OT College Students

[OMGitsMELANIE]

When I first went away the school I went to required all freshmen to live on campus in dorms. It was a way of them to force us to be sociable and meet other people. Also by forcing us to live in the dorms we were forced to buy meal plans which wasn't cheap. I moved home my sophomore year to go to school and be closer to my family so I lived with my dad but now I live in an apartment with 2 roommates and it's still cheaper than living in the dorms. Most cities are like this unless you live in a small college town then they know that students will pay almost anything to live off campus so be aware of that. It's really nice having my own space but I definitely miss living in the same building or within walking distance of my friends.
You have to ask yourself if you are ready for the responsibility of making household decisions and paying bills and furnishing your own place.
Someone mentioned on campus apartments or the transition option so definitely look into that. Those are great ways to get acquainted with living on your own without all the big decisions yet.
Good luck with your decision Ang!

 

[ShoWStoppeR]

Which school?? I go to PITT!

slippery rock

 

[Aussiekat]

I'm struggling to write an essay that was due yesterday after getting a two week extension for worlds and all I want to do is crawl home and get my mom to make everything go away. Instead I have to go to the gym, coach, train, keep writing, cook for myself, do all my worlds laundry, keep my cat fed and happy (probably the hardest part of ALL, he is such a meowbucket) and not fall apart while my roommates play video games and smell obnoxious. If I had the option to live in a dorm where at least it was warm (I'm wearing two hoodies, two pairs of sweats, thick socks and ugg boots cos I can't afford to live somewhere with central heat, oooh and @ShoWStoppeR's coed rock tee underneath it all!) and I could pay for a meal plan and didn't have to think about feeding myself, oh man I would take that option in a NY minute!

 

[Angelica]

Thank you all for your responses!!! I have thought about each one and took each one into consideration. What's hard is my mom got a job in Oklahoma so she moved there and I'm still in texas. So i dont have that home to go to that's close. Dorms are good for the food part but I do want my own space. I'm just scared to death to move into an apartment. I've watched to much tv. Plus the student apartments are overpriced. So Im getting staying in dorms one more year with no room mate then when I transfer I'm going to have to get a apartment I suppose...but thanks again!

 

[michelesagem]

I'm currently finishing my sophomore year. I lived in the traditional dorms last and this year. For my junior year, I got an apartment across from campus. While I do live close, I'm glad I got the dorm experience, i feel like it's part of what college is about. If you feel you're ready to live on your own, then I saw go for it. Best of luck with your decision Angelica <3

ETA: and you're not the only one! I'm nervous but excited about the apartment too!

 

[Deleted member 1556]

Bumping this back up:
So I just found out that I'm living in a quad next year. Anyone hae experience with this? I'm a little nervous haha.

 

[njallday]

Bumping this back up:
So I just found out that I'm living in a quad next year. Anyone hae experience with this? I'm a little nervous haha.

my first year of school (before i transferred) had quads. my first room was two bedrooms with 2 people, with a bathroom for all 4 of you in the middle. that was more traditional housing, IMO, since you really only had 1 roommate and just 2 other suitemates.

We then switched to a quad room. the room was HUGE. There were 2 doors to get in and the bathroom was still in the middle with a door on each side of the room. I liked this setup, because you could make it more like the traditional setup and two girls stayed on each side of the room, or you could spread out.

The roommate selection people were great as well. They really do a much better job than you would imagine picking your roommates, and while not all of them were my best friends ever, we all got along extremely well.

(I'm sorry this probably wasn't very helpful. I feel the need to draw you a map for this to make sense.)

 

[Ashley]

my first year of school (before i transferred) had quads. my first room was two bedrooms with 2 people, with a bathroom for all 4 of you in the middle. that was more traditional housing, IMO, since you really only had 1 roommate and just 2 other suitemates.

