The state of student housing in America is in the process of getting not only a face lift, but Botox, liposuction, and a tummy tuck, as well. The old rundown dorm rooms and less-than-savory off-campus dumps of the past are on their way out like pencils and hardbound textbooks.

With all the advancements being made in the fields of technology and green architecture, today’s savvy student is more informed, harder to please, and is demanding more from their multifamily student housing.

Students are at a point where they are expecting to find certain amenities in their new homes and are willing to shop around for the kind of place that not only delivers on the basics, but brings a sort of “wow” factor that kicks it up to the next level.

Like the influx of new millennial renters that multifamily is experiencing, college students are busy and want access to their amenities around the clock. They also want to be able to accomplish all of their daily chores and tasks without having to travel outside their general community.

Today’s students want more than just good WiFi. Students want to be able to grab a workout at their community fitness center between classes and they want that fitness center to have advanced workout systems with on-demand training.

They want study areas that are set up for collaborating with progressive tools like Smart TVs. They also want that area to double as a place to interact socially with their peer group.

At the same time, these students are very much engrossed in pop culture and where they live is a rite of passage that they want to brag about. Things like open-air event space, infinity pools, and built-in barbeques complete with outdoor televisions are all on the list of hot topics and can make for great word-of-mouth amenities that can attract new renters.

While new properties are breaking ground all over the country, today’s builder is being challenged to engineer communities that are considered “cool” by millennial standards.

Two of the most notable technologies being rolled out with student housing in mind are Campus Apartments‘ Smart.Lease platform and RoomSync. Smart.Lease is essentially a “lead-to-lease platform for student housing” that works across the company’s portfolio of multifamily student housing communities. Recently, Campus Apartments joined forces with the Facebook and smart-phone app, RoomSync, to offer students the added ability to handpick their future roommates with nothing more than a few clicks.

In the end, these naturally tech-savvy residents are looking for unique ways to incorporate both their student life and their living situation. Whether that’s a cool amenity or handy app, the idea here is that the face of multifamily housing is changing. This growing demographic is here to stay and if investors and developers want to be able to reap the rewards, then they’ll need to upgrade their systems and think outside the traditional box.

Are you a student living in a modern dorm or in a community with tons of upgraded amenities? Are you a developer planning to break ground or complete construction on new multifamily student housing? If so, we’d love to hear from you!