<p>I am interested in opinions from those who have actually applied for and lived in a single dorm room (or else have a close friend/ sibling and are well acquainted with how it worked out). I consider it a bit of a different situation than a roomate leaving and you being left alone for a few factours.</p>
<p>One college I am looking at has an option of applying for a single-student room when they are available, for a fee of several hundred dollars. I go to sleep early and wake up early, so the option of not having a roommate is a bit appealing. However, I know that roommates are a big part of the experience of college and are a big help in dealing with people later.</p>
<p>If you have lived in a single room (where you were able to choose to do so), what you recommend it? Why or why not?</p>
<p>I chose to live in a single and I loooooooove it. I think I'm a pretty private person, so my room is a nice place to go when I just need to chill by myself for a while. It's also nice and quiet, so I can always study in here. I would recommend it, but it really depends on what you are looking for in the college experience.</p>
<p>I chose to live in a single & was so glad when I got it. I value my own personal space & didn't want to deal with living with someone else (like their alarm going off in the morning, hearing them get ready, or them staying up really late at night, taking my things, etc). In a single, you're still around people.. there will be other rooms on your floor so it's not like you are completely isolated. You can be social when you want to be & isolate yourself when you need to.
I highly recommend living alone :)</p>
<p>I'm a junior and I've been living in a single since freshman year. The whole roommates thing is overrated; as Pearl said, it's not like you can't go meet people on your floor. When you get to college, there will be a lot of things to get used to, and being in a single eliminates some of them.</p>
<p>I'm applying for a single for the fall in case I don't get into the student apartments with my friend next fall (she's in a single now). </p>
<p>My school doesn't allow freshmen to live in singles, and I think that's probably for the best. It's good to learn how to share space with someone, so I think having a roommate for the first year really is worth the occasional annoyance (the only time I've actually gotten irritated at my roommate, though, was last week when I was sick...but that was just because I'm really moody when I get sick). </p>
<p>I've really learned a lot about myself, though. Before getting here I was really worried about how I'd deal with having to share everything with someone I'd never met...yeah, I never knew that I could be so relaxed about things. It's been a good experience. </p>
<p>As far as the singles go, though, I still can't wait to have my own room again :)</p>
<p>I transferred to a single. There's the guaranteed alone time, and even if your room is small there's still a bunch of extra space - if you think about it, living in a double you don't really have half the space, but more like a third because of how much needs to be left open for people to move around the room. It's just much less stressful overall, and you can always leave your door open or invite people over for the social thing.</p>
<p>I would love to live alone, being an only child and loving my privacy and own space, but am worried that I will not have opportunities to socialize and make friends. What do you think?</p>
<p>Don't worry, you will make friends. It's just ONE roommate that you're missing out on; it's not gonna stop you from going out and meeting people. Your neighbor is just a door away.</p>
<p>I'm thinking of either getting a single or a suite with three other guys. Overall, the three guys are rather cool, but they talk about Zelda and Viva Pinata (an Xbox 360 game). I just don't want to feel left out because they're the people I first got to know while on campus. More than likely if I'll try for a single for the next fall semester.</p>
<p>Being a single all four/five years can get expensive, might as well try it out your first year so that if you later end up rooming with a friend you know what to expect and how to deal with sharing living space.
That said, I do feel that a single a better option and disagree with those who argue that simply having a roommate itself is a great learning/life experience.</p>
<p>I haven't lived in a single but I will throw in my two cents - I have always had my own bedroom and bathroom. The only times I have shared have been on vacations. I have two younger brothers but no sisters so I never shared makeup or clothes or anything like that. I also really value personal space and "chill time". So obviously I was worried about the roommate situation.</p>
<p>However, I am so unbelievably glad that I have a roommate!! She and I have become best friends. Sure, there are times I wish I could be totally by myself, but when you have different class/work/activity schedules, those opportunities arise almost daily. You just have to learn to go with the flow. It takes a little more planning when you have to consider someone else and what they are doing that day, but that is part of being an adult. Participating in the world means working around the schedules of others. I think this has been a great learning opportunity for me, and I made a wonderful friend. Its definitely been nice to have someone around to just watch TV with, and as a freshman I'm sure its that much harder to venture out and meet people if you don't have that built in connection. If the reason you want a single is that you are a loner type, I would really recommend a roommate because living in a single will only encourage you to stay in your shell. There are 4 singles on my floor and they are definitely not active in dorm life or very social. That is probably just them, but at the beginning of the year people ventured out in roommate pairs. As a freshman, I think roommates are vital.</p>
<p>if i had the money, I would definitely choose a single. The thing is that I pay oos tution at penn state, and even the $1100 more per year for a single is a huge cost. However, if you do have the money, I would highly recommend it. Two weeks ago my roomate went home to philadelphia over the weekend and let me tell you, that was the most peaceful time I had since I got here. bascally, i was actually able to study for the weeks's exam and had a great night sleep--also, the privacy I had was priceless. With a roomate, you won't be able to sleep whenever you want, you won't be able to get work done in your room, and you may feel very uncomfortable going back to the dorm. Most of your friends, will be in the hall, so it doesn't matter.</p>
<p>A roomate will only cause a decline in your academic performance(since there will be too many distractions in the room), and it doesn't make you any more sociable than you already are.</p>
<p>Dude, what school are you planning on attending?</p>
<p>If you like to sleep early, you will hate having a roomate. i know my "roomie" likes to watch late shows and mtv 24/7, which drives me insane. Think of it as having a brother in your room with you, it sucks and you hate it, but you still have to be polite and accept the situtation. About this "experience" you talk about... if you are outgoing, you make friends anywhere, if you are not that social, having a roomate only ensures that you have someone to talk to at night or go to the dining hall with--it is pathetic.</p>
<p>I have a single this year and I'm REALLY looking forward to it. </p>
<p>Most of the freshman at my school get singles - there are about 25 people per floor in our dorm-style residence, and only three double rooms per floor.</p>
<p>Last year (my freshman year), I had a roomate and hated it. She was alright - relatively quiet and pretty clean. We just had nothing whatsoever in common, and I think after the first week we hardly said three words to each other. I'm in social sciences, she was in biological science. We also had completely different social groups - I'm the type who goes to all the organized rez events and liked to hang out with the people in our dorm. She went to maybe one event all year and only hung out with other Korean girls (I'm caucasian). I tried to invite her to things at the beginning, but eventually she would just invite her korean friends to our room and speak in korean.... so much for that.</p>
<p>I also got one roomie horror story out of the experience. Her parents were moving back to Korea, and so when her mom came to help her move in, she STAYED OVER. The first night of rez, my roomate's mom stayed with her in a SINGLE BED. If that's not creepy and very very very awkward, well... yeah. It definetly set a rather awkward tone for the rest of the year. </p>
<p>So yeah... if you're on a pretty social floor, a single is the greatest! You can have a private space when you need it, and then just leave your door open when you want to hang out. :)</p>