@Mommertons Wow, those do look great. Best of both worlds. Thanks.
Suite-style vs. corridor. My D definitely seemed to fawn over at the thought of a nice suite (dbl or sgl bedroom) with a shared bathroom. I reminded her that usually she and her suite-mates would be in charge of cleaning it (although, UofSC was one school that said that someone came once every 3 or so days to clean their suite baths!). I will encourage her to go for the corridor style, same feelings as @STEM2017. Even then, most have doors that automatically close these days, which is a bummer. Not a big deal either way, she’s not overly gregarious by any means, but she’ll be fine…even in a single (which hasn’t been discussed, so I’m thinking she is leaning towards the others).
I’m impressed @Mommertons could whip out those links so quickly! My spreadsheet is dorm info-challenged apparently!
We had the dorm chat last night. My D17 really needs her own space. She really is hoping for suite style like at UA. The dorms were quite amazing. I will say the price difference between a suite verses the usual 2 to a room is quite different and I keep reminder my daughter of this.
For my son, I have a strong feeling that corridor style would be best for his FRESHMAN year. After that, he should choose whatever fits his needs. Some will argue that you can’t force kids to make friends or be social, but in our case the corridor style would definitely help. My son usually needs a gentle push, but once he’s out there, he does well making friends. Sophomore year he can group up with his new friends and get a suite, or an apartment, or even a house as long as it fits in the budget.
Of course, I’m over thinking things, as I always do.
Well, those are the memorable dorms, so I didn’t even have to rely on my BOP (Binder Of Possibilities). I could Google from memory.
D and I consider the single vs double bedroom to be a pretty big quality-of-life issue. If we go with a large NM scholarship, the dorm situation may be an important factor deciding between similar colleges. (But if she is accepted into a reachy school at a affordable price, she’s willing to deal with sucky dorms.)
@Mommertons – RE: removing dorm furniture and replacing with own.
I haven’t read all the posts I have missed so perhaps that comment was in jest…but a problem with that idea is where will she store the furniture she removes? Will the university agree to hold it for her until checkout in May?
I wanted to remove the wood desk chair from my son’s room but couldn’t figure out where it would go. I suppose I could have taken it home and brought it back in May. Instead, I bought a seat cushion.
And, as the Neurotic Parent wrote in a very amusing blog post…it would be so much less expensive to buy a new mattress instead of the three inch memory foam thing, then the actual quilted mattress pad, and finally the bug bed protector. HUNDREDS of dollars.
And to those shopping at BB&B. Check Costco and Wal-Mart also. Costco is still cheaper than BB&B, even at 20% off. Of course, there is the convenience factor of pre-purchasing and picking up at BB&B, essential for those flying to college.
Once the college has been selected, take a look at electricity rules: wattage for fridge and/or M/W, surge protectors vs extension cords, types of lamps allowed. Son’s school did not allow extension cords so I bought surge protectors with really long cords. Not knowing the length I would need, I ordered one in each size, and returned the ones he did not need. I did not want to be fighting the crowds at the local Wal-Mart, Staples, whatever.
Bookmarking so that I can return to this portion of the thread in May, 2017…
@CT1417 - My D is not joking when she says she wants to replace the furniture. But it’s a dumb idea, and it won’t happen. Too many obstacles – purchasing new furniture, storing old furniture, what to do with new furniture over summer, etc. It’s just dumb. So I am joking when I report her “plan”, even though she’s not joking when she says it.
Dorm choices are so dependent on which school the kid ends up at. For S, the corridor-style is probably the best for freshman year. And I think he should be in a double, not a single, or he may just stay in his room forever playing video games (or stay there until he fails and gets kicked out! 
) Singles are more difficult to get, but they are available at most schools, even in the corridor-style dorms we have seen. Note that in the corridor style dorms, the bathrooms are cleaned and stocked by the school. In the suites, the kids often have to clean and stock their own bathrooms! One of the schools we visited told us that they recommend corridor style for freshman year because it is so much more conducive to meeting people, and we have seen that is true with D15.
No dorm talk. Boys are simple. period :)) Even his room now is pretty barren if the floor is cleaned up. [-(
I asked if the boys want to go to Europe or Caribbean next year. The boys said nope. Definitely not Disney. Mom, you can go there on your own :((
I’ll also have to drag DS17 to visit grandparents since this year he got an excuse not to for being a rising senior. [-(
I suppose I should think about/plan doing graduation/birthday party at home next summer. DS17 did not want parties since 4th grade. The last one we did at home was when he was in 1st grade, another big one was for 4 yrs. I wonder if that clown lady has retired. :O) :O) :)) Water balloon fight, face painting by the clown, her balloon animals and blown-up jumping castle :-bd may not cut it next year? =))
We no longer have the swing set to hang the piñata 3:-O
Fond memories. :x :D/
Landscaping would be most concern for us too. Cutting away couple dead trees. We need to work on the deck so that no one gets splinters or burn. Good thing to plan for a year. 8-> #:-S
I always tell people to keep your door open in your dorm for at least the first month any time you are in the room and not sleeping/showering. When you don’t know someone, its tougher to knock on an unopened door. You don’t know if they are busy, sleeping, etc. If the door is open, you can look in and see. May just be a group going to eat lunch or dinner who will ask if you want to join them. Once connections are established, keeping the door open is less important because you are more likely to knock on the door of a friend.
