What to expect - college housing?

Question

My son is 21 and graduated with a 2-year degree from a community college. He is entering a state university under a special program where he is going in as a Junior. He didn't get to apply for on-campus housing until June, so he didn't get his choice of an apartment or suite. They have put him in a dorm, sharing a room with 1 other person. Thankfully, I don't think it is one of the Freshmen dorms.

He's very focused, non-drinker, non-smoker and very mature for his age. What are the chances of him not getting frustrated with dorm living and sharing a room? What can he expect?

Answer 1

A lot of people, especially males, who seem to be more tolerant of difference in living style, don't seem to have a problem with dorm living. My guess is that it all comes down to with whom he ends up rooming. He may be just fine. If not, he can think of it as a temporary situation and move off campus, or into a suite or apartment with roommates of his choice, next year.

Answer 2

I went to a community college and then transferred to a four year university. At first I was nervous because I wasn't to sure about sharing a room with someone I didn't know. Thankfully my roommate and I were kind of similar. We both don't drink or smoke or party so that made things easy for the both of us. My boyfriend goes to the same school and his roommate was a drinker and a smoker. The most annoying thing for him was to come back to his room and his roommates clothes smelling like weed. The only problem that I ever had is the loud music that goes on and my suite mates not wanting to take their turn to clean the bathroom we share. But a little conversation fixed this issue. It all depends on the roommate he ends up with. Other than that the only thing that i didn't like about living on campus was the feeling of eating out all the time. I prefer a home cooked meal over eating out any day. Just have to get use to it. Hopefully he will get blessed with someone who he can deal with.

Answer 3

If he stays the way you say he is, I think he will become infuriated with his room mate or at least his floor mates.

When I was in University, I was 19 (I'm male), non-drinker, non-smoker, non-partier, and serious about what I was doing. Over the course of my year, I had a room mate with a huge body odor problem (my eyes burned when he was around) who was extremely demeaning towards women and swapped room mates for a guy with meter tall speakers that he would blast all night. On the weekend, there were all sorts of trampy girls and dumb guys wandering around the building drunk. A group of really stupid guys on my hall ran around yelling and slamming doors at all hours.

In hindsight, I think it was an important experience. I went to college after my university experience, because academically, it was not a good year. Now, I'm a Respiratory Therapist. However, I will never share a living space with someone I'm not either related to or sharing a bed with. My sister is going to university this year and she is getting an apartment off campus living by herself.

When living on campus, I paid $400 a month for rent and $400 for my mandatory meal plan. Where I went to university, the dorm food was over priced and pretty bad. Had I lived off campus and paid $500-600/month in rent and ate as I like to, I think I would have saved a lot of money. They don't like refunding meal plan money. We had $2500 of chocolate bars, drinks, laundry detergent, etc.. to make the unused part of my meal plan into something that was useful. It was a tremendous waste.

If your son can handle the food, noise, rowdy neighbors/room mates, people who think it's fun to get and stay drunk all weekend, and those who do dumb things all night that wake people up, then he should do fine in a dorm. If not, I would look for off campus housing where he can have his own private space with nobody else there to bother him.

Answer 4

He can expect a lesson in life about dealing and getting along with other people he may or may not like. It's a good experience, and he will end up learning a lot about himself. If the room mate is really that bad, he can most likely change if he has a legitimate excuse. Just remind him to talk to the other person to set ground rules about other people in the dorm, lights out time, etc. Both your son and his room mate are paying the same price so as long as he can be flexible and compromising, he'll be fine.

Answer 5

expect the unexpected. chances are it won't be totally unbearable. there are a few things you can do to make it easier on you. some of the issues you can expect will be...lack of cleanliness....and loudness. bring earplugs, or an ipod...something to block out noise. since he has to share a bathroom with other people, its a good idea to bring some basic cleaning supplies. clorox wipes are good. other then that...you just gotta wing it. it's an adjustment no matter what. just gotta keep your eye on the goal, and remember that this is all a part of a college education. if things are REAL bad, he can always submit to be transfered to a new room...and a new roommate.
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