Category Archives: college housing

What is a Specialty Dorm?

specialty dorm

Just about everyone has heard of dorms specifically for entering freshmen. But did you know that you can also request a specialty dorm? Most colleges have designated dorms to meet the needs of a diverse student population. If you have a preference regarding your living accommodations on campus, ask about these dorms on your college visit and upon accepting an offer of admission.

Specialty dorms fall into three categories: academic housing, lifestyle housing, and living-learning communities.

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Lock Socket®: Keep Track of Your Student’s Charging Chords

Whenever I come across a product or service that I think will help students and/or their parents, I like to share it. Check out Lock Socket® if you have a student heading to college or your high school student keeps losing their charging chord!

lock socket®

Lock Socket® has introduced its patent-pending phone charger and cable lock that provides a creative solution for a common problem. Keeping track of a smartphone or tablet charger and cable can be an arduous task, especially in high-traffic areas. Lock Socket® charger locks are designed to fit factory provided chargers and keep them in place in outlets where they belong.

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Studying Abroad in Melbourne

melbourne

Melbourne is Australia’s second-largest city and home to many of the country’s most famous attractions. Its location in southeastern Australia means that it has a subtropical climate, which provides perfect conditions for exploring the city’s expansive network of parks and beaches.

Melbourne is a cosmopolitan city with diverse cultures, lifestyles, and people. The city is also home to more than 300,000 international students at many universities. This article will teach you various factors to consider while choosing accommodation in Melbourne.

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5 Tips for Finding Off-Campus Housing

off-campus housing

Finding safe, affordable off-campus housing can be a struggle. After all, not all places that advertise their availability as apartments or houses are actually safe. In today’s world, there are many people who seek to take advantage of the younger population in need of somewhere to live. 

Here are the top five things you should look for when searching for safe college accommodation:

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5 Ways to Prepare Your Teen for Living Away from Home

prepare your teen

As teens grow into young adults, their horizons begin to expand. They begin to explore their interests more, make new friends, and think about leaving the nest. As they head to college, there are skills they will need even if they live in a dorm. If they live off campus, these skills will be even more valuable. It’s important to prepare your teen for independent living.

Here are five ways you can help your prepare your teen for living away from home.

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Purchasing Off-Campus Housing for Your College Student

off-campus housing

As a parent of an incoming college freshman, you’re likely feeling the stress of how to provide your child with the best housing. While most students choose to live on campus, some parents make the decision to purchase a home near campus for the sole purpose of housing their student while in college.

I had a friend that purchased housing near the campus of Texas A&M. Freshman housing was limited, and they factored in the cost savings over the years of on-campus housing and food. Once their student graduated, they kept the home as rental property and still rent it out to college students each year as off-campus housing.

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Saving Money While Living Off campus

saving money

Have you been thinking about some of the things that you can do when it comes to saving money while living off campus? There are plenty of options here that you can consider. In this article, we’re going to be looking at a few tips that will always help you to save money when it comes to your off campus home, so keep reading down below if you would like to find out more. 

Grocery Shopping

The first thing that you are going to save money on is your grocery shopping. If you are only ever buying named brands, why? Have you tried the cheaper alternatives? A lot of them taste just as good as the larger brands as they are made from the same things. We’re of course, not saying that this is always true, but even if there is a little taste variation, there is a huge price variation. The last thing that we want is for you to be spending money unnecessarily when there are cheaper options that you do actually like. If you try the alternatives and decide you don’t like them, that’s completely fair enough, but you have got to try them first. 

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Exploring College Housing Options

If you’re at the beginning of your education, away from your family and hometown, and do not know which college housing option to choose, make sure you check the info in this blog. Cost, roommates, location – these are just a few of the considerations when choosing between the university and private residence. If you’re trying to decide whether to live on or off-campus, then you will definitely find this article helpful.

Think About the Location

What is your favorite way to get around the city – walking, public transportation, driving or biking? Is it convenient to go to university or school this way from the place that you’re about to rent? Do you know how much time you’ll spend traveling? Keep in mind that if you rent a place that’s too far from the university, you may lose motivation to go to lectures.

Exploring Off-Campus Housing Options

When it comes to student housing, you usually have options to choose from. For example, Student Housing Greensboro, offers a variety of options for students to choose from in Greensboro, North Carolina, a town well-known for its broad range of neighborhoods that offer an array of rental properties to satisfy different tastes. There are 28 colleges within 50 miles of Greensboro. The nearest college is the University of North Carolina at Greensboro just a few miles from Greensboro city center. Students attending these 28 colleges can choose from apartment complexes to single family dwellings. If your student is attending a college near or a city or town, you might consider the off-campus choices available.

Living on Campus

Well, college involves many choices, including whether to live at home, on campus, or in an apartment off-campus.

Meet New People

Campus life has some hard-to-ignore advantages. If you decide to live on campus, you’ll have lots of opportunities to meet new people and make new friendships. You will not have to rely on public transportation or driving to campus and looking for a free parking place. It is even better – if you do not have your own car, you will not have to pay for parking at all!

Become Independent

If you’re one of those students who know they want to move out of their home but are not sure they are ready to have their own apartment, then living on campus is an excellent option because it provides an in-between step. While you’ll be living independently, you do not have to worry about handling utilities, paying rent, and everything else associated with renting an apartment. Campus life offers you a chance to start developing important life skills, and you will find it great because you will be surrounded by people like you all the time.

Get Access to All College Activities

Another benefit that can’t be ignored is that you will have easier access to college activities. If you’re a part of a club or sports team, attending a club meeting is much easier since your home isn’t far away. Important amenities, such as dining and recreation centers, are usually found nearby. Internet is available in each residence building, which is important for your coursework. Are you looking for Student Housing Greensboro? If yes, you already know one of the best options you have!

No Need to Drive to and from the University

Living on campus means you will be able to get to and from classes more quickly. Thus, you can devote more time to their coursework. You will have easy access to libraries, tutors, and the student union at almost any time of day. Being surrounded by people with goals similar to yours is great and will positively affect your focus, education, and social skills. Students living on campus have higher chances to widen their social group given all the clubs and activities offered at the university/college. The activities offered at the college is what gives students another way to meet like-minded people.

College is an excellent opportunity to meet new people and make lifelong connections. Living on campus helps you ease your way into adulthood while enjoying everything college/university life has to offer. The access to amenities, abundant support, and academic focus are hard to be beaten when weighing on-campus vs. off-campus options.

Bringing Your Dog to College

dog to collegeCollege is a fun time for students, who are getting out into the world, trying new things, and figuring out who they are. But it’s true that many students can get homesick, too. While it’s just a fact of life that young people need to step out on their own, it’s possible that they don’t need to be completely by themselves. No, we’re not suggesting that the parents live nearby – we’re suggesting that the family pet goes with them. 

According to U.S. News, “Many colleges and universities have created housing policies that let students live with certain pets, though it’s important to consult your school’s policies before packing your pooch, as these regulations differ by campus.”

These 10 colleges and universities, listed in alphabetical order, are among those with pet-friendly policies on campus:

  1. Case Western Reserve University
  2. Eckerd College:
  3. Lehigh University
  4. Massachusetts Institute of Technology:
  5. Principia College
  6. Stephens College:
  7. Stetson University
  8. Sweet Briar College:
  9. University of Notre Dame
  10. Washington and Jefferson College

Does your student want or need to bring his or her dog to college?  If so, there are certainly some things to consider.

Would Your Dog Want This?

You’ll have your child’s happiness at the forefront of your mind, but don’t forget about your dog, too. They’ll be making a bigger sacrifice if they go with your child to college, since their routine will be turned upside down, and they won’t know why. So before you get too far down the planning route, think about whether this is something that your dog would like. If they cry every time your child leaves home, then it’s probably a yes. If they’re older and more settled in their routine, it’s probably a no.

Finding a Place to Live

It can be difficult enough finding a place to live at college, but it gets even more difficult when you have a dog with you. This is because many colleges and/or landlords won’t accept pets, and those that do may have limits on the breeds of dog that they allow. To give yourself the best chance of being accepted, get some certification that shows what type of dog you have – you can learn how https://www.certapet.com/what-breed-is-my-dog/. Even if a landlord allows dogs, your son or daughter will have to speak to the other people in the house to make sure they’re OK with having a pooch living with them.

Look Up Groups and Organizations

Your dog will have a whole network of friends and professionals in their hometown, just like a regular human! When they’re moving, suddenly that network will be gone. To make it easier for your dog to adjust, look up any dog groups – it’ll allow him or her the chance to make new friends. You’ll also want to look up a local vet, so you know exactly where to go should something go wrong.

Get Organized

Student life can be pretty chaotic. There’s work, there are parties, and everything else. It’s not always the best environment for an animal! If your son or daughter is taking the family dog, you’ll need to emphasize the need for organization. That means ensuring the space is always kept clean, there’s a schedule for walks, and they have their own space to unwind on the property.

Where to Cut Corners

College life is expensive, we all know! And so are dogs. There are ways to cut corners, financially wise. Tell your child to groom the dog themselves, for instance, and find the right food – it’s very rarely the most expensive option.

Keep Your College Valuables Safe With This Genius Parent Invention

I can’t tell you how excited I am to share this great invention from the parent of a college student. Sometimes necessity becomes the mother of invention. And that’s just what happened with this student and her father.

If you are sending your child to college this fall or in the near future, this investment can save you money and heartache over the next four years by keeping your student’s college valuables safe. Read their story and get yourself a BunkTrunk today!

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When our daughter went off to college in the fall of 2015, we were excited for her and she was ready to begin the next chapter in her life. While there are many things that are “known” with respect to the college experience, there are also many “unknowns.”

It turns out, that one of the “unknowns” was the genesis of an idea that led to the start of a small business. It turned out that our daughter had a roommate that grew up not having a need to lock, or even close doors. So when she moved into my daughters dorm room there was some immediate tension.  My daughter was worried about losing her laptop or some of her expensive textbooks, because so many times she would come back to an opened or unlocked dorm room.

After trying to remedy the situation with her roommate and several calls home to express her frustration, I decided she needed a secure storage solution. Since we’re dealing with an 18 year old who’s just moved away for the first time I realized any viable solution would have the following requirements:

  • It had to be easy to use or it wouldn’t be use
  • It had to be big enough for her laptop and some of her expensive textbooks
  • It would be a bonus if she could put her purse, medication, and jewelry in it
  • It could not take any desk space or floor space, because she had none to spare
  • It could not be ugly because, lets face it, that just would not fly for a girls’ dorm room
  • It could not require screws or bolts or other types of fasteners, because the college would not allow anything but command strips for hanging, mounting, or attaching anything to college property / furniture

So, after scratching my head for a while, I realized the best option for locating a storage device was the space above her bed (she was on the top bunk) and the BunkTrunk was born.

After a few revisions, driven by our experience with early prototypes, we finalized a design (see picture below) that met all the requirements and provided additional value.

With her laptop and phone locked up while charging inside, she was feeling much better about her dorm situation. She also had room to lockup her expensive textbooks, purse, medication, jewelry and more. But, with the door to her BunkTrunk opened, it also made a great work surface.  So when she needed to study late into the night, and didn’t want to bother her roommate by studying at her desk with the light on, she could now study on her bed.

Because she was on the top bunk, she didn’t have a nightstand next to her bed and the BunkTrunk makes a pretty good nightstand.

So we went from:

  • Fall 2015 – “Dad, I have a problem” & first prototype created
  • Winter 2015 – Provisional patent filed, design finalized and website goes live
  • Spring 2016 – a new small business is started
  • Summer 2016 – Patent filed and BunkTrunks shipped to over 20 colleges

We are now in our second year and expect to ship between 200 and 300 BunkTrunks.

August 2016 marked another milestone for us, as we filed our patent with the U.S. Patent Office.

And there you have it! Necessity is indeed the mother of invention, and in our case, led to a new small business too! Who knew…

If your college student is experiencing similar frustrations, have them check out the BunkTrunk.