The Results Are In:

College Students Don't Like Their Sheets

Plus, Moms Think They Should be As Nice As at Home

Using Survey Monkey and Facebook, we invited college students to complete a brief questionnaire.  In less than one week, we received over 200 responses.  Here is a profile of the respondents:

• 83% Freshmen
  
• 85% live in a college or university residence hall
  
• 82% reported their bed is twin extra long size

We asked them how satisfied they are with their sheets and bedding products. 

Fifty percent of the students surveyed were not satisfied

Finally, we asked them why they weren’t satisfied.  Here’s what they told us (multiple responses were accepted):

CampusBedding.com was founded to give college students sheets and bedding products that are as nice as the ones they sleep on at home.  Why?  Because that’s what they want and they deserve!

In March of 2009, we followed up on this survey, but this time with "moms".  We used the professional networking website LinkedIn to poll women ages 35 to 54 - college moms and would be college moms - what they think.  Here's the question:

We received 317 responses in one week.  Here are their answers:

We could have had, say, only 3 responses, but we thought people might want to have fun with it.  So, if we knock out the 42% who didn't really answer the question...

• 67 percent think that residence hall bedsheets should be "as good as the ones at home" (64 percent) or "better than the ones at home" (3 percent)
  
• 33 percent think that residence hall bedsheets should be "not as good - on a budget"

In other words, by a factor of two-to-one, college moms and would be college moms think that college kids should sleep on sheets that are at least as good as the ones they sleep on at home.  Our experience would tell us that isn't necessarily the case for too many college students.

In addition to the poll, respondents could submit comments.  Here are some interesting ones:

• its ridiculous parents have to buy special sheets for maybe one year....how about just regular twin size? no other place on earth uses twin x-long except for freshman college dorms...gimme a break
  

• While I absolutely agree that the Twin XL thing that freshman dorms have is just stupid, I don't see it as a bedding cover issue; it is definitely an issue to take up with the colleges.
  

• Both my children slept in full-size beds at home. My son needed an XL twin bed to accommodate his 6 foot 4 inch frame. Other commenters must be short people.
  
• with the price of a college education...don't you think they should provide sheets! Honestly the cost of sheets is incidental....
  
• College dorms are so depressing - why not treat yourself to the best bedding available so that you can be most comfortable while relaxing in bed!

We couldn't have stated it better than that last comment!