Rooming in a triple to save $$?

Parents Forum
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<p>I would really like to room in a triple, mostly because of the social benefits (I so I will be doing starting off with college sophomore classes instead of freshman classes, so I won?t get the benefits of being in the freshman classes where we are all in the same boat not really know anyone). So, I figured that with a triple I will be able to know more people, since people bring their friends into their dorms=more people to meet. This will help since I am like a person taking transfer student?s classes but technically NOT a transfer?I?m still finishing my senior year. I just took lots of community college classes while in high school, and they waived my freshman year of college.
Even though the extra $800 we save from rooming with a triple is a HUGE bonus, at the same time there?s no kitchen for those who room in triples. If I room in a triple I can save money, but without a kitchen I?ll have to spend more money on food at the dining hall, so If I get a double w/ a kitchen in the living room/lobby, I can save money on the food. I think that rooming in a triple will be really nice since I won?t really have classes with other freshman, and the sophomore classes will have people that have already made friends and found their place. I wan to meet more freshman, I just think that freshman are more open since everyone?s in the same boat. I really want the social benefits of a triple (don?t mind the extra drama) but I need a kitchen to save $$ on food since I am not getting much financial aid and I will be extremely poor in college (b/c of family situations that UC’s don?t give a crap about). </p>

<p>So is the money I save on food w/ a kitchen more than the money I would save by rooming in a triple instead of a double? I am definitely NOT doing a single. I have very mild loner tendencies and maybe a triple will desensitize me (?). BTW I am female. </p>

<p>For those of you in the Upper/lower apartments, do you interact a lot with your suitemates? And do people actually use the kitchens that come with the lower/upper apartment? Is the res hall better or are the apartments better? I need to weigh these factors with the money problems. </p>

<p>I also roomed in a quadruple my freshman year when I went to boarding school and everything was fine, but the rooms were like three times that of the doubles.</p>

<p>And do people actually study in the dorms? I heard from the eye doctor that the libraries? fluorescent lights are really bad for your eyes?</p>

<p>omigod sorry for the long post!!!</p>

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<p>My D had a triple this year being her freshman year. Actually, it worked out because as women we can sometimes find the forced immediate intimacy of just one other woman too much! Having two roommates let her get used to each of them in little pieces at a time. This was expecially helpful when one would be irritating her. The three of them kept it casual until they all fell into a comfort zone with each other. All the situations she knew of with just two girls ended up with alot of back biting gossip, more drama. etc. because of no third person to distract from an irritating situation.</p>

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<p>My D also lived in a triple this year. Actually it was a 5-person suite with a double, a triple, a bathroom and a little common area. As it turned out the triple was so much bigger than the double, that the girls actually had far more room to move around than in the more expensive double. As to no kitchen, well, some dorm room rules were broken.
They had a fridge and a microwave and some of the girls did make sandwiches, soups & salads to cheaply supplement their meal plans.</p>

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<p>You should think in terms of ‘first-year’, ‘second-year’ rather than freshman, sophomore since it’s the year that usually determines the roomates you’ll have rather than the standing. My D at UCLA already had Junior standing in her second quarter there but she’s rooming with first-years since that’s what she is as well. This means your roomates will likely be the same as you - just starting at that school. Also, in college the whole class doesn’t progress together so you’ll have classmates from different years together with you.</p>

<p>You may want to double-check on the housing/meal plans since most of the plans require that you take the meal plan. You may also want to check to see how likely it is that a first-year is able to take the option of the housing w/o a meal plan.</p>

<p>At UCLA this year, almost all first-years are in triples due to space constraints. They seem to survive it okay. </p>

<p>Both of my Ds study mostly in their rooms but they study a huge amount of the time due to their majors.</p>

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<p>bumpitdy bump bump…</p>