<p>A friend of mine and her freshman daughter just returned from orientation–they found out that due to high enrollment, many students will be tripled. The floor she will be living on will have 30 girls and only 2 bathrooms and 2 showers. That seems inadequate to me. I was wondering if anyone knew if there were any “rules” that colleges have to follow regarding living arrangements. Or can they do what they want?</p>
<p>I’m curious as to whether anyone has run into this before with their own children.</p>
<p>The New York State Building Code (which is based on the International Code) says that you need a toilet for every 10 people, and a bathtub or shower for every 8 in a dormitory. So you might have a case to complain.</p>
<p>How easy is it going to be for students to get their money back if they move out?</p>
<p>This reminds me of the conditions freshmen at MIT (used to?) encounter – a lot of them find other places to live very quickly and move out. If students at your friend’s school are able to break their housing contracts and get their money back it may be that students who choose to stay in the dorm aren’t going to be nearly as crowded by October.</p>
<p>The fire code is not concerned with how many toilets are in the building. </p>
<p>It depends on the municipality, but sometimes college dorms are exempt from the normal housing regulations that apply to rented apartments. That may be how they can allow such a situation, which does indeed sound a bit crazy.</p>
<p>If the dorms are close to the dining halls, classrooms or libraries, then I guess the toilets there can be used. If close to the exercise building, then those could be used too.</p>
<p>Many colleges are making triples out of doubles. That is the way it is. DD lived in a coed dorm (not a very large one) and the girl’s bathroom was not on her floor. So she went either up one floor or down one floor to shower/use the bathroom. It was NOT a problem at all.</p>
<p>My guess is the college(s) have checked the applicable “codes”. </p>
<p>Also, at my kid’s school, students who were tripled also got a sizable rebate on their housing costs (we tried to convince DD to volunteer). After the first three weeks when the school saw the number of students who actually showed up, most of these students were given the opportunity to change to doubles. My daughter said that less than 10% did.</p>
<p>My daughter was forced tripled last year and will be again this year. I think there were 4 toilet stalls and 4 showers for 28 girls last year and she said it was fine.</p>
<p>The forced triple is horrible though, and there were no discounts.</p>
<p>When you say 2 bathrooms and 2 showers… does that mean 2 <em>toilets</em> and 2 <em>single</em> shower stalls? Or is it two bathrooms (each with multiple stalls) and 2 showers rooms (with multiple shower heads)?</p>
<p>I lived on a floor that had only one bathroom - but it had 4 toilets and the 1 shower was just a large shower room with 6 shower heads in it (no privacy). Worked fine. I prefered more privacy and 90% of the time, I was able to shower alone by showering at off hours (middle of the day, 10pm, etc).</p>
<p>I doubt there is code… sounds like there used to be 20 girls sharing, and now there will be an extra 10? With a tiny bit of staggering, even with worse case scenario, I bet they’ll do fine.</p>
<p>Oh. I also shared a triple one year (when room was originally a double). It wasn’t awesome, but it was doable. I definitely studied outside of the dorm room - but there were millions of places to study, so it worked out fine.</p>
<p>I had the same experience my freshman year. We had three people in double rooms. We had four stalls and two showers. While I sometimes had to wait in line for the shower, it was not a big deal. </p>
<p>It will be fine. I think it is a bit of a shocker for kids who have always had their own rooms and bathrooms, but it’s honestly not that bad.</p>
<p>I personally think that is inadequate but there may not be a rule against it. I am assuming you meant two toilets and two shower heads in sum. </p>
<p>I feel D2 was spoiled with a dorm apartment starting freshman year with four girls total with a private bathroom with two sinks, one toilet and one shower. :D</p>
<p>Even at her camp, there were six girls with a private bathroom. </p>
<p>Come to think of it, D1 freshman year also had four girls sharing one private bathroom at her school too. </p>
<p>The ratio of 30 girls to two toilets and two showers is not too good and is not the norm.</p>
<p>Thanks for replying. It is indeed 2 toilets and 2 showers. I was wondering if this is a “code” violation, and if there was any use in complaining.<br>
I have 2 in college and they have more toilets and shower stalls than there are at this school. My daughter had 2 stalls and 1 shower for 6 girls last year.
I told my friend that kids (even “girly” girls!) often roll out of bed and go right to class–something they wouldn’t dream of in high school. They generally figure out the best time to shower based on their schedules. The bathroom might be more problematic…
Forced triples are not always a problem. I suggested that my soon to be freshman daughter consider it. She will not know who she is rooming with and it might be nice to have more than one roommate. I know it’s tight, but the kids do seem to get used to it. I remember the kids that were tripled when I was at college ended up loving it–and did not want to be moved when the opportunity arose.
I truly find it hard to believe there is not some “rule” about housing arrangements. There should be!</p>
<p>I don’t have any advice other than to note that making sure your D has all of her vaccinations might be an especially good idea in these circumstances!</p>