I thought I'd post a follow-up about the housing I have decided on.
I found this beautifully dreary dorm on MTS, Ferris State Hall or, repurposed for my game, the Lansing Police Academy:
https://abload.de/img/21.08.20_21-07-16a5j21.png
In its default state the lot was lagging whenever I used the teleport cheat (what I tend to do a lot on multi-story builds), so I deleted everything except for four living units on the groundfloor and two more on the first floor:
https://abload.de/img/21.08.20_21-53-35pbjz5.png
There is a laundry room on the ground floor and the third floor, and a small kitchen on the first floor:
https://abload.de/img/22.08.20_21-56-337mksx.png
Each unit houses two students:
https://abload.de/img/22.08.20_20-18-28zhk0e.png
At the moment I have six students and one captured spy (long story) living on this lot.
I've added a bench and a bookcase to the groundfloor, and also bought a soccer ball, but nothing else yet. The cadets have 3,000 simoleons in scholarships and have to be careful with what they spend it on. But with their classes and my custom training sessions, I'll definitely need to add one or maybe two coffee machines tomorrow.
My sims are now facing all the downsides of a real dorm, but without the added complication of free ranging townies :)