<p>Our son has transferred to another school, and after his classes were evaluated, he was two units short of junior standing. The new university has a policy of requiring all freshmen and sophomores to live in university housing. He is going to go berserk! He has already lived two years in “animal house” dorms and would rather die than face another semester with goofy kids feeling their oats and acting crazy the first time they are away from home. Has anyone been able to get their kids out of living in university housing? Is this a moneymaker for schools and will most schools refuse to give up the income? His new school is in a major urban area on the east coast. However, he came from a university in the same type of neighborhood, but much worse, and he is very aware about his safety. He is almost 21 and very savvy. How does one get out of this situation?</p>
<p>Is there an Honors Dorm or some themed housing, which might be less likely to have the Animal House atmosphere?</p>
<p>I would have him appeal to the Student Life Director. I think he could make a very good case for an exception.</p>
<p>Sometimes colleges assign dorms by year (ie, the freshman dorm, the upperclass dorm, etc). Maybe he would be assigned to live with others with similar standing.</p>
<p>Thank you for the suggestions. We will explore the appeal route and try to get an exception. If that fails, maybe there will be some suitable housing either in a theme house or upperclassmen dorms/apartments. He was so looking forward to getting his own place away from the university, so it will be a disappointment if he has to return to college housing, even if it is an improvement over the “animal houses” he’s lived in.</p>
<p>So…they are checking his bed everynight? Money not withstanding I should think he can get off campus…kids where I go buy condos and in their first year do dorm/condo. I should think he would there is a way to select campus housing that would work but if it such a big issue…find an apartment.</p>
<p>hazmat, where do yo go to school?
I had not heard of the two domicles approach— clearly us parents have gotten totally out of control in enabling our kids to p*$s away money—unless the kids are paying…</p>
<p>“ps the money notwithstanding” if it was the kids money I bet it would be “withstanding”</p>
<p>I can understand a school guaranteeing housing for undergrads in an area where outside housing is either dangerous or very expensive. But what if don’t need the housing, either because you aren’t worried about the neighborhood or can afford a little more rent (or as hazmat suggests buy a condo).</p>
<p>Hey 15mbw…if a student cannot survive living in the dorm…for whatever reason why would you call independent living P)*&&)#@ money away. The cost of the dorm+off campus compared to tuition wasted from poor achievement…you crunch the numbers. As for buying a condo…it all depends on the family, the number of kids. As for what school? Penn.</p>
<p>Man, it appears to me you Ivy leaguer are full of excuses… let me translate for you “for hundreds of years some of the most successful people in our counrty have attended Penn/Yale /Harvard etc lived in dorms and loved it … yet some of your collegues seem to be unable to ‘handle’ the ‘pressure’ of living in a dorm… give me a break!”</p>
<p>If the student is paying for it fine whatever. If it is the parent-it is pure coddling. And it is not a matter of ability; I can afford many things for my children that I don’t buy them because I think they need to know that things will not always be handed to them. </p>
<p>I just looked up condo cost in Philadelphia. seems like $250,000 is a reasonable number. I think a IVy league education is about $160,000 I am excluding most of the extras… beer money/dates etc. It looks to me as if you just stay home I save the $250,00+160,000 or (and I am rounding here (I save $400,000) . Or, you can get a good education at Penn St. for about $100,000 and I hand you $300,000 as you exit college. I look forward to your dispute of the numbers so crunched</p>
<p>Of course you win on the dollars…I did not assert that dual housing was cheaper. I can imagine that there is “an instance” of a student who cannot “take” the dorm life. I can also imagine that the reasons could me more than “soft, indulged brat”. When someone posts a question and I have some experience to impart… For you to expound on your opinions regarding your children is interesting…for you to expound on the children of others is opining on the values of others. You are abundantly clear that you don’t believe the original poster has a valid circumstance…that their student is indulged and that parents who fund such indulgence are fools…very interesting thought.</p>
<p>First, I was mostly having fun at what I still view as a silly idea. (the one at PENN -not the original posters) I have no problem with wealth or Ivy . If this idea was presented at any university I would scoff.</p>
<p>I am a white,subuurban, republican–so I believe people can spend there monay as they want… I just don’t mind pointing out the silliness (in my opinion) of this approach(dual housing)…</p>
<p>As to a 21 y.o trying to get out of a dorm requirement, look for an exception. I want to drop my comments and get an answer for Venado</p>
<p>The original poster has a very valid reason to leave the dorms -as they arent really a spophomore – but I just think having a dorm room and condo is over th top</p>
<p>it can be expensive to live in student housing
$600 a month or so for a small room albeit with kitchen facilities and if you don’t need finaid living off campus can be a much better deal
However if you live off campus your finaid will be greatly reduced because your expenses will be less so be prepared for that.
Otherwise I htink you have a very good case for appeal.
Many schools don’t even require freshman to live on campus because housing is soo tight.
My nephew who recently graduated from Boulder had to stay off campus with a professor his freshman year until others in the dorm found their own off campus apts and a room opened up</p>
<p>Venado…to whom have you appealed? I cannot understand that the university would necessarily want a student who is older living with lower classmen. I hope you persue this with some higher or more appropriate authority…I wish you best of luck.</p>
<p>We just got back from our family vacation and found the letter on Friday. So, we have not had a chance to appeal. We will probably call the director of housing and try to get our son out of university housing requirement on Monday. He still doesn’t know about the requirement to utilize university housing for sophomores. He is in Eastern Europe working on a farm and is incommunicado. Hopefully we will get a positive response from the director of housing, and he can proceed with his original plan of getting his own apartment outside the university. I fully support his decision to get his own place, because he does his best work when he has peace and quiet. Libraries are great, but he likes to spend time at home and work.</p>
<p>We finally contacted the housing office last week, and they totally undercut the Dean of Students message. The people who actually work in the housing office tell us that they are thrilled when a freshman or sophomore opts out of campus residences because they are short of rooms. They are going to advise the dean to change the tone of his letter (from “mandatory” to “guaranteed”). For those who prefer freedom to live outside of cramped and noisy dorms, this may be a lesson learned.</p>
<p>It sounds like you have a good outcome. Have you located an apartment? How hard will it be to find a place so close to the start of school??</p>
<p>good job!
if this school has a livejournal it may be a place to start
My daughters school for example has plenty of housing but students still opt to live off campus ( it can be much cheaper) and they are still looking for roommates on LJ ( they have the house just need more roommates to fill it) that might be worth a look ( or craigslist)</p>
<p>Hazmat: I know a family who bought a condo in Philly for their child who was attending Penn (a few years ago) and claimed that the profit they made when they sold the apartment paid for the education! Obviously, that year, the housing market was very strong!</p>