<p>I am sharing this in this forum as a reminder to us all that regardless of the campus, parents and in-coming freshman should thoroughly check out their housing options.</p>
<p>Suitable housing will be defined by the student and his or her family. That said, if you have the option to select your dorm, or at least show preferences for certain dorms, you can first:
• Talk to existing students or recent graduates about the individual reputations of dorms,
• Search the campus newspaper’s on-line archives for dorm related news stories,
• Talk candidly with the campus police/security force about the reputations of dorms (or even off-campus housing options).</p>
<p>Unfortunately, many schools (especially publics) don’t give freshmen much of a choice in dorms. Talking through scenarios with your soon-to-be-freshman of how to handle difficult/dangerous/annoying/etc. dorm situations is also important, as well as making sure they (and you) know the resources available to them.</p>
<p>We didn’t expect D to become a wild partier at school (and she hasn’t been). We were fairly straight-forward about sharing some of our own college experiences and some of the REALLY STUPID things we did…not to tell her it was OK, but to tell her we weren’t idiots about what went on, and that there WOULD be some dicey situations that she’d need to deal with. So far, she’s done fine. That said, her living situation next year looks to be a bit less party-focused (and is a learning-living program that can easily kick kids out).</p>
<p>I second what Greta says. At my son’s school, there is a area of dorms ("east’) that is known as “party central.” Wild stuff going on every night of the week. Most students would do best to stay away…even those who are going there with the thoughts of partying. You should be able to choose when you want to take a break and study. Plus who wants to walk around piles of vomit every day?
Parent should ask questions and pay attention when making housing deposits. Lots of info on dorm situations are also posted on these boards.</p>
<p>Some schools, including many publics, have honor dorms or preferential housing for honors students, so that can be one option to investigate. </p>
<p>On many campuses, the wildest dorms tend to be those that have mostly (or all) freshman residents. Dorms that mix freshman with sophomores-seniors can be a saner choice. </p>
<p>Another, possibly less party-hardy, but still, very social option on some campuses might be theme housing or theme floors in dorms where students self-select with similar interests. </p>
<p>And yes, toneranger is right, these boards have lots of campus specific dorm information, especially for the schools that get a lot of attention here.</p>
<p>Search for “substance-free” or “chem-free” housing on the school’s website, or talk with the Residence Life staff. My daughter chose a sub-free floor her freshman year and was so glad she did. She and her friends on the floor had a great time, without having to worry about loud, obnoxious drunk students vomiting in the hallway. She had a number of friends from the floor below (not sub-free) who would come upstairs to escape the craziness.</p>
<p>Pardon the stereotype, but try calling the athletic department, find out which is the most popular dorm for the teams, and then don’t go there. I’m ducking the flames, but this has been my experience re: freshman year.</p>
<p>I beg to differ on some opinions here. You do not abuse drug or alcohol because you live in a certain dorm. Your upbringing determines what you would do when you get to college and later. It may be annoying to live in a dorm where people party a lot, but no one would force your to take drug or drink if you do not want to. Many schools also do not give you an option where you want to live.</p>
<p>I agree with oldfort. There’s a bit of an alarmist message here – live in the wrong dorm and you may OD. Yes, some kids go to school to party, but many don’t, and many make lifelong friends in their freshmen dorms.</p>
<p>yeah, mini’s got it right (not sure about feces though - might be unique to certain schools). Hey, if you have a choice, and you’re not planning to do heavy partying, why would you CHOOSE these dorms? Agree that there’s probably not more of a chance that you’ll OD. But sleep deprivation can be a serious problem.
If you s or d gets stuck in one, at least bring some ear plugs.</p>
<p>I agree with your statement, oldfort, but in terms of housing arrangements the issues go beyond whether or not your own child drinks and drugs. Room damage (assessed to parents), breaking of your kids’ property, and inability of your kid to keep control over noise levels to sleep are some issues of concern. </p>
<p>Everyone has to learn to put up with a lot of stuff in rooming situations, but if you care about these impacts, then at least try to research the least obnoxious places to live (unless you are hoping to be obnoxious, not that there’s anything wrong with that…)</p>
<p>Repeating and agreeing with the OP’s main conclusion: