Anonymous wrote:OP here-I am glad to see some people on this board understand-it’s not about being a snowflake that can’t take the heat. DC can, and will now have to if they aren’t able to change rooms.

It’s the whole thing-being in a basement, wedged into a corner room away from most with no roommate to have that initial college experience with when my DC was looking forward to that-makes me angry and sad. It’s not like I can go and visit the first few weekends to see how things are going as I am here in the DMV. I was sad about DC leaving in the first place and going so far and it would have given me some comfort to know they were happy and excited about their first dwelling away from home. If no one understands these feelings then I can’t say anything more!

OP - when your DC moves in - immediately go find kids in rooms nearby and say they are are single (unexpectedly) and want to meet people, go to dining hall etc. I'm the person whose best friend was in a single (the only one on the floor) next door. I met her (and her parents) during move-in and we all included her all the time. I think other kids will understand that. And it really was great to have her room as the hangout place. She'd host us all the time....back in the days when we might crowd around a small B&W Portable TV to watch Moonlighting. Clearly, times have changed, but I still think you get the idea. And, I know this is harder to imagine for a more introverted student, so I can empathize - but get out there immediately to say hi - keep door open - knock on doors to collect others for meals. It'll work out. Try not to poison the well in advance...

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP you really need to say whether this college is within a five miles of the coast. No AC then is doable. If it is in Pomona, no way would I want my kid to suffer in Inland Empire Heat in August/ September/October without AC. That is just cruel.

This year dorm move in is August 17. Last year starting with August 17 the temperature in Pomona was 93 degrees. From August 28th and 29th the temperature was 99 degrees.

You're conveniently ignoring the 70 degree lows at night. It's the desert. You know where students spend their day? Anywhere but the dorm.

When it is 99 degrees for the high and 70 degrees for the low, the low happens right before dawn at 6 in the morning. It is still in the 80's in the late evenings until 9 or 10 at night. Students sometimes go back to their dorms after lunch then go back to campus. It is miserable to be hot and sweaty then take a shower to freshen up then start sweating again as you are getting dressed. No air conditioning in a basement room in a single seems miserable.

That's NOT typical of SoCal at 9/10pm. That sounds more like a DMV scenario you are projecting.

Temps drop when the sun goes down in SoCal and the heat is dry. It's very different from east coast hot and humid.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:People lived without air conditioning for thousands of years. Your snowflake will survive.

Studies done *on college students* show that sleeping in temperatures that are too warm cause lower math scores on tests. Authors compared math scores from students in dorms with A/C and dorms without.

So this is academically important. A/C is not a frivolous demand these days.

mmmkay. Amazing then how many of us survived no AC in a southern school in the 90s and still aced math and math-based engineering courses, and for some reason the northern-most ivies still have no AC in some dorms and yet their students are some of the highest performers on tests.

If AC really mattered to you, you should have investigated. There also is something called AC for an individual room: better than a fan, not central air but decent.

I remember putting in my ac unit and just asking my RA what day in the semester will she check my dorm, so I didn’t get written up. It was pretty common, not sure what the fussing is about. You’re getting an elite education and complaining about a problem that a fan can solve.

What kid of AC unit did you get that wasn't visible from outside the room?

Not PP but many people in SoCal use these kinds that are not window units. You will still need to rig the output tube to fit in window - but you can set it up so that you only have it set up at window when running.

https://www.globalindustrial.com/p/portable-spot-cooler-air-conditioner-6475-btu-115v?gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjwko21BhAPEiwAwfaQCN7_gli4VU8WcD8x0LoMukP2AKC9HQ1UPr20XVbH7fw8N1Plf_AndhoCe6UQAvD_BwE

https://www.amazon.com/BLACK-DECKER-BPACT12WT-Portable-Conditioner/dp/B01DLPUWGW/ref=asc_df_B01DLPUWGW/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=692875362841&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=2829993242860398633&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=1027028&hvtargid=pla-2281435184298&psc=1&mcid=82bbb276762a304b9c9ec6d0bfa904bd&hvocijid=2829993242860398633-B01DLPUWGW-&hvexpln=73&gad_source=1

Anonymous wrote:Harvard and Yale are not in SoCal (or any Ivy for that matter) so don’t need AC. Why they are even being mentioned in this thread is a waste of time.

