferrell - "Old School".

Just don't end up like Blue...or at least hopefully get to enjoy the pudding wrestling first.

Anonymous wrote:Colleges are now doing Senior Housing on Campus. You live on Campus, access to meal plan, can attend classes for free (no credit given), attend campus events. Multigenerational living.

However, there are waiting lists and application process and hard to get into. One near use is offering it Goucher College. See link.

Looks like with Peak Enrollment hitting last year, colleges are looking to fill up space on campus and with the population over 60 booming why not make dorms on campus for the 60 and up crowd. But you have to go through the whole application process.

What college would you like to retire to? For older parents would you retire to same college your 18 year old kids is headed to?

https://edenwaldexpansion.org/

The link says they are constructing new buildings adjacent to Goucher’s campus for this. Are there colleges that are actually using existing dorms? I can’t imagine all that many retirees would want to live in old college dorms, at least not without some extensive renovations being done first.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If this was affordable, this is my dream retirement. Living in community with other intellectually curious retirees, able to take classes that are interesting without the pressure of tests or getting a job. What's not to like?

Me too, PP. You and I would probably be senior friends and form a study group. I see this as a great idea.

I am not sure how the young people would feel about retirees in their classes, though.

Are you kidding? They want us in their groups! We lived the experiences that they are studying as case studies.

ASU also has this. They've partnered with a senior independent living and I believe there is a form of continuing care. It's a very interesting concept.

Anonymous wrote:If this was affordable, this is my dream retirement. Living in community with other intellectually curious retirees, able to take classes that are interesting without the pressure of tests or getting a job. What's not to like?

Me too, PP. You and I would probably be senior friends and form a study group. I see this as a great idea.

I am not sure how the young people would feel about retirees in their classes, though.

Anonymous wrote:What’s the point of the application process? They don’t take you if you aren’t sharp enough?
Also if they have space why not admit more kids?

Because there aren't "more kids" trying to get into these colleges. You've heard of the enrollment cliff caused by decline in birth rates, right?

https://www.npr.org/2026/04/13/nx-s1-5777582/many-private-colleges-at-risk-of-closing?

I think there was a documentary about this with Will Ferrell - "Old School".

If this was affordable, this is my dream retirement. Living in community with other intellectually curious retirees, able to take classes that are interesting without the pressure of tests or getting a job. What's not to like?

Someone on the reddit FIRE (early retirement) forum suggested enrolling in college with a minimum half time schedule to access cheap student health insurance until you're eligible for medicare.

Anonymous wrote:What’s the point of the application process? They don’t take you if you aren’t sharp enough?
Also if they have space why not admit more kids?

The costs for this are probably double, triple, or maybe more compared to tuition room and board for a college student. Probably lots of colleges will go down this road because they need the money.

What’s the point of the application process? They don’t take you if you aren’t sharp enough?
Also if they have space why not admit more kids?

Colleges are now doing Senior Housing on Campus. You live on Campus, access to meal plan, can attend classes for free (no credit given), attend campus events. Multigenerational living.

However, there are waiting lists and application process and hard to get into. One near use is offering it Goucher College. See link.

Looks like with Peak Enrollment hitting last year, colleges are looking to fill up space on campus and with the population over 60 booming why not make dorms on campus for the 60 and up crowd. But you have to go through the whole application process.

What college would you like to retire to? For older parents would you retire to same college your 18 year old kids is headed to?

https://edenwaldexpansion.org/