We then switched to a quad room. the room was HUGE. There were 2 doors to get in and the bathroom was still in the middle with a door on each side of the room. I liked this setup, because you could make it more like the traditional setup and two girls stayed on each side of the room, or you could spread out.

The roommate selection people were great as well. They really do a much better job than you would imagine picking your roommates, and while not all of them were my best friends ever, we all got along extremely well.

(I'm sorry this probably wasn't very helpful. I feel the need to draw you a map for this to make sense.)

I'm jealous you basically had your own bathroom. We had one for the whole floor.

 

[njallday]

I'm jealous you basically had your own bathroom. We had one for the whole floor.

oh don't you worry. when I left my private, catholic, billion dollar school and transferred to a state school, I had to share with the whole floor. lame.

 

[kaylaxlaylaa]

So bumping this back up, this is the first year I will be living off campus in a apartment. I'm ready for the adjustment, and think moving off campus is going to help me grow up more and be ready for life after school. So me and the girl that I'm living with are really excited, but were also kinda stuck. For those of you who live in/ or lived in apartments how did you go about designing them? We dont want to look like we just kinda threw everything together, but we also are obviously on a budget.

 

[laughAlittle]

I got out of the dorms as soon as I could and have never looked back.

 

[cheerforeverever]

So bumping this back up, this is the first year I will be living off campus in a apartment. I'm ready for the adjustment, and think moving off campus is going to help me grow up more and be ready for life after school. So me and the girl that I'm living with are really excited, but were also kinda stuck. For those of you who live in/ or lived in apartments how did you go about designing them? We dont want to look like we just kinda threw everything together, but we also are obviously on a budget.

IKEA

 

[kaylaxlaylaa]

IKEA

I'm going there next week! I'm so excited, this weekend I also have some pinterest projects Im gonna try out.

 

[cheeeeer93]

Can we just pause for a minute and talk about how weird it is that I technically fall under the college student category now since I'll be a freshman. So weird. I'm one of the 'older' ones on fierce board now.

Anyways, I got my dorm assignment today and I am in a double. On my school's housing website it says my room dimensions are 13' x 17'. Is that a decent size? And any decorating tips?

 

[cheerforeverever]

Can we just pause for a minute and talk about how weird it is that I technically fall under the college student category now since I'll be a freshman. So weird. I'm one of the 'older' ones on fierce board now.

Anyways, I got my dorm assignment today and I am in a double. On my school's housing website it says my room dimensions are 13' x 17'. Is that a decent size? And any decorating tips?

I had a '12 x '15 dorm my freshmen year not including the bathroom we shared with another room, so I'd say '13 x '17 is a pretty decent size for dorms (it'll still be smaller than you're used to though since you have to share that space with another person. Hope your roommate is normal.) Lots of organization/space saver items for decorating stuff are key. For example, in my old dorm there was a closet that came with our room, but it only had one bar to hang things on and was really tall and skinny so I bought plastic shelving containers to put at the bottom for folded items/shoes,etc. Also, a shower caddy is key, and I also had desk organizers so I could put pens/pencils/etc. in my desk without them all getting lost. The container store is awesome for that kind of thing, as well as IKEA for cheap but neat decorations.

You will also need to look into what type of wall you have in the dorm, and whether you can hang things to decorate. Some will only let you use those sticky hooks to hang things, which don't hold much weight (if you use these then let them stick over night before hanging objects on them or they'll fall off). Some won't let you hang anything at all except on a tiny bulletin board or something. Also, some dorms have cement walls, so it's hard to stick anything on them (duct tape works wonders though).

Also, look into what type of flooring you'll have. If it's tile, you'll want a rug so your feet won't be freezing every morning when you wake up to get ready for class.

Things such as a shower curtain, regular curtains, a desk light, extra seating, a trash can etc. you might not know if you actually need until you're already moved in so just be prepared to make a trip to target or walmart a day or two after move in to get whatever else you discover you need.

Side note: You still have a few years until you're "old" on the fierceboard haha.....at least until after college graduation