The Great Transition: Living At Home to Living At College

If you are planning to spend your College years in a dorm you will find that it is a different way of living than living at home. Depending on the space available and the cost, you could have a dorm mate or a private room. If you are lucky enough to have a private room, you will have the luxury of not having to get used to a roommate. But you will have a bit more security concerns, you have to get used to being away from home and being the one who places your own safety in your hands.

The dorms are very safe for students but for students who want that extra security, ask your RA what other safety instruments are accepted such as door alarms or security chains. Now if you have a roommate then you will feel now secure at least in safety. When you live in the dorm rooms you have to get used to eating with hundreds of other students. You don’t have the luxury of preparing your own home cooked meals. Some dorms allow a microwave and if your family sends you home cooked meals then you are all set.

When you choose to live in the dorms or you just have no choice then you have to not just get used to eating with other students by sharing a bathroom and showering the same room as other students (of course these are private showers). Everything you do will be with other students. If you have to brush your teeth for class, it will be with other students. Some dorms depending on where they are will assign a bathroom for a couple of dorm rooms and others have one bathroom per floor.

If you are a modest person who prefers the company of men to men and women to women then you may want to request that when you sign up for a dorm room. Another thing that you will have to get used to is curfew, every dorm room with its RA will go over the dorms rules and regulations. If there is a rule that you don’t like, think of it as a safety precaution rather than a rule. The best part about these rules and regulations is that they apply to everyone. Everyone is treated like an equal and more importantly as an adult.

To make dorm life more like home, ask for a sheet that tells you what you can and cannot have. Things like a phone, TV, coffee maker and microwave can offer the comforts of home. Remember if you are sharing a dorm room then you also have to be more courteous of others. If you are used to throwing your socks on the floor at home, try to get used to putting them in the laundry basket. It will take some but in the end, you will get used to living away from home and more on your own.