My son had a friend who went to a small LAC last fall. His parents were upset that after they had paid extra for him to have a single room, the college had an open door policy for the first week or two of the semester. I thought it was a good idea. Unfortunately, he ended up coming home before the semester was over. Not sure if that was the issue but I doubt it helped.
D’s dorm room at Ole Miss this summer has its own bathroom for the two girls but opens directly onto the hall. They have a lounge on their side of the building (it’s a square w courtyard in the center). It’s the largest freaking dorm room I have ever seen. If she were to attend Ole Miss for real, she’d have a similar room in a different dorm, either in the honors group or with the Arabic program.
@CT1417 I would agree. Actual nice mattress would be cheaper than memory foam pad/feather bed/cover.
Where does the original battered mattress go then? Or do you bring that home too? :)) Or leave it in the dorm room and get a new mattress every year? It may be cheaper to do so than paying to store the mattress over the summer.
One of the items that is good to have in a dorm is a doorstop. The doors tend to close by themselves, and the doorstop allows the kids to keep the door open when they want to be social.
re: Driving. We require 30 hours of classroom and 7 hours of driving with an instructor and then another 40 with a parent/adult. Allegedly that is supposed to be documented (the parent part) but no one seems to ask for it.
Frankly I’d rather they required half as much classroom and more required instruction. Either way, it wasn’t enough and S needs a lot of practice. Or maturity, or both. A lot of it is just him, the ADHD really comes out behind the wheel. “Squirrell”! So…we wait and delay the insurance pain.
As for dorm, parties, grad gifts… There will be a family party, not sure if bigger than that or not. Likely at our house but possibly at the lake if it’s small enough. Dorm, he likes the suite style but it’s not a deal killer at all. Does not want a single room, doesn’t seem to care about shared bathroom or hallway (or cleaning it) but suspect as it gets closer he will have more of an opinion. My concern with the suite is then your kitchen activity is limited to that area versus a shared kitchen may be far more communal/meeting people.
I don’t think you are actually allowed to replace the furniture lol!
Apparently I promised him a certain watch for HS graduation and he remembers it so…I will have to make good on that I guess. Which will be ouch and he will be looking at the low end of the line! And a laptop.
Fun fact for the day, I decided to add up all the application fees and assume sending one test score to teach. Only $1003 to apply to all the colleges on the list!
Suffice to say, that much more reason to cut the list down.
And to really think hard if we want to use the 4 free scores come September.
S told me last night over dinner that he’d get all his applications done by /over mid winter break and that is when most kids do them. Not sure who the kid was talking to but a quick glance at his list will reset that. He would miss the deadline on all but 4 schools (3 that have rolling admissions and all state schools) in that case, and none of them are high on the list. Conceivably all 4 could fall off!
We will be doing some level setting this weekend…
A kid who graduated last year came to speak to S’s AP English class yesterday. He is a twin, one went to USC (California lol) and he went to UBC (British Columbia) . He had a very very hard time being away from home and in another country and has dropped out and will transfer to the flagship. Really bright, great kid, had lots of options. I was a bit shocked as UBC really isn’t all that far away in my mind. But it did hit a chord with S and I think may have him reconsidering geography. The message was to really know yourself, your limits and not be afraid to say it’s not working. Which is both a good and bad message in some ways. I plan to dig a little more into it over the weekend as well. It could definitely impact the list in a big way.
@2muchquan I hope your D had a fabulous Bday! It’s a great day. It is also my fathers birthday and my sister in laws!
I don’t think DD has a preference as to dorm, but she definitely wants at least one roommate because she thinks that is part of the college experience. I’m assuming she’ll get a corridor style, at least freshman year. She is going to UPenn this summer for three weeks so she will get to experience corridor style dorms.
Re: dorms --I will say that even though the Texas A&M visit was a bit grim, the dorm tour was fantastic and it was great to see all the styles. Bathrooms are cleaned weekly by the staff housekeeping crew no matter the style of dorm… Which is a huge plus. I lived in one of the new modular dorms when I was there and I remember feeling like I was living large with someone to come in and clean our bathroom once a week lol.
Re: moving the mattress. Rory and Lorelai already covered that specific topic in “Gilmore Girls” when Rory moves into her Yale Dorm. It did not end well and she was “caught” by the campus monitors who oversee move-in day. D and I both loved that dorm room though…huge living room suite area. The grandma snuck in when none of the suitemates were there and totally furnished the living space with matching furniture, couch, huge TV, etc. I’m sure D secretly hopes a fairy like that appears to furnish her dorm room!
@carachel2 I love Gilmore Girls! Best show ever. Can’t wait for the new one to come out!
Wow - I didn’t realize that we need to think about dorms also. I never stayed in a dorm.