[lumost]

Kitchens and bathrooms are expensive components to an apartment. Arranging the living space so that those are shared significantly drives down the cost of construction. dorm rooms with a shared floor wide bathroom probably achieve the same space efficiency as a 5 bedroom shared apartment with a bathroom and living room, with the added benefit that it will be easier to sell the building as apartments in the future should the need arise.

[rovyko]

I wouldn't mind a shared bathroom or kitchen, but I don't understand the massive living rooms. My guess is it makes the unit more marketable to higher income students that in a lower volume can pay more in total for a given plot of land.