Getting into college is surely an exciting part of life, and you have a lot of expectations for what is to come. All your life, you have waited to be in college so you can live the life you had been waiting for so long. Having watched all about college in movies and TV shows can raise your expectations and makes you think of all the fun things you can do once in college.
Spoiler Alert: it’s not all rainbows and unicorns in college! Yes, there is freedom, but with that freedom also comes great responsibility, and you need to prepare yourself for what is to come, realistically. Living in a dorm is surely an experience that varies from person to person.
Normally students live all their lives with parents, and they’re excited to move out of the house once they get into college. There are several expectations in the student’s head, and they get pretty shocked once they get into college.
The experience also varies depending on the campus and college facilities, but there is a lot of misunderstandings and confusion about life at a dorm. Let’s have a look at a few expectations and realities from college dorm life experiences:
Expectation #1: My Room Would Clean Itself
Reality: No, it won’t!
Whether you were a responsible kid at home or a spoiled one, you need to go to college prepared that you would be responsible for cleaning up your room and would have to adjust cleaning time in your schedule. No one from your family is there to help you clean and share the workload, which is why you need to keep small reminders for yourself to keep the room clean, take out the trash, make your bed, do your laundry, and wash your sheets.
Moreover, you will also be responsible for deep cleaning tasks in your dorm room; for instance, carpet cleaning. It’s a great idea to get a small room-friendly vacuum cleaner before you leave for college. Most of the dorms do not provide cleaning facilities, and you have to be responsible for your own room. This responsibility comes as a shock to many students when they enter college life.
Expectation #2: My Roommate Would Be My Best Friend
Reality: Not really!
Yes, we realize that in the movies you saw growing up made you believe that your roommate is going to be the best person you’ll ever meet, and you can be best friends forever. However, in reality, that’s not true.
Although it’s not uncommon to become best friends with your roommate, however, you need to keep in mind that the people in college can come from far and wide, and there is a chance that you two won’t work out well together.
You can also get in contact with your roommates before entering college and get to know their interests and hobbies. Your roommate is also a freshman, which means he or she is equally intimidated by the college as much as you, which gives you a lot to bond over.
As a freshman, you surely have common topics and questions in mind, which makes it easier for roommates to bond easily. However, you can make friends other than your roommates as well and can also change roommates later if you like.
Expectation #3: College Dorm Is Going to Be All-Party Because No More Supervision
Reality: No, uh!
A lot of students get carried away by the idea that they can have fun and do whatever they want to because there would be no one to stop them. However, that’s not true. You are living on-campus, so there are going to rule that you would have to follow.
At some colleges, there are Resident Advisors (RA) that would be regulating what’s happening around the dorm. Not that they are there to control you rather maintain a certain set of guidelines that you have to follow as a student.
Respecting the rules is important as you wouldn’t want to get penalized just after getting into college. There surely is freedom but remember you are here to study and not to have fun.
Expectation #4: You’ll Rarely Be in Your Dorm Room
Reality: You would be staying in your dorm room for most of your time.
You might think you would be staying out most of the time and would come to your dorm only to sleep, but that’s not true. Students do like to hang out and party, but your dorm room would be the place you would want to stay the most, especially after long and tiring days.
You also need to prepare for the quizzes, assignments, and other relevant tasks that would be assigned to you for which you would be using your dorm room. Students realize after getting into college that they would be spending a lot of time inside their dorms as well.
