<p>Do freshmen have TVs and video game systems in their dorm rooms? Is it common? Is it a source of conflict with roommates? Is there even space?</p>
<p>Some freshmen have video games and tv’s in their rooms. My son lived in a dorm that common rooms. The tv the kids put in that room was actually stolen almost immediately, so I’d be careful what a kid keeps outside of his locked room.</p>
<p>I have a 42 inch flatscreen in my room. If it weren’t for the stupid ceiling slants, I would have probably gotten a 50 inch one.</p>
<p>I didn’t have one, but my freshman year, one of the rooms in my suite/hall had a 30 inch and an xbox. My guess is that in dorms most people don’t have them, but it’s definitely not unheard of. I feel like more of my friends who live off campus have tv’s and games because there’s more space, but if you want to bring it, you should feel welcome to</p>
<p>Definitely fair to say most students in dorms do not have TVs. Most students rely on their computers and Netflix/Hulu for their TV needs. College was about the time I kicked most of my videogame playing habits. It wasn’t intentional, but I just didn’t have all that much time.</p>
<p>Mikey, great thought. Maybe my son will just go cold turkey…maybe he can try first semester without it and see how it goes. At the risk of embarrassing him, I will confess that it reminds me of helping him give up certain transitional objects years ago. Will it be easier or harder to make such a big change without his trusty x-box?</p>
<p>Btw, Mikey, I don’t know if you saw the RD thread at acceptance time. I thanked you for all your advice, starting last summer, that got us to this exciting point. Thanks again.</p>
<p>If he plays them a lot right now and you have the space to pack the Xbox it can’t hurt. If he makes friends who are really into videogames, the Xbox could be nice. But my pre-college video game habits were quite high (read: too high) and they drastically changed pretty quickly to the point where I probably went more weeks without touching games at all than weeks where I would play maybe a few hours total. </p>
<p>PS. Glad you found my advice useful earlier.</p>
<p>My S played video games a fair amount during high school during vacations - he went to boarding school and they were not allowed there. He says that he rarely plays them now. He’s in engineering and there’s not a lot of extra time. He said he would feel guilty playing them, so they are no longer “fun”. I’m sure it’s dependent on how much work you have and how efficient you are with study time. You’ll find that if you want to do something in college, there will always be someone available to do it with you.</p>
<p>A lot of kids bring video game consoles, and they are a great source of entertainment for a group of guys. The most economical option would be to get a 18-24in monitor with an HDMI cord - this functions as both a possible monitor for your computer as well as a TV for your video games. These fit comfortably on your dresser or desk. You can also get a large flatscreen for your common room, but having had my 42in tv stolen last semester, I recommend you don’t. </p>
<p>Is it a good idea? </p>
<p>No. Easy access to video games is a huge source of procrastination. Also, if your kid is not social and has bad suitemates, he may miss out on the college experience playing video games. </p>
<p>As a parent, I know you would rather have your kid play video games than go out drinking, but one of those activities is social and the other is antisocial. Say what you want about underage drinking, but being in such an environment is good for building social skills, friendship, and personal connections. </p>
<p>From personal experience, I will say that you are better off leaving the video games at home. It’s not a matter of it getting stolen, as a game console and tv are relatively inexpensive. It’s about causing you to miss out on college or letting your studies suffer.</p>