Living on campus is a new and exciting experience for incoming freshmen and students planning to dorm on campus. However, for a lot of students, this is the first time they are living on their own, which can also be a nerve racking experience. Here are some tips to help those planning to experience residential life.
Prepare for noise
If you’re sensitive to noise, the first tip that is essential to understand is to expect and prepare for noise. The walls in the residential halls are extremely thin and noise always finds a way to creep through. Residential halls do have quiet hours throughout the night, but there is always some degree of noise transporting through the halls and walls of the dorms. Some people run down the hallway or a group of friends may be visiting the dorm room across the hall. Obviously, it’s important to have fun and enjoy residential life, but still consider buying noise cancelling earplugs or headphones to help block out the noise when you are trying to study or sleep.
Prepare for different types of people
The next tip is to be prepared for a variety of personalities, especially for those who decide to go random with the selection of roommates. If you’re going to have a roommate, the roommate agreement is extremely important, and to avoid conflicts, it is best you complete the agreement honestly. College is all about meeting new people and building new relationships, but there may be a clash of personalities. For those who may be introverts and have always kept to themselves and their studies, it may be difficult to room with someone who is an extrovert and open to anyone and everyone they meet. Given NSU has a large international community, be prepared to meet people from different cultures and countries. Don’t cut off someone you don’t see yourself meshing well with because there needs to be a balance of personalities. College is supposed to prepare you to be a global citizen. Therefore, be open to everyone because living on campus — and going to college in general — is all about building relationships.
Establish a relationship with your RA
RAs, or resident assistants, are the closest helping hands students can get while living on campus. Therefore, building a relationship with your RA is essential to your residential experience. RAs are assigned to a certain number of rooms on each floor and are there for guidance and support. Even if you may think you have everything in order and are perfectly fine managing life on your own, still meet the RA and get to know him/her. They are students too and will always be there if you ever have a conflict, whether in the dorms or around campus. Get to know the RAs because they are the best support system to have.
Double-check what you can bring
The last tip is to verify that your items are allowed on campus before bringing them. Many students expect that many items, especially appliances, are freely welcomed into their dorms. Depending on your type of room and if you have roommates, you may not need to bring all the items you think you do. Items like fridges and microwaves are given necessities that all students are free to bring. However, extra appliances such as toasters have more requirements that one may not realize before bringing onto campus. Call housing and verify what appliances you can bring. If you bring items that are not allowed in dorms, RAs and housing assistants may confiscate them upon room checks, which can occur randomly.
There you have it. These are some beneficial tips for any college student that plans to live on campus. College is an amazing and eye-opening ride, but living on campus is an adventure on its own. Living on campus can be a lot to take in, but it is definitely worth it.
