Whether you are moving into the dorm as a freshman, or a senior looking for a nice house close to campus, odds are you will be living with roommates˳ There are very few college students who live by themselves, mostly because it is too expensive˳ In college towns, rent for a single apartment can reach up to $750 a month˳ It might not seem like a lot, and maybe it isn’t if your parents are paying for it, but for the majority of students $750 a month is not reasonable˳ The solution to lower rent is living with roommates˳ In this article I will talk about the pros and cons of living with roommates, how to find roommates, and I’ll share some of my experiences along the way˳ This will be a two part post due to its length˳ Part I will discuss dorm life, while Part II will discuss life after the dorms˳
Since I just graduated from college in April of 2005, I consider myself somewhat of an expert in the college living life˳ Not much has changed in the few months I have been on my own˳ I am living by myself for the first time in my life, and let me tell you, it is quite different than being in college˳
Most students start off their college experience living in the dorms˳ When I moved in, I elected to live in an old fashion dorm˳ Twenty some odd rooms on the floor with one large communal bathroom˳ The guys section was separated from the girls section by a lounge/kitchen with one stove, one oven, a few couches, and a TV˳ Not quite the same as living at home with your own bedroom and bathroom˳ Most dorms (at least the old fashion ones) do not have single rooms˳ Everyone has a roommate, and sometimes there are triples in one room˳ Most schools give you the option to choose your roommate or have one randomly assigned to you˳ My freshman year, I chose to live with a friend˳ Make sure you are good friends with this person or else you may end of wanting to kill each other˳ I have so many friends that wound up hating their roommates˳ They were friends on the outside, but in the room it was hell˳
I was lucky for the first semester of college˳ I got along with my roommate for the most part˳ We led different lives, which was a good thing˳ I was on the meal plan and he wasn’t˳ We took different classes at different times and hung out with different people too˳ In my opinion this is how it has to be if you choose to live with a friend˳ You can’t be too close or else your friendship will crumble˳ (Please note that the dorms I am talking about are the ones that are about 12×12 with two twin beds and two desks and enough room to stand up˳ The new age dorms where people have their own rooms and bathrooms are totally different˳) My friend who I roomed with ended up transferring to a new school after our first semester for various reasons˳ I thought I had it made in the shade˳ Would the school not know? Would I get the room to myself? The answer was no˳
Enter Kraut (my new roommate from Germany)˳ He was American, but grew up in Germany on a military base˳ This was one of the best and worst experiences of college˳ Living with a complete stranger who is the complete opposite of you˳ This is every incoming freshman’s worst nightmare˳ Andrew (who I referred to as Kraut… please don’t take offense to this˳ It was just a friendly joke between us) moved in with me because he was voted out of a triple dorm room by his previous roommates˳ Wow˳ After living with him for a semester, I know why they voted him out˳
First off, he was in the ROTC˳ I have nothing against being a proud American and wanting to serve in the military, but when you have to wake up at 4:00 AM every morning to go run with that squadron, that’s when I start to lose it˳ His alarm would go off at 3:45 AM everyday and he would snooze for about 30 minutes˳ He never went to class, so he was there to bug me on all my time off˳ He played Counter-Strike (which I’m sure all you guys know what it is˳ Counter-Strike is a terrorist/counter terrorist video game)˳ He played it all through the night with the sound up˳ You would think me dorm room was a war zone˳ I tried to take him out with me, or eat lunch with him at the cafeteria, but I just couldn’t take it˳ I learned a lot from Kraut and will never forget him˳ My most memorable moment is when I turned the volume all the way up on my PC and blasted the Salute Your Shorts theme song right in his ear while he was sleeping˳ I captured it all on video˳ He flicked me off and went to bed˳ I haven’t seen Kraut since I moved out of the dorm˳
Some Pros and Cons of living in the dorms (once again, I am talking about the old fashioned dorms, not the apartment style ones)˳
Pro – Right on campus˳ You can wake up 5 minutes before class and walk there in your boxer shorts˳
Pro – Right on campus˳ Food is close by (especially if you are on a meal plan)˳
Pro – Social life˳ You meet a lot of new people living in the dorms˳ Some become friends for life˳ Dorms often have mini-parties and social events where everyone hangs out˳
Pro – It’s new˳ College is about experiencing new things˳ Dorm life is one of them˳
Pro – It’s cheap˳ Not nearly as expensive as renting an apartment˳
Pro – It’s very easy to find pick up games for sports˳
Pro – There is an Ethernet computer network˳ High speed internet access and everyone is connected˳ Awesome for playing video games˳ (When I was a freshman things like Napster were brand new˳ People were downloading music left and right on the high speed network and sharing music like you’ve never seen˳ And as far as we knew, it was all legal)˳
Con – No privacy˳ People will just randomly walk in your room˳ Keep it locked˳
Con – Old and dirty dorms are no fun˳ I got sick once a month living in there˳ I still have breathing problems˳
Con – Dorms are very small˳ You won’t be able to fit everything you have in your closet˳
Con – Having annoying roommates that you can do nothing about˳
Con – Internet firewalls˳ Some dorms are real strict now about what you can and can not do on the school’s internet˳ Sorry guys, no downloading music here˳
Con – Cooking food can be quite a problem˳ You have no fridge or oven in your room˳
Con – Bugs and rats˳ Depending on how old your dorm is (mine was built in the 40s I think) you might find rodents running around˳ We had a rat problem one week˳ I saw one run right across the floor in my room and then he disappeared into the wall˳
Well that is all I have for today˳ Come back tomorrow (or Monday) for Part II of College Roommates˳ If you have any questions, email me at collegesos@yahoo˳com
Source by https://ezinearticles˳com/?College-Roommates-Part-I—Dorm-Life&id=89815
