Renting a Dorm Room?

[Loki]

Could anyone please shed some light on Chinese dorm policies? Is it possible for a non-student to rent a dorm room, as long as he`s willing to pay the price? Or is it exclusively for university students only? I am planning to do a one-year language programme starting this fall... the thing is my gf wants to come with me, so I`m exploring different housing options besides renting an apartment.

[yialanliu]

Dorms are typically subsidized by the universities to a degree so I do not believe a non student would be allowed to live there. At the same time, there's a huge shortage of dorms in a vast majority of schools due to the increase of international students in the past few years. For instance, about 25% of PKU international students cannot fit and have to live off campus.

I'd recommend you to just live off campus. Also, in regular student dorms, mixing gender is not allowed (guys cannot visit girls although girls may visit guys but definitely not overnight). In international student dorms, policy varies but it is still typically stricter than US dorm rules so if your girlfriend is coming with you, ask about dorm policy for that as well.

Due to all this hassle, I think off campus is the best solution.

[Meng Lelan]

I did do this once before in Tianjin, they let me stay in the dorm for several nights but then again I was visiting a professor friend there.

[Mindmaxd]

If you live with your gf,I think you can rent a house near university,That will be very cheap and save time to go to school.

[Saxondale]

i know the dorm I'm in at the moment allows this but i have no idea what the restrictions are (length of stay, internet, electricity etc).

[roddy]

Dorms are typically subsidized by the universities to a degree so I do not believe a non student would be allowed to live there.

What are you basing that on? I can see the dorms for Chinese students being subsidized, but the International dorms are more likely a money-spinner, I'd say. They're basically massive budget hotels with a captive clientele (ok, not captive. Just scared of going apartment-hunting) and no marketing costs. I've not noticed the Chinese higher education sector passing up any other potential profit points lately, seems unlikely they'd get all charitable about this one . . .

Loki, renting an apartment is almost always the best value. When there's two of you, and it's a full year rather than three months or something, that's going to be even more so. Unless your university is in some bizarre location (middle of nowhere, middle of a military base), rent off-campus.