UAlbany freshmen adjust to temporary triple dorms
By Isabelle Loginovs | September 14, 2026
Freshmen placed three to a room say privacy and space are challenges, while RAs say communication was limited.
For some University at Albany freshmen, the first surprise of college wasn’t their roommate—it was having two of them. Students placed in temporary triples on campus said they faced cramped spaces, limited privacy, and little information about why they were assigned to live three to a room.
UAlbany's largest first-year class in university history led some freshmen to be placed in temporary triples. More than 3,500 students make up the Class of 2030, contributing to a university enrollment of approximately 18,000 students this year, according to UAlbany. As housing space became available, some students were offered the opportunity to move into other rooms.
In an email, Amy Geduldig, the director of public information, said the increased occupancy was necessary because of the size of this year’s incoming class.
“Our goal is to have students in standard designed singles, doubles, and triples, but the size of the incoming class required the use of increased occupancy,” Geduldig wrote.
According to the university, housing assignments were generally made on a “last-applied, first-tripled basis.” Students who completed their housing applications earlier were more likely to receive standard assignments, while students who applied later were more likely to be placed in increased occupancy rooms.
Folayemi Idowu, a freshman living in a triple on Alumni Quad, said his housing assignment initially shifted from a double to a triple before he received an email confirming that he would be placed in a triple.
Idowu said he and his roommates were not given much advanced notice that they would be living three to a room. However, he said the arrangement did not initially bother him because he was more concerned with having a housing assignment than the number of roommates.
“To be entirely honest, I actually didn't really care all that much,” Idowu said. “I was just happy that I actually got a housing arrangement.”
Idowu said the three roommates have been able to adjust to the room and get along well. However, sharing the space has created challenges, particularly when it comes to storage and organization. The room has one single bed and a bunk bed. The students then divide the available storage space, with some roommates sharing a closet. The room itself measures approximately 13 by 15 feet, leaving limited space for three students and their belongings. Inside, the space carried a mix of scents, from clean laundry to freshly microwaved food.
Kevin Amador, a freshman and one of Idowu’s roommates, said one of the biggest challenges of living in a triple is keeping the room organized with three people and their belongings.
“I do their chores for them sometimes or I place stuff where they belong,” Amador said.
Idowu said navigating the room can also be difficult when the roommates’ belongings overlap.
“My biggest challenge is navigating through all my stuff without accidentally using someone else's belongings,” Idowu said. “Sometimes I am a little bit off put if my stuff seems like it could have been moved around.”
Adina Dalton, a junior and first-year resident assistant at Alumni Quad, saw another side of the situation. Dalton said RAs received little information about the temporary triples before students moved in. Dalton said she received her floor's roster about two days before students arrived and was not initially aware that the rooms would house more than two. She also did not expect to supervise multiple freshmen, as Alumni Quad primarily houses sophomores and above.
“I only got the information of who was going to live on my floor, like two days before they moved in,” Dalton said.
Dalton was originally assigned to supervise 45 students, but that number later dropped to about 36 as students moved. She said RAs were not consistently informed when students left their rooms, meaning she had to learn about the moves from students, their roommates or their friends.
The lack of information also made it difficult for RAs to answer students’ questions about the triples. Dalton said students frequently asked why they had been placed in a triple, how long they would have to stay and who would be allowed to move when space became available.
“We got very little information about anything going on,” Dalton said. “We would just say, ‘You have to wait’, and that's not really a satisfying answer for anyone.”
Dalton said another challenge was that students in a triple had to decide among themselves who would move when an opening became available. Housing would send students in triples an email giving them the option to move, but Dalton said the decision of which roommate would leave was left to the three students.
“That puts a lot of stress on them because they basically have to decide who deserves to stay and who deserves to go uptown,” Dalton said.
Despite the challenges of sharing a room, Amador said living with two roommates has also given him the opportunity to form friendships he may carry beyond college. He said he feels fortunate to have been placed with roommates he connected with.
“I think I got pretty lucky,” Amador said. “I’ll probably know them for the rest of my life.”
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