Gone are the days when college dorm room shopping meant hitting up Bed Bath & Beyond (with a stack of expired 20%-off coupons) to stock up on twin XL sheets, plastic shower caddies, and over-the-door mirrors. Now, Gen Z-ers are giving new meaning to the term “dorm decor” by transforming the notoriously hideous cinderblock boxes into perfectly Instagrammable, boutique hotel-like rooms. The students — who often attend southern schools like the University of Mississippi and the University of Alabama — are bringing in fancy furniture, from upholstered headboards to custom cabinets designed to hide microwaves and mini fridges. They’re decorating drab walls with personalized neon signs, wallpaper, and, get this, framed artwork. They’re buying matching bedding, drapery, and monogrammed pillows. They’re even turning desks into makeup vanities (ideal for filming GRWM videos). All of which is often coordinated with their roommate before move-in day and documented in Extreme Makeover: Home Edition-style TikTok videos. 

Now, to be fair, this phenomenon isn’t totally new. For the past few years, DormTok — like RushTok — has invaded FYP pages everywhere. But this year, it seems “the stakes of dorm decor have never been higher.” And it’s not just the students who are deeply invested in the lavish dorm room lifestyle. So are their parents. While some have joined dorm-decorating Facebook groups (see: Dorm Room Mamas, which currently has over 246,000 members who share “tips, advice, and support”), others are enlisting the help of interior designers that charge $10,000 (yes, you read that right). And here we thought having a mini fridge was a flex.