<p>I am worried my stuff will get stolen next year when I go to college. I will be bringing my custom desktop computer, TV, and probably my snowboard. I dont want this to get stolen. I am going to Iowa, which is kind of regarded as a party school, but I applied for "quiet housing" (no being loud after like 10pm I think) to reduce the chances of my stuff getting stolen. </p>
<p>There are locks on the dorm room doors right? And since I will have a roommate, what if I dont trust him? How do you guys deal with/prevent theft?</p>
<p>Your roommate won’t be the one who steals your belongings; that would be stupid. Just lock your door if you’re really that worried. I’ve never locked my dorm, but I’m also in a new dorm with two separate card swipes required for entry at my college.</p>
<p>I leave my door open all the time, or closed but unlocked. I’m rooming with my best friend from highschool so I trust him completely. All the guys on our floor are close to each other so everyone’s room is always open. Nothing has been stolen in any of our rooms. And no random person can come up since you need a card to get up here. :)</p>
<p>Just because you need a card doesn’t mean much, you need a card to get into mine too, or you can just follow people in.</p>
<p>Now that I’ve said that, I wouldn’t worry to much about it, but I don’t see why you’re bringing your snowboard. I only lock down my laptop, but thats because my roommate and I hardly lock our door and I like my lap top.</p>
<p>If in any case you do leave a door open for a short while/some other problem the biggest concern is small valuables, such as wallets. Anyways you seem to be concerned enough (paranoid even?) that you probably wouldn’t make such a mistake.</p>
<p>It’s more likely that your roommate will steal food and Q-tips than anything of actual value. Unless they have a partner in crime who is willing to stash the items so they can then be sold on the black market. Conclusion: not likely.</p>
<p>Also, I wouldn’t go into that relationship expecting you won’t be able to trust him…</p>
<p>But I guess if I were you, I’d probably get a lock. Maybe for your snowboard in particular because that’s something that’s more likely to stand out.</p>
<p>But, really, don’t stress about it. Keep your room locked. The biggest concern you need to have about your roommate then is that he locks the door.</p>
<p>There are non-students who sneak into dorms when most students are at class and look for something to quickly grab. Also, there are break-ins during college breaks - although most of those are off-campus.</p>
<p>Firstly, I doubt that a “custom desktop computer” or a TV with a screen larger than said computer’s screen would be easily steal-able. </p>
<p>Secondly - I leave my door <em>unlocked</em> and I have my laptop sitting right out in the open, on my desk. It’s never been stolen. We don’t have a keycard or anything to get into the building, just someone sitting at the front desk.</p>
<p>That said, if you’re really paranoid, then find a way to lock your stuff down.</p>
<p>Have your parents add your stuff to their personal valuables policy with their homeowners insurance. It doesn’t cost much and with most policies doesn’t even have a deductible.</p>
<p>Personally, the only thing I would worry about would be a computer, not my TV. I even do this at my house in case I need to transport my desktop, and that is just locking it to something large, like a table or something, or just locking the hard drive up.</p>
<p>i agree with everyone. Any theft is unlikely if you are any higher than the first floor. Cards are required to enter most dorms these days so as long as you are conscious of locking your door, I think you should be ok.</p>
lol</p>