<p>How do you go about requesting a single dorm room? How early would you have to do it? I have really bad night terrors and I wake up screaming and sweating often. I'm really worried about it not only because it'd be embarrassing, but for the sake of my roommate. Even after it happens, I usually have to turn on the lights and stay up for a few minutes. I really don't want to do that to somebody else.</p>
<p>Contact your prospective college(s). Obviously, it depends on each; some you won’t just be able to request it - it’ll be first come, first served.</p>
<p>Is this a documented medical condition? This is actually something you might get a medical waiver for. If this is documented, you might consider contacting the disabilities office at your school. Sometimes, freshmen cannot get singles without a medical reason. </p>
<p>Otherwise, contact the housing dept at your school and ask what the steps are.</p>
<p>So is this something before or after I apply? Or after I’m (hopefully) accepted? I just don’t want to wait too late. No it’s not documented that I know of. I went to the doctor once over it, they just told me to adjust my sleeping habits and they haven’t really followed up.</p>
<p>You might want to get a second opinion. </p>
<p>Anyway, it’s something you should do after you’re accepted and when you’re going through housing. If having a single is important though, it’s something you can inquire out prior to applying.</p>
<p>Okay, thanks, that’s what I needed to know! I’ll go get it checked out by another specialist before that. </p>
<p>Start marking on a calendar each time it happens so you can have some record of the occurrences, time and frequency, and see if there is any pattern as well. You might note if there is anything particular that day to see if anything connected. Lack of food, family argument, headache that day, had a panic attack, ate chocolate–whatever happened that day to try to make connections. Maybe you are having a recurring nightmare, whatever is associated make a note. Start with a MD and have physical causes examined and be open to a mental health professional if they make a referral. This is not a normal condition that you have to accept as a fact of life, and when it is affecting your life, like you have to make different accommodations than other students do when you go away to college–then it indicates a diagnosis and treatment is needed. If you are not seeing anyone for the social anxiety I suggest you address that at the same time. And yeah, don’t go to the same MD. But remember, it is likely you or parent who will have to follow up.</p>
<p>Even if it is not a documented medical condition, you would go through the housing office, and they would either accommodate you or tell you to go through the ADA coordinator at your college. Sometimes that would be someone in the counseling center or the tutoring center.</p>
<p>I would suggest not contacting any school until you find out where you are accepted and want to go. Call your first choice that you were accepted to, and ask them if you can get a single room due to your sleep problem. They might ask for documentation, they might not.</p>
<p>Note that in some cases, they would put you in a double with no roommate if they have no single rooms in freshman areas. That may lead to questions, but the answer should be limited to “I have a sleep problem” period. You don’t have to tell them what it is.</p>
<p>However - note that if you have really bad night terrors, it might wake up your dorm neighbors too. One of my children talks in his sleep, and he is loud enough that with closed bedroom doors, he sometimes wakes others up. So you might want to consider living at home and going to college locally. He is going to try to go away to college, but may need to end up back home because of it.</p>
<p>Find a sleep doctor and get documentation of your behavior that could impact others and your own psychological well-being. Once admitted, then contact the services for students with disabilities office. </p>
<p>If it happens fairly frequently ask your doctor for a referral for a sleep study. Who knows, maybe you have sleep apnea or other sleep disorder that contributes to the night terrors? The sleep doc might be able to write a letter of medical necessity for a single.</p>
<p>I’ve always kept a log of when it happens. It used to follow a pattern but it’s become more sporadic. I’m not sure if my mom would even take me to a sleep specialist over it, but I could try. There’s no way I could go to college close to home. I’m applying to a lot of Ivies and top-tier schools. I live in a really small rural town in Texas. Of course I have a safety but it’s still an eight hour drive. Thank you guys for your advice though, I will try to get medical documentation in case!</p>