How many students can you fit in a dorm room?

It sounds like a joke begging for a punch line – but it’s a question many colleges across the country are currently asking.

With institutions trying to make up for endowment losses by adding students, the question becomes: Where are they going to live?

Wesleyan University in Middletown, CT plans to turn some of its single dorm rooms into doubles – or even triples.

In Williamstown, MA, Williams College has been using double-sized rooms as singles. It will simply turn them back into doubles for the additional students.

Although Hamilton College in Clinton, NY had planned to shrink its enrollment this year by 25 students,  that decision has been tabled for at least three years. Reason? Those 25 students bring in $936,500 in revenue.

But according to Karen Leach, Hamilton’s VP for administration and finance, “We can’t do that forever. We’re working right at the edge of our bed counts right now.”

Is dorm space a problem this coming fall at your institution? Let us know in the comments section below.

Tags: Enrollment, Hamilton College, Wesleyan University, Williams College