[IgorPartola]

I worked in residential life while in college and can tell you that placing freshmen in singles is a horrible idea. It leads to isolation and lets mental health issues fester. Some need it but you do not want to place anyone who doesn’t into a room alone especially in their first year.

[iso1631]

Yet here in the UK it's perfectly normal. When I went to uni in 2000 in our halls there were 15 rooms per floor ber block, 2 of which were twins and 13 were single.

The people in the twins were not happy - they hadn't asked for them.

I knew one person who dropped out in the first 3 months (for mental purposes), and that was someone who shared a room.

[michaelt]

Before you went to college, did you have a bedroom to yourself in your parents' home?

[AlexandrB]

Ridiculous comparison. First, neither I nor anyone I know had a room where we could lock our parents out. Second, your parents actually care about you and if you spent 24+ hours in there without coming out they'd check on you (probably much sooner actually). No such luck in a dorm.

[AngryData]

I can't say I agree since I seen many people struggling with being forced into close quarters with a complete stranger that they might have nothing in common with or actively dislike and have nowhere truly private.

Maybe its fine for many extroverts, but forcing an introvert into a room with others is a great way to drive many people absolutely mental.

[shetaye]

I agree in that freshmen should get the "experience" at least once. However, the way Stanford has arranged housing has meant that a good number of students will not live in a single for any of their 4 years.

[LtWorf]

Lol, what an uniquely USA point of view.

[tomrod]

Meh. I think you're overstating it. To meet your anecdata, I had both the first college year, and single > double by a large margin.

[IgorPartola]

I would not classify it as anecdata. This was research backed policy adopted by most US universities. Residential life and the Dean of Students office are usually doing a lot to cooperate with other universities. This part of US colleges is not competing with each other so they routinely share data, go to conferences together multiple times a year, and res. life directors move from college to college every few years so they all know each other incredibly well.

The point is that everyone who gets a single is super happy about it the same way that a drug addict is always happy when they get their drug of choice for free: of course it’s great. Of course it isn’t the best thing for you in the long run. I say this as someone who hated being in a double my first year and spent the next three in a single.

As far as I am concerned having apartments of 4-8 students where each has their own small room but shares a common space is ideal. But usually this is reserved for sophomore year and later.

[Onawa]

It depends on the person. I lived alone in my last year of undergrad and it sent me into a deep depression. I figured out that living alone was too much isolation for me and moved back in with a roommate. That helped to pull me out of my depression and be able to finish my degree.

[duskdozer]

I don't think people advocating for more single rooms would say that no multi-occupancy rooms should exist for people who do want them.