Many people in SoCal have no AC...

Anonymous wrote:It’s not in coastal CA and will get very hot.

Get a fan.

Freshmen always get the worst dorms. She will survive. Don’t pile up on this one issue, and cause her to start college with a cloud over her head!

Anonymous wrote: My kid also got a room with no AC in SoCal, inland empire after putting that quad as second choice. But she did get a roommate and seems very happy with them and is ok with no AC as it is a social area.

Regardless of the situation-close to home/far, ac/no ac…there’s no way you should be visiting the first weekends anyways. The most important thing is to support your kid and tell them they’ll be ok no matter what. If you’re reflecting that this is horrible news, he will believe that. But if you’re not concerned, he will be less so.

Trust that it will all be ok!! And I do hear it’s cooler at night and really only bad for the first few weeks. We are going to buy box fans for the window.

Your kid is okay with this because--obviously--she got a cool roommate.

I’m just shocked dorms in CA have basements!

OP, surely there are other students "wedged in the basement." It's not the only room.

The basement is cooler than higher floors and SoCal is cool at night. The lower the humidity, the greater the drop in temp. The AC thing is really, truly not going to be a problem.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I hope you realize that "back in my day..." comparisons are really inappropriate when it comes to climate.

Why? Here are the max temps from my first week of freshman year. 104, 95, 102, 86, 100. It was a lot cooler than that in southern cal.

It is ridiculous how the discussion of climate change has convinced people that the climate has already changed. The “warmest July on record” stuff you hear is because they’re taking into account temps over the ocean and the poles. The CONUS has had a relatively average to cool spring/summer. Besides, the predictions for long term climate change are for a handful of degrees over the next hundred years. You kid will be out of college by then.

DC climate is notably warmer than 50 years ago. I grew up here in the 70s. Climate change is not some distant future problem.

Yep every day new records are being broken. It's terrible.

Anonymous wrote:Anyone else less than enthused about their DC dorm placement? Mine wanted a roommate and wound up in a single basement dorm next to the bathroom without AC in CA at college that can more than afford to put central AC in. Beyond pissed for the amount of tuition and desire for roommate. Souring us on the school before we even arrive!

In Northern CA AC is hardly necessary. Also, roomates are a pain.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I hope you realize that "back in my day..." comparisons are really inappropriate when it comes to climate.

Why? Here are the max temps from my first week of freshman year. 104, 95, 102, 86, 100. It was a lot cooler than that in southern cal.

It is ridiculous how the discussion of climate change has convinced people that the climate has already changed. The “warmest July on record” stuff you hear is because they’re taking into account temps over the ocean and the poles. The CONUS has had a relatively average to cool spring/summer. Besides, the predictions for long term climate change are for a handful of degrees over the next hundred years. You kid will be out of college by then.

DC climate is notably warmer than 50 years ago. I grew up here in the 70s. Climate change is not some distant future problem.

Don’t go down without a fight OP-you are paying the same as a kid with AC in a single so remember that. I’d seek a housing accommodation!

My kid also got a room with no AC in SoCal, inland empire after putting that quad as second choice. But she did get a roommate and seems very happy with them and is ok with no AC as it is a social area.

Regardless of the situation-close to home/far, ac/no ac…there’s no way you should be visiting the first weekends anyways. The most important thing is to support your kid and tell them they’ll be ok no matter what. If you’re reflecting that this is horrible news, he will believe that. But if you’re not concerned, he will be less so.

Trust that it will all be ok!! And I do hear it’s cooler at night and really only bad for the first few weeks. We are going to buy box fans for the window.

It’s not in coastal CA and will get very hot.

Has OP named the school ?