Tag Archives: campus housing

college housing, dorm life

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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App Tuesday, social networks

Social App Helps New College Students Adjust to College

social app

Incoming college students go through big changes as they reshape their entire social circle. They just left all their friends from 4 years of high school behind them and they need a social app that is uniquely tailored to their new college life. Current social platforms don’t have any use on a physical college campus, especially if you don’t know anyone there.

Freshmen U™ addresses new college social environment

Freshmen U™ is targeted for just campus use, addressing specific college student bodies within the individual university settings. Freshmen college students now have their own social app that includes patent-pending augmented reality (AR) technology developed just for social interactions.

Students can meet and interact with other students just by using their username within the app. This allows them to get to know each other before sending out a traditional friend request. This no need to know someone’s real name to start a conversation, which is hard to do when you first arrive on campus. Students just download the app, pick their campus, and start to meet people. It’s that easy.

Designed to get new students to connect with other students

Our app is designed to get new students out of their dorm and start to connect with each other in real life on campus. Users can drop photos of themselves around campus as they walk from class to class or attend a football game, which others can now see through the app’s AR GPS ecosystem and they can rate or comment on these photos or videos. Think of Facebook meets Pokémon Go. The app encourages interaction and more face-to-face meetings around campus and does away with the awkwardness of making new friends.

Customized social interaction

In a quest for profit above all else, the big three social media platforms have ignored a very important demographic group of college students. We did not. College students need customized social interaction, and they want their digital media. We’ve found a way to give them both, with no ads and no unnecessary data sharing with 3rd parties. We are a small group of developers (3 to be exact) that wanted to build something fun but useful on college campuses. I think we did it! Students now have a way to digitally plaster their lives into the real world around campus. It feels like rebellion but is totally safe and secure.

college housing, college planning

Off-Campus Housing 101

I recently did a guest post for WilliamPaid.com, a website dedicated to helping renters establish credit, pay off their student loans early, and manage their debt. The post was titled, “Your college student wants to move off campus–now what?” Take some time and head over to WilliamPaid’s site and read it. You might not need it now, but there will come a day that you will use the tips.

That post has spurred some additional thoughts that I felt would be helpful to parents of college-bound teens. Here are some things you might need to consider and/or know about off-campus housing.

Most colleges encourage freshmen to live on campus. It helps your teen bond with other students and get involved in campus life. Living off campus during freshman year can cause the student to feel out of touch with the goings on on campus and contribute to instability during an already emotion packed change.

Some colleges (due to size and location) can’t house all the students. If this is the case, get your housing form in ASAP. It’s first come, first serve and if you don’t act quickly, your child could lose a spot in the dorms. If you’re too late, try and connect with other incoming freshmen and find an apartment or house off  campus to share. Check with the campus housing office for information regarding off-campus housing and contact information. Being around other students from the same college will help with adjustment issues.

If you have more than one child headed to the same college, consider buying a house as an investment and let them live there (with other students). This happens often at Texas A&M and University of Texas. Once they have graduated, you can sell the house or keep it and make a hefty profit on rent each year. These rentals are in demand by college students and their families. (Here’s a new site I discovered that will help your search CampusHomesOnline.com)

If your child chooses to live at home during college, encourage them to get involved in campus activities. My daughter had a close friend that lived with family during her first semester at the University of Texas. She was a smart girl that worked hard to get accepted. But living off campus with family caused her to struggle in such a huge campus environment. She never felt involved or accepted among the students. She ended up dropping out after just one semester.

Upperclassmen are often encouraged to move off campus to make room for incoming freshmen. Know the policies and campus housing guidelines of the colleges your teen applies to. If this situation is not acceptable to them, don’t apply to a college that can’t provide housing all four years. Don’t get caught by surprise and have to scramble for senior housing (along with thousands of other college students).

Part of being a parent college coach is being prepared for all scenarios, including off-campus housing. If you’re prepared, you won’t have to panic when/if the day arrives that your college student approaches you with the “best plan ever” for living off campus.

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Smart ways to live cheaper on campus

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