It’s a stark contrast of the haves, have-nots
York University from Pigeon Forge, Tenn., wanted her dorm room to look cozy, but her budget was $100. That’s because she’s footing 30 percent — or nearly $30,000 a year — of NYU’s annual college bill. Financial aid picks up the rest.
“I definitely try to work on being positive and not comparing myself to other people because I’m so lucky for what I have. But it is really stressful,” said Hunt, who worked more than 60 hours per week last school year and took a job as a pastry chef this summer to help pay for her college expenses.
For her dorm decor, Hunt scoured Goodwill stores, Dollar Tree, T.J. Maxx and Five Below for deals on neon lights, wall paper decals and bedding. She also rummaged through bins of returned items from major retailers at a discount bazaar in her hometown.
Jamel Donnor, a professor at William & Mary College in Williamsburg, Va., and a leading expert on inequity in education, said the big divide in dorm furnishings marks an “unspoken reality of the have and have-nots.”
He noted that the stark differences in dorm decorating between those who have money and those who don’t can make some students wonder if they should even be at their college.
“There’s this imposter syndrome,” he said.
Dorm supplies e-tailer Dormify is playing to both ends of the budget. For the first time this fall, it’s offering various bundles of essentials, including a pack of 19 items for $159 that includes bath towels and a comforter for those who are more price conscious. For the big spenders, Dormify unveiled an interior designer service for $450 with interior decorator Jen Abrams; it plans to roll out
the offering with other designers next year.
Amanda Zuckerman, co-founder and president of Dormify, noted TikTok has raised the bar in dorm furnishings, creating “the ability to become TikTok famous or go viral because of how well decorated your room is.” Average orders are up 15 percent this fall, she said.
Dawn Thomas launched an interior design service — After Five Designs — in Jackson, Miss., 20 years ago for college students after designing dorm rooms for her own children who were going away to school. She said in the past few years, she has seen plenty of other designers now working with students.
Thomas noted parents spend as much as $10,000. One of the more popular items is a custom-made $1,900 cabinet that covers the refrigerator in the dorm.
But she’s also noticing parents are starting to hold back on certain items.
“The economy hasn’t been that great this year,” she said. “And I’ve noticed the sky is not the limit.”
Emma Kirk, who is from Grenada, Miss., and a freshman at University of Mississippi, tapped into Thomas’ services and bought a gold studded headboard, custom-made pillows and bedspread among other items. She didn’t know what the total bill was since her parents paid for it. But she
said her parents reined her in whenever she picked out something too expensive.
“(Thomas) would work out something where we could get something similar,” she said.
Even on her tight budget, Hunt — the NYU student — says she is happy with her dorm room decor.
“At NYU, so many parents pay for everything. But I’m not here to judge,” she said. “The truth is, even if I had all the money in the world, I probably would still decorate my room the way that I have it now.”