Every school we have toured we have seen a room. They are always sample dorms. I would never go blind no into a school without seeing where I am living. And we all know by rentals and real estate a picture does not tell the actual truth. Leaks, smells, co-ed bathrooms, common areas, elevators, how often they are cleaned or trash taken, etc...

Back when I was in school, I lived in the dorm that was used for tours. It was HORRIBLE to have huge groups coming through your hallway 2-4 times per day. There is nothing more awkward than coming out of the shower in a robe, carrying your shower caddy, and running into a huge group of strangers.

And inevitably, the tour guide would go into the room first and there would be half a tour standing in the hallway, waiting for their turn to go into the room. Someone could easily walk away from the tour at that point. That's a safety issue.

The tour guides would put on a little study break for us at the end of the year, but that doesn't make up for the sketchiness of having hundreds of strangers in your home every day.

And they always wanted to show female rooms because they were better than care of. How many of you would volunteer your daughter for this during her freshman year?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's a dorm room. What's, really, to see?

A lot actually.

It meant more to our children than to us. Gettysburg showed us freshman dorms and that did it for DC right there. They were awful, smelly, messy and rank. Drexel didn't show dorms at all - we had a poor tour guide. A nice room tour might have changed DD's view of the trip but we thought the whole presentation was terrible. Dickenson showed two girls (who had been warned) in their room. That was nice and welcoming. Occidental College wouldn't show any (they are triples; I think that is why). GMU showed off a lived-in room that was nice. Wash. & Lee didn't show anything (few dorms there have AC). Va Tech was the only one with a dedicated model room available to visit anytime, but our tour was late in the year - maybe a few people had dropped out so they could then create a room. It does make a difference for the applicants because it gives them an idea of how to visualize them in that room in that university.

Anonymous wrote:It's a dorm room. What's, really, to see?

A lot actually.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Touring dorms is so creepy and such a waste of time. It takes you 2 seconds to Google pictures of campus housing.

I don't really think seeing the inside of a dorm room is that important, but I do think seeing the general condition of the housing can say a lot. I toured one residence hall at a rather expensive university that was just plain gross and in a horrible state of disrepair. I'm not talking about messy; I'm talking about non-functioning restrooms, trash and debris in the stairwells, and no evidence of any cleaning or maintenance whatsoever. I don't know what that school was doing with the $70k per year, but it wasn't spending any of it on the residence halls.

Ironically, the better the school the worse the housing.

Do parents never sit back and think about why some colleges need to spend money on flashy dorms & give merit awards...? Or consider if a college is blowing the budget on 8- and 9-figure dorm remodels, that's money they're not spending on academic facilities and financial aid.

Ivy with crummy dorms > low-prestige toilet with JW Marriott-style dorms

I'm not talking about grand suites. I'm talking about working showers and toilets, lit stairwells, and a fresh coat of paint now and then. I've toured a few that didn't even meet that standard.

I agree with you. Housing should be in basic liveable condition and it is an indicator about how much they care about the students. To the Ivy poster - The larger Ivies also have a reputation for huge lecture hall classes and predominantly TA teaching. That is not a indication that the substandard housing dollars are instead going to the classroom. Great academic facilities only make a difference if the kids are being taught in them. The Ivies vary a lot in their academic teaching reputation so your comment may be true for some and not others. All the schools at this level have decent if not great financial aid. I do think some choose to spend discretionary funds in the classroom and others on funding non-substantial ECs. At least per on the ground relationships with kids who boast about how great it is to spend more time out of the classroom on pleasure trips funded by the University than they do in the classroom. I like prestige but as a full pay parent, I expect more than that.

It's a dorm room. What's, really, to see?

I agree that seeing a dorm room isn't that helpful, but unlike those who say they're all the same, my experience has been that dorm rooms can vary considerably -- in terms of size, layout, storage, and light -- even among the dorms on a single campus. This is true for my kids' schools -- two large private research universities and a SLAC, as well as for the SLAC I attended.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Touring dorms is so creepy and such a waste of time. It takes you 2 seconds to Google pictures of campus housing.

