College dorming?

[l0vexpiink]

For those of you who have lived in college dorms or are currently doing so, what is the experience like? How did you deal with meals? What are the communal bathrooms like? Did/do you put on makeup in your dorm or in the bathrooms?

 

[MACandie2012]

omg. i stayed there my freshman year and they are so gross. there was mold everywhere, and there's only one mirror to share between two people. the toilet was gross when i moved in. i had to do such much cleaning before i moved in, and i had 2 clean behind my very slouchy roommate. if u choose a roommate, i strongly suggest that u room with someone u know is really clean b/c it is hell trying to clean behind another grown person. for this reason, in the fall, i will be a 2nd semester sophomore and i have already signed up for an apartment. i just can't deal with the dorms. they are way too expensive to be so unclean. the meals at my school are awesome (i go to southeastern louisiana university).

HTH

 

[iadoremac]

I went to Michigan State University and I loved it there i suggest you go because you get to meet all sorts of interesting people. It wasnt grosse for me but regardless i recommend it because i think you'd enjoy it. I only did it for a year before moving into an apartment

 

[kittykit]

I stayed in the dorm when I was a freshman. The one I stayed in was not bad, it's an ensuite so I didn't have to share the bathroom with anyone else. Meals were provided and the food wasn't bad, I kinda liked them.

The cleaners came to clean the room once a week so it wasn't bad to stay in the dorm for me. I met a lot of great people, including my 3 best friends.

 

[gildedangel]

I have stayed and will be staying in dorms again. I really like it, but then again my school has REALLY nice dorms that were built about 8 years ago. We don't even have communial bathrooms, you share one bathroom between two rooms. I have done the communal bathroom thing before, its not fun. I set up a small desk as a makeshift vanity in my room because it was impossible to use the mirrors in the bathroom (nowhere to set your stuff). Food depends on your school, we had a "dorm cafeteria" and then you could eat at the union depending on whether you had meals that transferred or meals that were based off a dollar amount. The food isn't that great IMO. HTH!

 

[kdemers1221]

I lived in the dorms my freshman year as well. and honestly it wasn't that bad. but you have to remember you aren't living at home and its not going to be perfect. you are sharing a building with potentially hundreds of other kids your age depending on how big your building is. the bathrooms weren't bad. the only thing that sucked was that they were only cleaned during the week which meant they could get pretty disgusting over the weekend. i did all my make up and hair stuff in my room... i bought a hanging wall mirror that i put on the back of the door. I had a meal plan that was good at all the cafeterias on campus. the food was pretty good... i mean for cafeteria food. There was always a good selection of stuff to choose from but it was also really busy at peak times. Living in the dorms is a great way to meet people and is absolutely recommended. all my friends are still people i meet my freshman year in the dorm... i'm a senior now. just go in with a positive attitude... the situation will be what you make of it. the dorms honestly made my freshman year... the people on your floor are the people you'll eat with, hang out with, go to parties with.

 

[miss sha]

I've lived in dorms my entire college career so far. My freshman year I lived in doors that had JUST been built so we were all the first people to live in them. The rooms were nice but my roommate was a skank who fooled around pretty intensely with a guy while I was still in the room! O_____O And very obviously in the room, not like hiding in a corner or something.

My second year I lived in a dorm that was only a year old, so those were nice too. My third year I lived in the on campus apartments, and now my fourth year I'm going to be getting a single in another older building.

Because most of my school's dorms are so nice, I've never had a problem with living in a really gross space. I think that's more of a worry if you live with boys.

Also, all of our buildings are set up suite-style--two people in one room, two people in another room, and those two rooms connected by a bathroom shared by all four people--so I've never had to deal with communal bathrooms, thank goodness!

 

[lipglass_junkie]

I stayed in dorms freshman year, and for the most part I liked it. I got a horrible room mate too the first time, but I was lucky to get a room mate switch winter quarter.

My building was one of the oldest on campus, but it was reasonably well-maintained, the bathrooms had been remodeled two years before. Nothing fancy, but it did the job. I actually didn't mind that much, I have a large family and am used to little privacy, and I'm sure it helped that I happened to live two doors away from the bathroom. Our dining halls were pretty nice, and usually lines weren't too bad, and the food was usually good. The only problem is that it's very big on being vegetarian, so it often offered a lot of those, which is great, but no one would touch them.

 

[luvsic]

I lived in college dorms my freshman year and the first part of my sophomore year. And from my experience, IT SUCKED. For a few reasons - 2 out of 4 roommates I had (yes, I had 4 roommates in the time span of 1.5 years) were horrible roommates, the food situation was miserable, I hated the lack of privacy, my dorm was anti-social, just to name a few.

My first roommate was psycho, I'll just leave it at that. My second was great, but she moved into an apartment after her semester at the dorms. My third, went to bed at 9pm every night, which made it difficult for me, because although I didn't party like crazy I still went out occasionally. She was anti-social and didn't even try to get to know me. My 4th was decent, but it was a bad semester for me, so things didn't work out. I shared a bathroom with my roommates, and cleaning wasn't so bad. It was better than community bathrooms.

What made it really hard, though, was the social factor of my dorms. There WAS no social factor. Nobody came out and said hi to each other, nobody talked to each other. I made almost no new friends, and it was just the way it was. So if you live in them, make it a POINT to go out and be friendly, and meet people. Cause with my dorm, it was a "if you don't talk to me, I don't talk to you" situation. So when you live in there make sure you are social, and say hi to everyone at least!

