College residence is one of the main concerns of college freshmen all over the country. Besides the problem of adjusting to a new place, they need to think about how they will have to cope with roommates and space limitations.
If you already know where you’re going, it’s time to check out what your potential living conditions are. Here are some tips.
Ask The Right Questions
Every campus housing department has a set of rules you need to follow. As soon as you know which freshman dorm you’re going to live in, call the dorm manager. The more you know about the rules, the better you can plan ahead.
A visual inspection is the best way to check on your potential living conditions, but this might be impossible for some students. Also, some hall assignments come later than others, which means the only time you’ll see your dorm room is when you go there to start school. In this case, you will have to call about your concerns or send an inquiry email if the acceptance letter has the online address of your hall.
Here are some specific questions you should ask:
- What are the exact dorm dimensions?
- Is parking availability and are there parking fees?
- Where are the laundry facilities?
- What small appliances can I bring? Are refrigerators, steamers, toasters or
flat irons allowed in rooms? - Are there are any rules for water or electricity use?
- What are the number of electrical outlets in rooms?
- Is there free Wifi available?
- What are the bedding options?
- What are the rules for common areas?
- What are the visiting hours?
- How far are the dorms from the main campus?
- How do I contact campus security in case of emergency?
Bring the Bare Necessities
You’re going to spend most of your time in school, which means you’re probably going to use the dorm room only to sleep and freshen up before and after you attend your classes. But having comfortable home amenities around can lessen the stress of living away from home, especially if you’ve never been out of your comfort zone before.
Bare necessities could simply mean clothes and a bed, but others consider their laptops and other gadgets a part of their bare necessities. Learn to edit your list of things to bring so that you don’t have to ship out or throw out anything when you realize that your dorm room is too small for your antique desk or your sizable shoe rack.
Plan to Go Early
If you’re living with someone else in one of the bigger hall suites, doing your visual inspection ahead of time could spell the difference between getting a good-condition closet and one with broken locks. The later you move in, the more likely you’re going to get the worst bed location. Go early, especially if you don’t think you can sleep on the top bunk without falling off. Putting your dibs on the best spaces in your dorm room is great, especially if the room assignments don’t specify which closet or bed belongs to which resident.
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