The Best Dorm Refrigerators

Most universities require that freshmen who live on campus carry a meal plan, but the specific meal plan choices generally range from every meal available, to a 14 meal plan, to a 7 meal plan. Many students will find that they can't make it to every available meal, or they don't want to eat every available meal. If you have early morning classes, you may not have time to make it to breakfast. Perhaps you aren't a big breakfast eater. It may seem like a waste to pay for breakfasts to be a part of your meal plan, when you are only going to eat fruit, or yogurt. You may prefer to keep a small stock of these types of foods in your dorm room, and save yourself a slew of money on that meal plan. A refrigerator for your dorm room makes it possible to keep perishables on hand, freeing your schedule up a bit from the dining hall hours.

This reference is to the tendency of college freshmen to gain extra weight when they go off to college. There are many things that can influence freshman weight gain. For some, it's the easy access to unrestricted quantities of food in the university dining commons. Imagine every meal taking place at an all you can eat buffet. Several entrees are offered, along with sides, salads, drinks, and desserts. While it is easy for students to berate food quality, it is equally easy to make poor food choices in terms of quality, or quantity.

When we eat at an all you can eat buffet, the emphasis is on indulgence. We don't typically eat this way on a daily basis. The new college student, with a full or partial meal plan, needs to keep this in focus during that first semester, particularly. Ice cream at every meal sounds divine. The end result will be a rather big rear-end, if the student isn't cautious. Sodas and other sugar laden drinks are easy choices, but bad for the figure. Even the availability of healthier choices, such as a salad bar, isn't an automatic path to avoiding weight gain, as dressings and toppings can easily undo a freshman's good intentions.

It's fine to enjoy the goodies, but it's essential to do so in moderation. Further, it is wise to incorporate a reasonable exercise plan into the freshman schedule. If it's possible, include an exercise class in your schedule. Social dance, aerobics, water aerobics: these are all fun classes, and a way to build some physical activity into your routine.

A small refrigerator, 1.7 cubic feet, more or less, in size, is perfect for the student who will eat most meals in the dining facilities of the university. There is room for some basics, including yogurts, fruits, string cheeses, and even a jug of milk.

The model featured above includes a small (very small) freezer, which is nice for frozen treats, microwaveable meals, or even frozen fruits for smoothies. Obviously, there won't be a lot of freezer space, and its use can be healthy, or indulgent. The model featured below is strictly a refrigerator, no freezer.

Great points for the 1.7 - 1.8 cubic foot refrigerator model:
*Small Space Requirements
*Ample Storage For Individual Needs
*Healthful Perishables Can Be Stored In The Dorm Room

A fridge is not an absolute need in the residence hall room of a college freshman, as a meal plan will accomodate a student's nutritional needs amply. However, it is a great convenience, and very liberating if a student has days which are more hectic in terms of class schedule. During cold and flu season, it's great to have a place to keep orange juice handy, and during finals week, it's nice to have a place to keep a variety of cold study snacks. Often, university dining halls are closed on federal holidays, and a small fridge allows a student to have some alternate food choices.

If your freshman is going to have a roommate, a larger dorm fridge is a better choice. It's likely that roommates will share fridge space, as there is a limit on space available for such appliances in the confines of a residence hall room, and most university residential life departments will restrict refrigerators to one per room, with a size limit of 4 cu. ft.

The model featured above incorporates freezer into the main body of the refrigerator, with one door to the entire appliance. The model featured below has a separate door for the freezer. I would recommend this feature if the freezer is a priority, as the freezer doors of the one door models are not as tightly fitting, at times...they close, and work well enough, if the freezer is not the priority, but tend to be a little less sturdy, more like a compartment (think in terms of a dairy compartment, butter drawer, etc.) than a full door.

This is the size range my college refrigerator fell into, and worked really well for my needs, both with a roommate, and without. It affords more space than the 1.7 cu. ft. models, and still uses minimal space.

Some university residential life departments offer refrigerator rentals, which is a viable alternative. Comparing my own university's offerings, the cost of the microfrige, a combined microwave on top of refrigerator, the yearly rental is more than $250. While this may be a good choice for roomates who are interested in sharing the cost, the reality is that there is no guarantee both roomates will want to participate in sharing costs. Further, the number of appliances is generally limited.

Over the course of a 4 year period using residence halls as a living choice, the yearly rental of such a device would total more than $1,000. On the other hand, a modest fridge and microwave can be purchased for much less, approximately 1/4 of that costs, depending on the selections. Furthermore, the option exists to sell your used fridge to another college student at the end of your time in residence halls, thus recovering a portion of your investment.