The total enrollment for fall 2025 at Pepperdine was 1,195 students, according to the Seaver College Office of Admissions.
The large first-year class influenced the decision to convert some rooms at Seaside Residence Hall into triples, said Brittany Skinner, associate dean of Student Affairs. The choice was data-driven, but also relied upon feedback from students to determine what would be best not only for those in the future but also for the university.
“I am definitely more on the optimistic side,” Junior and Resident Advisor Isaiah Grey said.
Cautious Optimism
First-year Brandon Bouyer said when he told fellow students he was living in a triple at Seaside, they were shocked. However, once they saw how the room was set up, they realized it was not as stressful as they had imagined.
“We all have our designated space,” said first-year Thomas Wiedensohler, one of Brandon’s roommates. “We stick to our designated space. That’s really it. There’s no issues at all.”
Maintaining cleanliness is important because if three people don’t manage their sections of the room, it can feel like “50 people” are living in it, Bouyer said.
The closet is small, but his roommates make it work, Wiedensohler said. He packed accordingly, as he knew space would be limited in the dorm. Since he came from a bigger family, he thought it was a lot easier to share his space.
Bouyer, an only child, said he was more accustomed to having his own space, and someone with siblings may already have the mindset for sharing space with others. However, there was still a difference for everyone because he and his roommates were all still getting to know each other.
Bouyer said people should not be afraid to live in a triple. Even though three people live in the room, they’re hardly in the dorm; frequently, they might have the whole room to themselves.
Grey said he saw triples work at Pepperdine’s Florence campus, where he was also an RA, though his perception might change in the weeks to come.
The Decision-Making Process
The larger new student class influenced the decision to convert some of the rooms at Seaside into triples, as well as the need to ensure that second-year students had housing available to them, Skinner said. Additionally, juniors, seniors and graduate students who also wanted to live on campus needed to be accommodated.
The last time rooms were converted into triples was in fall 2016, and that was because some buildings were demolished to build Seaside, Skinner said.
“I wouldn’t say that we have an exact process every time we want to do triples,” Skinner said. “I feel really good about the process we did this year.”
There is a possibility that triples will be used again, but that is mainly dependent on how many students want to live on campus, Skinner said. The amount of time and labor it takes to convert rooms into triples is also a consideration.
Students had to volunteer for the possibility of being placed in a triple before being assigned, Skinner said. Since having new students at Seaside is not a traditional setup, Student Activities created videos to show both rooms in Seaside and the suite-style first-year houses, with the hope of keeping incoming students informed. One video demonstrated what a triple setup in Seaside would look like.
Student Activities created a video to show incoming students what a triple room would look like inside a standard Seaside residence. This video would help new students visualize what their living situation would look like, Skinner said.
Students who chose the triple option received a $1,400 discount on their housing expenses, Wiedensohler said.
The slightly lower price point is because there are three people to a room, Skinner said.
“’I have no complaints about the three-person room at all,” Wiedensohler said. “It’s awesome.”
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Contact Oliver Evans via email: oliver.evans@pepperdine.edu
