Students Are Choosing to Live in Fancier Housing
I lived in the dorms during my freshman year at the University of Oklahoma. I shared a tiny little room with another girl and a bathroom with three other girls. The situation was cozy, to say the least.
Then, during my sophomore year, I moved out of the dorms and into the fantastic world that was a college apartment. Most of the apartments in my town were designed for students and included separate leases (so you didn’t have to worry about if your deadbeat roommate will pay rent on time,) a community tanning bed, a private gym, high-speed Internet, and more cable channels than I knew what to do with. My parents thought this was a little extravagant, but as I told them time and time again, this was the new standard of college living.
Evidently, I was right. Apartment complexes across the nation are catering to us college kids who want to live in the lap of luxury.
“It’s a national trend,” said Dan Rosenfeld, who develops apartments that are college-kid-friendly. “There is competition among schools, and [the apartments near campus] have to provide a competitively attractive student environment.”