I recently went to visit some of my freshmen students in their dorm and I wanted to give you a feel for what dorm-life is like at my school. When freshmen arrive they are assigned to a building where they have 8 students (chosen by the school - no choosing your roommates here!) per room. After their freshmen year they move to another building where they have 6 students (again, chosen by the school) per room and this is where they stay for the next 3 years of college. I have heard of some students changing rooms but it is not too common. Especially if you compare that to the frequency of dorm moves at colleges in the U.S. - "What? You're not happy, content, social, and confident in your room? Well, we would LOVE to help you find another room where you can thrive!!" Okay, so maybe that's just at Central College...hahaha. The students at my Chinese university stay put for the most part. I should also mention that the student's roommates are also their classmates. (In this school, as freshmen the students are grouped into classes of 25, according to their major, and they have almost every class with those same 25 students throughout their entire college career...and, by the way, the classes are also chosen by the school...)
Pictured below is a typical freshmen dorm. You can see the 8 bunk-bed style beds and the small desk at the far end of the beds. Along with the bed and desk, the students get a small locker-sized cupboard and a stool (shown below). When they move into their dorm room they bring 1 or 2 suitcases with them which provides what they need for the year!
The picture below is of some senior students in their dorm-room. As you can maybe see, they all have lofted beds with desks below them and a small cupboard next to the desk. They have a lot more storage space than the freshmen.
I suppose that an advantage to this style of living while in college is that most roommates really form a family during their years in college, similar to many roommates in the U.S! Even though they want more space at times I always tell them to appreciate each other while they are so close - there's nothing better than living with your best friends!! :)
3 comments:
Oh Shanoon, this makes me miss our days of living together--although not quite so close together!
I wonder if this is even more difficult for your students since most of them are only children and haven't had to deal with siblings being all in their way.
I miss you!
Hmm. Tight squeeze. It makes me appreciate our ultra-too-big house. :) Let's just say our king size bed wouldn't even fit in their room!
The second one is scary similar to my dorm room sophomore year! I talked to Matt on the phone a couple days ago, looks like plans are moving forward!!! We spent most of the time debating politics...different from our former arguments about who got the red wagon back in Kindergarten! We're so old! :(
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