Can any students that are dorming answer this?

College Life
1

<p>Hello, I'm a commuter to school right now, and I think dorming will add to a spirit of community, which I will look proudly upon when I graduate. </p>

<p>I have a few concerns about dorming -<br>
- Space for clothing - is there a lot of space for shirts, trousers and shoes? What if I need to iron my clothes?
- Food - is there a way I can buy and store my own food? I have a friend who has a George Foreman grill in his dorm (I don't know where he puts it) , and he says he can make his own food, which is important to me because I want to eat healthy.
- Security - I'm assuming this will be between my roommate and I, but what are the chances of my stuff getting stolen from my room? My dorm will be my home for my college life, and I would like to know that my stuff is safe - for the sake of argument let's say I go to a relatively small school. </p>

<p>Also, this is for you - have you ever thought about living at home instead? Were there things you missed living at home? Finally, do you regret dorming?</p>

<p>I would appreciate it very much even if you answered only a few questions.</p>

2

<ol>
<li>Space is limited in most dorms, unless you pay through the roof for a larger room.</li>
<li>Often times, schools make it mandatory that you use a food plan of some sort, which is really crappy since 99% of the food they serve is crap (I’m very health/fitness conscious)</li>
<li>Many times, dorms won’t allow you to possess a grill or microwave or any cooking appliances for fear of fires.</li>
<li>Security is a joke. Things get stolen all the time but as long as you are smart about it, you won’t lose a thing</li>
</ol>

3

<ol>
<li><p>It depends on the specific dorm, the one I live in on my campus has a relatively big closet and I can fit all my shirts and jeans, and we get a dresser that everything fits in comfortably.</p></li>
<li><p>I have plenty of healthy snacks in my room, you can cook a lot in the microwave. My bed is at a half loft, and I have a giant sealed bin underneath full of food. (The bin is important, it discourages mice)</p></li>
<li><p>Stuff does get stolen, I haven’t had a problem with it, but I live on an all girls floor, with guys there is a higher chance of stuff getting stolen, especially from the laundry. I have a laptop lock just in case.</p></li>
</ol>

<p>I enjoy dorming, I miss my shower, the ones here are only like, 2 by 2 and I’m not exaggerating, I wish I was.</p>

4

<p>I commuted my first two years and am now in my second year of living on campus.</p>

<p>I have a few concerns about dorming -

  • Space for clothing - is there a lot of space for shirts, trousers and shoes? What if I need to iron my clothes?</p>

<p>I have never had a problem. I did have to buy a shoe organizer to hang in my closet because I had nowhere else for them to go, but as long as you bring a reasonable amount of clothes you’ll be fine. I actually brought a moderately unreasonable amount and am still fine.</p>

<ul>
<li>Food - is there a way I can buy and store my own food? I have a friend who has a George Foreman grill in his dorm (I don’t know where he puts it) , and he says he can make his own food, which is important to me because I want to eat healthy.</li>
</ul>

<p>In a LOT of dorms you won’t be allowed to have a george foreman grill or much of anything beyond a microwave. At my school you can eat plenty healthy in the cafeteria, I don’t know about yours. I make a lot of my own food, though. I have a refrigerator and a microwave. No big deal.</p>

<ul>
<li>Security - I’m assuming this will be between my roommate and I, but what are the chances of my stuff getting stolen from my room? My dorm will be my home for my college life, and I would like to know that my stuff is safe - for the sake of argument let’s say I go to a relatively small school.</li>
</ul>

<p>It varies depending on the school. I chose my school in part because I was satisfied with the security in the dorms. In my situation as long as we close our door when we’re not there we are most likely going to be totally fine.</p>

<p>Also, this is for you - have you ever thought about living at home instead? Were there things you missed living at home? Finally, do you regret dorming?</p>

<p>There is nothing I miss about being at home or prefer about being at home. There is no contest, living in the dorm is better. However, though it was still better than being at home, living with a roommate my first year sucked-- she was mean. I got a single this year and could live here forever if I had to.</p>

5

<p>Each and every one of your questions is school dependent. No one can provide you with a good, solid answer.</p>

<p>For example- to counter above posters- at my school:

  1. the closets are pretty dang large.
  2. if you live on campus you need to buy an obscene meal plan, so it’s a waste to also buy your own food. We’re allowed microwaves and fridges, nothing else. (but I snuck in a toaster)
  3. majority of doors in the dorms at my school lock automatically when closed. provided you don’t leave your door open when out of your room, the chances of theft are very, very minimal (a dorm was broken into during winter break a couple of years ago, but that’s super rare).</p>
6

<ol>
<li><p>All my clothes fit either in my closet or in my dresser. I strongly recommend getting one of those closet organizers that hang in your closet. You can put shoes in it or fold up clothes and put them in there. It’s been a lifesaver for me. I know some dorms have walk-in closets, but I’m in your pretty average traditional dorm.</p></li>
<li><p>You can store as much food as you have room for. Some schools provide a fridge (mine does, with freezer) and my roommate brought another one, which we stacked on top of the provided fridge. We love it, it works really well. Usually you can’t have anything beyond a microwave, although in your dining hall there should be some healthy options, and you can eat all the fruit and stuff you can fit in your fridge :)</p></li>
<li><p>Just lock your door when you’re going to leave for a while. Once you’ve been there for a while and made friends or at least become friendly with the people on your floor, you can gauge how much security is really necessary. I have a laptop lock but I do not use it. I haven’t really heard of any thefts here though.</p></li>
</ol>

7

<p>All of those questions are dependent on the school itself, because not all dorms are equal. But i’ll answer what its like for me:</p>

<ol>
<li><p>At my school we have this huge (and yes i mean huge) armwa (sp fail) thing. Its like 4ft wide, 2.5 ft deep and about 8ft tall complete with 3 drawrs, a large door campartment to hang stuff and a smaller one above the drawers with some shelving units. When you live in a single its more then enough room.</p></li>
<li><p>Depends on the school if you can have a fridge, micro, or any cooking appliance really. I have a frige and microwave. I have a good amount of food stashed in my room when i don’t feel like venturing out when the cafiteria food is on its questionable days (weekend evenings lol).</p></li>
<li><p>Doors have locks. Make sure you and your roommate keep it locked. Also, entrances often have locks of some sort on them (mine has a card swipe thingy). Like someone else said, most lock automatically. Mine does, its like a hotel door. Its big, heavy and made of oak lol.</p></li>
</ol>

8

<p>Okay, totally depends on policies at your college, but based on my experience at my school…</p>

<p>-Space for clothing - I live in a triple and each of us have a pretty spacious closet and a dresser. I have more than enough room for my clothes. Ironing equipment I think we have to check out from the front desk.</p>

<ul>
<li><p>Food - My dorm allows refrigerators, so we can store stuff in there, but we have to use the kitchen for cooking and microwaving and so forth (they don’t want students to have appliances beyond the fridge so as to save energy). But don’t only prepare your own food as that is a gigantic waste of money. Take advantage of a board plan. There are (at least at my school) always healthy options in the Caf.</p></li>
<li><p>Security - Honestly, I really don’t see this being an issue. Your door is usually going to be locked. It’s no less safe than an average apartment.</p></li>
</ul>

<p>It really is not a big deal to live in a dorm. You have to remember that almost all of your classmates are on campus, and it’s working out fine for them. Seriously, don’t even worry about it. You’ll run into some problems, yeah (mostly having to do with broken washing machines), but part of the experience is making it work.</p>