Food is really expensive at my school, it can cost up to 7 dollars or more for a meal. But I would say college cafes (like ones nestled on campus, not really pricey outside ones) are a good way to meet people. If you see someone at a table alone, go and sit with them and strike up a conversation. That's what college is all about

it may seem scary at first, but I wish I had done that instead of being shy (I was really shy my freshman year..glad that changed.) I would strongly recommend that you budget your meals wisely (the food at my school tasted really bad), or if you'd like, you can cook something once or a few times a week (there are community kitchens) so you can take away leftovers. It's great to do it with a few friends, cooking is fun and a great way to socialize, plus you're eating yummy food in the process!

For the people who did have communal bathrooms, there is usually a vanity in the dorm, so I would put my makeup on in the dorm

Dorms aren't for everyone, but if you know how to take good care of yourself and keep yourself clean, it's a good experience to have. I learned a lot from living with others, what lines are appropriate to cross and what aren't. However since I had such a bad experience, when I go back to school I'm living in an apartment. At least I'll have my own room if my roommates are nuts...which, with just my luck they will be lol.

GL! I am chock-full of college advice so if you need any more, just ask! (I love giving it!)

 

[Boasorte]

OMG I was planning on living in a dorm, idk if they have those types of bathrooms, now I'm scared.
Did any of u girls bring ur entire makeup collection to school, or just half?

 

[miss sha]

I'm planning on bringing everything I have; I'm actually shopping for train cases now. I will be living in a single room this upcoming semester, though, so it's not like I'll have to safeguard my stuff from a roommate, and because of the suite style rooms I can lock the bathroom door to keep the suitemates out.

 

[Hilly]

I loved living in a dorm when I was a freshman. The food was good- I gained freshman 15 (ok 20). Aside from that, It was a fun living experience.

Our floor got fined because someone rubbed poop on the bathroom wall (and this was an all girls dorm...can't imagine what the boys dorms had).

 

[Boasorte]

^ Gross! I can't wait to go away to school, although I'm gonna still be in New York <3 . . . I though about single dorms, but me being the sometimes-anti social person I am, I think it's best to have a roommate at first

 

[belle89]

For the most part, I loved living in the dorms my freshman in sophomore years. It's fun living around so many people your age. I lived in a suite (two rooms sharing one bathroom)--4-5 girls using a bathroom. I knew friends that lived in the dorms with communal bathrooms...I couldn't do it. They never complained about the community bathrooms. Especially considering they were cleaned early each morning.

I'll be living in an on-campus apartment in the fall. I had a meal plan so I never had to cook. This fall, I'm in for a rude awakening. I have to learn to cook.

We had a sink/mirror in our room where I did my makeup. The lighting was crappy tho..

 

[Stephy171]

hmm interesting thread!! i dormed my freshman year which was last year and it was alot of fun... i mean apart from really not liking my roomate and the lack of privacy lol.... we did have comunal bathrooms wish was 3 stalls and three showers.... ughh i hated the thought of it! but lucky there werent many girls on my wing.. it really wasnt bad they were always clean and i never had to wait in line or anything like that.... it just takes a little getting used to i think..... at first i did take my entire makeup collection up to school which was kind of ridiculous lmaoo.. i really almost never wore makeup to class anyways i was too lazy to get up extra earlyy.... i would do it at the desk that came in the room... lord knows there wasnt space for some extra shit lol
i had my big mirror handy and would just put it there when i was gonna do my makeup.... i think it was a great experiece and it taught me alot...... although i wouldnt change it i upgraded next year for the apartments lol and i get my own bedroom sweet!!! and i will share a bathroom with 1 girl..... i think everyone should do the dorms at least their freshman year!

 

[coachkitten]

All I can say is wear shower shoes if your dorm has community showers. I have seen the most disgusting things on those floors.

I really enjoyed living in the dorms. I did my entire freshman year before I moved into my sorority. Living in the dorms is a great way to make friends at college.

I would advise you if you do your makeup in the community bathroom to make sure that you don't leave it unattended. I had so many pieces of makeup stolen that way. I ended up putting on my makeup in my room most of the time.

Have a great time living in the dorms!

 

[kaliraksha]

Definitely take tours of all the dorm buildings. Not all dorm buildings at a school are created equal. Then judge from there. I never lived in a dorm, but my friends did and I stayed there many weekends... the communal bath thing was really NOT a big deal... especially because they get cleaned so often by housekeeping... that sometimes I wonder if they're cleaner than sharing a bathroom in an apartment.

For me, I love to cook and couldn't stand the idea of a microwave and mini fridge for a kitchen. The price of a dorm was more than sharing an apartment with someone... and I got my own bedroom (at least in Austin). So, I moved into an apartment. Some student apartments near campus will also just rent you a room... and you can still get matched up with a room mate like in a dorm. Student apartments near campus are kind of the same situation with tons of people your age living on your floor. For me, the value was better in an apartment for me.

If you are trying to save money, consider a Co-Op... the prices here are less than both, and since there is such a communal feeling you a) make lots of good friends and b) the place tends to stay cleaner since there is a sense of consequences for being dirty- aka you have to clean it later

Just know you have options and explore and research the ones available at your school.

 

[Boasorte]

Whats up with people not liking their roommate? I heard there was some kind of personality form u fill out to get matched, is this not true?

 

[Stephy171]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MsWestchesterNY Whats up with people not liking their roommate? I heard there was some kind of personality form u fill out to get matched, is this not true?

yeah well my school does but its really not in depth... there were questions like how do you like to study, at what time do you go to bed, do you smoke and random things like that nothing really that goes into your personalityy!

 

[Boasorte]

thanks^^ I'm so excitited to live on a dorm,I can't wait till January!!!!
Were meal plans mandatory? Cause at the school I plan on going to, it's quite expensive