DORMS
For many students moving to college may be their first time living away from home and family. Even if you have shared a room before with a brother or sister, moving into a dorm and sharing a room, a hall, a common area, and a bathroom with other college students will be a new and different experience.
If you’re thinking about moving into a college dorm you may have questions like:
- What can I expect my dorm to be like?
- What should I bring?
- Is living in a dorm safe?
- What is it like to live with roommates?
- Who will I go to if I have a problem or need help?
This webpage is designed to address commonly asked questions about living in a college dorm. Some of the information on this page was developed using the SparkCollege webpage on dorm life.
Some students cannot afford to live in a dorm or choose not to live in a dorm for a number of other reasons. If you are thinking about being a commuter student you may wonder how your life will be different living away from campus and how you can become involved in campus activities as a commuter. Many colleges provide specific services for commuter students. For example, some colleges provide special lounges for commuter students to spend their time and assign lockers for commuter students to store their books and belongings. Some colleges offer social programs so that you can meet other students who are living away from campus. A few colleges even provide dorm rooms for commuter students to spend a short amount of time staying on campus. The Student Life or Residence Life program at your college can give you information about what your college has to offer. Go to this website for Commuter Students
What can I expect my dorm to be like?
Different colleges offer different options for dorms and on-campus living. In general, dorms (or residence halls) typically have single rooms or rooms for several people, community bathrooms, community lounges, and laundry rooms. Colleges set up their dorms and dorm floors differently, in general you may find some of the following at your college: all female or all male dorms, all female or all male dorm halls, co-ed dorms or dorm halls, quiet floors, substance-free dorms, international dorms, and special focus dorms for students with similar interests.
Because dorms and dorm rooms themselves are so different at each college, you may enjoy clicking on some of the links below to see what dorm life is like at some colleges.
Southern
This webpage gives an overview of dorm life at SCSU. If you click on the links at the bottom right of this webpage, you can read about and see pictures of their 10 residence halls.
At Yale each incoming student is assigned to one of 12 residential colleges (at Yale, residence halls are called “colleges”). Students remain affiliated with these colleges throughout their four years in school. At this website you can click on any of the 12 colleges to see pictures and read more about residential life and the facilities that each has to offer.
Students who live on-campus at
To read about housing options at the
What should I bring?
When you decide to live in a dorm at college, your college will probably send you a list of suggestions for things to bring with you when you move, and a list of things that you are not allowed to bring with you to college.
Here are some tips when you are thinking about what to bring:
- Remember that you probably will have less space in your new room than you are used to having at home. While you may want to bring all of your belongings and clothes, pick your favorites and the things you wear the most…leave the rest at home. You can always pick up more stuff later or have someone send a package to you.
- Think ahead about using a communal bathroom, if you will have one in your dorm. When sharing a bathroom many students bring flip-flops for the shower, a shower basket for carrying things to and from the bathroom, and a bathrobe or cover-up for walking back to their rooms.
- Leave anything that is very valuable or important to you at home. If you do decide to bring valuables, consider getting a safe or figuring out another way to lock up your things.
- But do bring things that will help the dorm room feel more like home. Bring your favorite blanket, pillow, pictures of family and friends to make the new room your own.
- If you’ll have a roommate (or several roommates) talk with them in advance about what each of you will bring. You probably don’t need to have multiple microwaves or TV’s.
- Find out from your college if there is anything that you are not allowed to bring. Many colleges will not allow incense or candles, hot plates, or other items that may cause a fire hazard.
- Remember that most colleges have a bookstore or other stores where you can buy the important things that the typical student needs on a college campus.
Click on some of these links for lists that colleges have posted with suggestions for what to bring:
The websites aboutcollege.com, thedormitoryonline.com, and collegebound.net all have lists of suggestions for what to bring (and not bring) to college.
Check out this website on Decorating your Dorm Room.
Is living in a dorm safe?
Colleges take many steps to create safety for students living in dorms. As someone who is new to college life, you may be nervous about living on your own in a new space. In addition to the steps that are already taken by your college, there are things that you can do to protect yourself and your belongings, creating a safer college living experience.
- Keep your dorm room locked. If you’re out of the room locking your door will protect your personal belongings. Many students in dorms have an open-door policy and even though it’s fun to go in and out of your friend’s rooms, having an unlocked room makes it much more likely that your electronic equipment, clothes, jewelry, and money will be stolen.
- When you’re in the room, especially when you’re sleeping, keeping the door locked is an important part of your own personal safety.
- Consider buying a safe to keep valuables such as money, your passport, and maybe even your laptop.
- If there’s a locked outside door leading into the dorm building – never prop it open and never let anyone in who is not a student living in the dorm. That door is there to keep you and your fellow students safe, let it do it’s job!
- If the fire alarm goes off, leave the building. In dorms where there are often false fire alarms you may be tempted to ignore the alarm, but there are also frequent fires in college dorms and it’s essential that you take each alarm seriously.
- If you have any concerns, are scared, or see anything suspicious, make sure to tell your Resident Advisor (RA) or call campus security.
For an article on fire safety in dorms go to this Dorm Room Safety 101 article by Underwriters Laboratories.
This newsletter published by the National Safety Council has a summary of information on dorm safety. Other safety guidelines can be found on the eCampusTours.com website.
What is it like to live with roommates?
Living with roommates can be one of the most exciting and also one of the most nerve-wracking parts of going off to college for new students. Some colleges give new students a chance to choose their roommates, so if you’re going to the same college as someone you know already, you can live together. At other colleges, you may fill out a survey and be matched based on your answers.
In general, some things to think about when you’re deciding whether a roommate is a good match:
- Hours that each of you likes to sleep and stay awake (are you a night owl or an early bird?)
- Whether you like to listen to music or have the TV on when you’re studying
- If you like to share belongings or keep to your own stuff
- How clean each of you would like the room to be (and how often you like to clean)
- How you feel about guests during the day and overnight guests
- Whether you’re a smoker
While some roommates become very good friends, it is also possible to have a very good roommate relationship and have different friends who you see when you go out.
To read more about choosing and living with a roommate, read Roommate Matchmaking by eCampusTours.
Who will I go to if I have a problem or need help?
Almost all college dorms have Resident Advisors (RA’s). RA’s are usually undergraduate students who have been at the college for a few years and live with first-year students to be available for help if you have a problem. RA’s are trained to be leaders in the dorm, to be role models for newer students, to have access to resources if you have questions, to provide support for students, and to enforce campus rules. They are trained to talk with you about everything from study skills to dating to roommate problems. Your RA will be backed-up by other campus staff who they can turn to if you have a question or a problem that they cannot answer.