College Tip 2: Dorm Life

College Tip 2: Dorm Life

So you’ve just moved in, met your roommate, and you’re ready to head out into the college world. However, you should probably figure out what your new habitat has to offer. Better start your exploration inside your dorm. There’s probably a lot of talk about which dorm is the best or the worst, but really there are many different aspects that contribute to the quality of a dorm.

To kick off the journey you should start with your own room. Usually the size of a dorm room is just big enough to fit two beds, two dressers, two desks, a narrow pathway between the beds, and if you’re lucky there might be a closet or two. If you’re lucky your furniture will be ‘modular’. Now you might be thinking – what the f*** is ‘modular’ furniture. Basically this just means you can organize things to maximize your room for activities. My tip to you is to find any way to stack up your bed on top of your desk and dresser. This minimizes the room that your furniture takes up and allows for you to bring some extra stuff to make your room feel more home-y.

Making your room as much like your room at home is the key. This helps with any homesickness you may or may not have. Also, I’ve found it’s easiest to work when you’re in a comfortable and recognizable area. Anyways, now that you’ve figured out the room, try exploring your hall. You probably met your RA when you moved in. He/she probably seem pretty cool at first, but you probably will want to avoid them as much as possible. You will not be friends with your RA unless you already know them somehow, and they really don’t want to be friends with you. Honestly, it’s pretty likely they’re only an RA because of the perks they get – i.e. free housing. Go down the hall and try and chat it up with as many people as possible, because you want to make people in your hall like you. Just be friendly and be yourself. If people in your hall like you, you’ll be able to get away with a lot more things like playing music super loud or raging in your room. Trust me; you want these things to happen.

After you get out of the hall the rest of your dorm will be just other people you’ll probably meet around campus through various things. Living in the dorms can actually be a great experience because you’ll end up seeing people from around campus that you wouldn’t see on a daily basis if you live off campus. This is a great way to make friends that will be good connections in your future college years.

If you’re lucky you will have a dining hall in your dorm. I say lucky because you won’t have to travel very far to eat, but don’t expect steak dinners. I would recommend keeping snacks in your room in case a meal isn’t very good. Also, having breakfast foods like cereal in your room is always a good idea because breakfasts in dining halls usually start and end early and if you don’t have class in the morning it’s nice to be able to sleep in. When you go to the dining hall I would recommend bringing some containers like empty water bottles that you can fill with drinks for later. This will save you a lot of money. I used to ‘steal’ milk from the dining hall for cereal because buying milk for your room can be a hassle. You always buy too much or too little or it’ll go bad before you can use it. Anyways, I also recommend snagging some apples or other fruit from the dining halls. It’s a great way to keep some fresh produce around without having to buy large quantities at stores. You’ll find getting to grocery stores can also be a pain as a freshman unless you have a car, so getting your groceries from the dining hall is great.

Well I hope this will help you in the dorms! Have fun and make the most of your dorm experience!