One thing that I’ve noticed from doing more than 24 college visits is that dorm room visits are not always a part of a college tour. If that’s the case, there might be a reason. Maybe the dorm buildings are old and not appealing. Maybe there is barely enough room for students so there isn’t a model dorm room.
American University Dorm Room
What You Need to Ask About Dorm Rooms!
I like the student-led tour to ask these type of questions because you can count on the guides to give honest answers:
- Is there a model dorm room?
- Are there forced triples?
- Do any of the dorms have mold issues?
- Is there air conditioning?
- How many years are housing guaranteed?
- What percentage of upperclassmen live off campus and why?
- Is there apartment-style living on campus for seniors to practice live on their own?
- Where are the freshman dorms located?
- Do any dorms have a shuttle service to get to classes?
- Are there kitchens available?
- Are microwaves and/or small refrigerators provided free or for rental through the college?
American University Model Dorm Room
UT Austin Model Dorm Room
This was our first model dorm visit. The dorm room is adequately sized and functional. A dorm sized fridge and microwave are provided by the college!
American University Model Dorm Room
American University had great built-ins in their model dorm room. I’m not sure if all the dorm rooms model after this one but built-ins are a great space saver! It gives the room a sense of spaciousness.
Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) Freshman Dorm Room
My daughter moved into a RISD dorm for pre-college and it felt exceptionally spacious.
The lower video is a similar dorm room of her friend but what it looks like the last week of class.
A messy room can feel more cramped!
Dorm Room Suite at MassArt: Triple and Double with shared Bathroom
p.s. Related posts:
p.s. Related posts (all my posts on applying to college are here):
Applying to College: How To Select Colleges
Visiting George Washington University
How To Write a Great College Application Essay
How To Land a Summer Internship
7 Things that Make Your Admission Essay Stand Out
Visiting Northeastern University
Dorm Room Essentials & My Daughter’s Move In
How To: Apply Early Decision To Get Into College
Making the Most of Your Child’s College Visits
My books:
BEST #OWNVOICES CHILDREN’S BOOKS: My Favorite Diversity Books for Kids Ages 1-12 is a book that I created to highlight books written by authors who share the same marginalized identity as the characters in their books.
These are all great considerations! Stanford lets you set up the beds in several different configurations, which is helpful. That being said, they had dorm overflow issues when I was a student and would sometimes have up to four students in one room! Their accommodations also vary drastically depending on which dorm or student cooperative house you get into (through a lottery draw system)