I don't really think seeing the inside of a dorm room is that important, but I do think seeing the general condition of the housing can say a lot. I toured one residence hall at a rather expensive university that was just plain gross and in a horrible state of disrepair. I'm not talking about messy; I'm talking about non-functioning restrooms, trash and debris in the stairwells, and no evidence of any cleaning or maintenance whatsoever. I don't know what that school was doing with the $70k per year, but it wasn't spending any of it on the residence halls.

Ironically, the better the school the worse the housing.

Do parents never sit back and think about why some colleges need to spend money on flashy dorms & give merit awards...? Or consider if a college is blowing the budget on 8- and 9-figure dorm remodels, that's money they're not spending on academic facilities and financial aid.

Ivy with crummy dorms > low-prestige toilet with JW Marriott-style dorms

I'm not talking about grand suites. I'm talking about working showers and toilets, lit stairwells, and a fresh coat of paint now and then. I've toured a few that didn't even meet that standard.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Touring dorms is so creepy and such a waste of time. It takes you 2 seconds to Google pictures of campus housing.

I don't really think seeing the inside of a dorm room is that important, but I do think seeing the general condition of the housing can say a lot. I toured one residence hall at a rather expensive university that was just plain gross and in a horrible state of disrepair. I'm not talking about messy; I'm talking about non-functioning restrooms, trash and debris in the stairwells, and no evidence of any cleaning or maintenance whatsoever. I don't know what that school was doing with the $70k per year, but it wasn't spending any of it on the residence halls.

Ironically, the better the school the worse the housing.

We were blown away by Wash U’s dorms. Maybe that’s she exception rather than the rule - it’s the only school we’ve toured so far.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Touring dorms is so creepy and such a waste of time. It takes you 2 seconds to Google pictures of campus housing.

I don't really think seeing the inside of a dorm room is that important, but I do think seeing the general condition of the housing can say a lot. I toured one residence hall at a rather expensive university that was just plain gross and in a horrible state of disrepair. I'm not talking about messy; I'm talking about non-functioning restrooms, trash and debris in the stairwells, and no evidence of any cleaning or maintenance whatsoever. I don't know what that school was doing with the $70k per year, but it wasn't spending any of it on the residence halls.

Ironically, the better the school the worse the housing.

Do parents never sit back and think about why some colleges need to spend money on flashy dorms & give merit awards...? Or consider if a college is blowing the budget on 8- and 9-figure dorm remodels, that's money they're not spending on academic facilities and financial aid.

Ivy with crummy dorms > low-prestige toilet with JW Marriott-style dorms

I don't need to see inside a room but I do need to see the location of the dorms, how they house them, security, and inside one of the dorm buildings. Some have basements, some have nice sitting areas, common rooms, dining hall on 1st floor, etc...

And like another poster mentioned, we saw some abysmal dorms. Look like a jail. Ceilings were 7ft high, dark, trash everywhere, limited security, elevator not working and no common room but a small 8x8 with a desk and couch. Room and Board was $14K for that mess. It was such a turn off.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Touring dorms is so creepy and such a waste of time. It takes you 2 seconds to Google pictures of campus housing.

I don't really think seeing the inside of a dorm room is that important, but I do think seeing the general condition of the housing can say a lot. I toured one residence hall at a rather expensive university that was just plain gross and in a horrible state of disrepair. I'm not talking about messy; I'm talking about non-functioning restrooms, trash and debris in the stairwells, and no evidence of any cleaning or maintenance whatsoever. I don't know what that school was doing with the $70k per year, but it wasn't spending any of it on the residence halls.

After having you red at least a dozen dorm rooms, I tend to agree. They are strikingly similar - some a a little smaller and some are a little larger, but basically it is a tight space with a bed, dresser and desk for ones child.

Yup. And even if they are a bit different (i.e. some colleges have the suite style with two bedrooms connected by a bathroom, some have singles, etc.)...you can generally find that information and photos on the websites.