How to survive living in the dorms

Living in the college dorms was an experience, to say the least. I feel like there are definitely a lot of downsides to living in the dorms, but it is an experience I would recommend to everyone. In my opinion, it is a crucial part of the college experience and allows you to meet so many people who you’ll be friends with for your entire college career. My freshman year I lived in a suite with seven other girls. It was so much fun, and I am still super close with a few of them to this day. Luckily, because I was in a suite, I did not have to go through the experience of a communal bathroom. Although I don’t regret living in the dorms at all, there were a few tough times. It was a huge adjustment and took some time to get used to, so here are some tips that I learned for how to survive in the dorms.

One thing I would've done differently before moving into the dorms was to be more prepared. I brought so many things that I never used and didn’t bring enough of the things I did need. Watch TikToks and YouTube videos about dorm must-haves and see what is relevant to you before you begin freshman year. These videos give you an idea of what is important to bring and the things that are useless. Some things that I would recommend bringing to the dorms are every type of medicine you can think of, your own laundry detergent because the one that the school provides is overpriced and gives you a very small amount, and an air conditioner or fan. I think it is a universal experience that students living in the dorms are sick basically every two weeks so bringing medicine with you is super important to have. Some dorms don’t have air conditioning, and even if it does it probably won’t work that well so make sure to bring a fan or portable air conditioner.

Make sure you bring tons of snacks for the dorm because you’ll definitely want them. Sometimes going to the dining hall is a lot of effort and ordering food is so expensive so having little snacks or meals is super important to living in the dorms.

Communicating with your roommates is also crucial to surviving living in the dorms. Although living and being with your best friend 24/7 is so fun, you have to make sure to communicate your boundaries with them, so you don’t end up hating each other. I have heard so many dorm roommate horror stories and most of the time it is because they don’t communicate properly with each other. My freshman-year roommate is one of my best friends and we still live together today. If you don’t speak openly with your roommate, it can make living in the dorm hell and create even more problems.

I didn’t have a car when living in dorms so if you are like me, take advantage of your friends with cars!! Living in the dorms can become confining so any chance you get to leave campus, take it. Of course, don’t be friends with people just because they have their car, but it definitely helps if you already have friends with a car. Take any opportunity you have to leave the dorm because it can get pretty isolating.

It may suck in the moment, but living in the dorms is an experience that you will never forget.

Living with your best friend(s) and having sleepovers every night are memories that you will look back on and miss when it is gone.