2 new things about my 2nd dd's college experience...I'm bugged!

[Barb_]

First off, the dorm provides a dorm-sized fridge for each room. That sounds great until you hear the corollary. Roommates are to share the dorm fridge and aren't allowed to install another one. Considering what room and board costs (more than an apartment would be), I'm pretty unhappy. She is petite, so we were going with the bottom of the line meal plan; it would be nice if she were able to keep milk, fruit, vegetables, cheese, etc on hand. Not so.

 

We had another surprise. It costs $100 just to register rush sorority. :confused: She wasn't over the top interested, but her roommate was planning to rush so she thought she might give it a shot and see what happened. I can't imagine what costs $100 just for rush week. Probably not doing that.

 

Eh. Not much in the grand scheme. But strange and unpleasant surprises overall.

[Susann]

Do you know what size the frig is? We just bought our dd a 4cu ft and it holds a lot! It's the same size my other dd had her freshman year & easily shared w/a roommate.

[Caroline]

My guess is that the electrical systems in the dorm cannot handle two refrigerators.

 

It cost money to rush when I did it a million years ago. I don't remember how much, but a lot of expense goes into it in order to keep the girls safe, unlike fraternity rush.

[K-FL]

My guess is that the electrical systems in the dorm cannot handle two refrigerators. Esp. true of older buildings. Even dd#2's U only allowed 1 fridge/room & it was a brand new dorm.

 

It cost money to rush when I did it a million years ago. I don't remember how much, but a lot of expense goes into it in order to keep the girls safe, unlike fraternity rush.

 

Plus, when I went though, the girls are in the dorm a week earlier than everyone else.

[Chris in VA]

Rush always costs $, doesn't it? Just registering/paperwork would entail some cost, and I think they give some of it to the sororities to pay for stuff.

If she does pledge, get used to expenses...;).

[Ravin]

The ameneties of a dorm are mostly about location. And I always thought the whole Greek system was kind of...overrated. Most campuses have many, many non-Greek student orgs that welcome people and don't charge you a fee just to ask to join them. Suggest she look for an interest-based, faith-based, and/or major-area-focused group.

 

As an undergrad, I was involved in a faith-based group and the campus' SCA-affiliated group as an undergrade the second time around, and a faith-based group, LGBT group, and a gaming (RPG) group the first time around.

[Barb_]

Yeah, she's decided to skip rush. She wasn't sure she wanted to do it anyway but thought it would be fun to go along with her roommate. Which as it turns out, isn't the roommate she thought she was going to be living with. The university encouraged her to use the roommate matching service, which she did. She and a girl from Texas really hit it off so they had requested one another back in March. They had been planning their room, color scheme, what to bring, etc and we just got word last week that she'd been matched with someone else. It looks as if the uni basically disregarded the requests. So that was weird. But as it turns out, she also really likes her current roommate. They seem to be a good match too, so no harm done in the end.

 

Anyway, she applied for Blue Chip, a leadership organization, and was accepted, so that is a good way to shrink down the university experience. She'll also be moving in a week early because she's part of the welcoming committee. I just thought rush was run by the individual sororities/fraternities, so I was surprised there were fees even before you made up your mind :)

 

The fridge is a tiny model. I still think the one fridge limit is to force the kids to use their meal plan. :tongue_smilie:

[Kathy in Richmond]

Barb, does your daughter's university have informal rush later in the year?

 

My daughter wanted to join a specific sorority last fall, after skipping formal rush in her freshman spring. That sorority ran "informal rush" every fall, and dd joined then. No fees, no stress, just a few meetings/activities with the sorority and then joining. She says that not all sororities offer that option, but that your daughter might want to look into it. :)

[FaithManor]

Barb, I had the same problem with the fridge situation in college. Due to my insane music department schedule, though I was required to purchase the three meal per day plan, I only had one meal per day that I could actually make because my classes, piano lessons, and mandatory accompanying combined ran rough shod over cafeteria hours. I really needed more fridge space but they wouldn't allow it. :glare: Still gripes me that I paid all that money for food I couldn't have access to!

 

Anyway, I kept a cooler. They couldn't stop me from doing that and my dad bought a commercial one that kept ice very, very well. Milk went into the regular fridge, but things such as cheese which do not go bad quickly, went into the cooler. My parents sent me money for the ice. It was not an ideal situation, but it did work and I managed to eat enough to keep going, though just barely. I went in at 103 lbs. and came home at the end of the year at 97 lbs. so I definitely didn't eat enough. GRRRRR...

 

Faith

[Barb_]

Barb, I had the same problem with the fridge situation in college. Due to my insane music department schedule, though I was required to purchase the three meal per day plan, I only had one meal per day that I could actually make because my classes, piano lessons, and mandatory accompanying combined ran rough shod over cafeteria hours. I really needed more fridge space but they wouldn't allow it. :glare: Still gripes me that I paid all that money for food I couldn't have access to!

 

Anyway, I kept a cooler. They couldn't stop me from doing that and my dad bought a commercial one that kept ice very, very well. Milk went into the regular fridge, but things such as cheese which do not go bad quickly, went into the cooler. My parents sent me money for the ice. It was not an ideal situation, but it did work and I managed to eat enough to keep going, though just barely. I went in at 103 lbs. and came home at the end of the year at 97 lbs. so I definitely didn't eat enough. GRRRRR...

 

Faith

 

Faith, that is an excellent idea. Thank you!

[Barb_]

Barb, does your daughter's university have informal rush later in the year?

 

My daughter wanted to join a specific sorority last fall, after skipping formal rush in her freshman spring. That sorority ran "informal rush" every fall, and dd joined then. No fees, no stress, just a few meetings/activities with the sorority and then joining. She says that not all sororities offer that option, but that your daughter might want to look into it. :)

 

Another great idea. I'll mention it to her. If she and her roommate end up hitting it off, she will be a good source of inside information. Thanks Kathy!

[Barb_]

Anyway, I kept a cooler. They couldn't stop me from doing that and my dad bought a commercial one that kept ice very, very well. Milk went into the regular fridge, but things such as cheese which do not go bad quickly, went into the cooler. ...Faith

 

Faith, thanks again for this advice. I found a 70qt camping cooler at Amazon on sale for just under $40. We're going to give this a try for things like fresh veggies and fruits, cheese, etc. Safeway delivers to her dorm and ice is available for delivery with her order. I also bought an in-room filter pitcher so she won't have to buy water in bottles on campus. That can really add up in AZ, particularly in August. The ice will come in handy for making water bottles before class. I think this will work really well.