Single Dorm as a Freshman

About the Ads
Pros:
Quiet
Don't have to worry about mess or your mess


Cons:
Expensive


Not missing out on anything, it's just a dorm on one floor, you can hang with other people on the same floor, some people leave theres open etc
 
Well, I don't live at school, but from my friends I would say:


Pros:
  • Quiet
  • Don't have to take the chance of getting a horrible roomate, several of my friends highly disliked their roomates
  • You don't have to chance walking in on anybody
  • Can turn off the lights when you want
  • You will still meet a lot of new people
Cons:
  • Cost
  • Some people are best friends with their freshman year roomates
  • At my school, the rooms are pretty small compared to the doubles rooms
  • Sometimes you can change roomates if you get stuck with a dud, but it might take a while
 
It makes the first day or two of college a little bit easier for sure, and if you get along with your roommate, it's just rather nice the rest of the year to have someone to chat with. It's kind of a crapshoot though; you might get someone terrible and that would suck for a semester or so. I would get a double again for sure, but I can certainly see why one would choose not to.
 
It's a little bit different, but I went into the military right out of high school, and I got roommates without a choice. You should share your dorm room with someone. There will be privacy issues, there will be personality conflicts, but it will be a blast. I remember considering a single dorm when I was a senior in high school; if I had pursued it, I would have regretted it. You may, too.
 
I had a roommate freshman year but for the past two years I have been in a single(sorta). I would suggest your first year getting a double. It is nice having someone around to experience college with and chat with. Being in a single makes it much easier to disconnect from your hall and other people around which could equal a very boring freshman year. Yes you might get stuck with a horrible roommate but generally they will be agreeable because they have to put up with you too. I am currently a resident advisor and out of the 5 singles in my building 3 of the them were upperclassmen who had double previously but already were involved on campus. Out of the 2 freshman one moved into a double after a quarter because she regretted being in a single.
 
I lived in a triple dorm room my freshman year of undergrad. It was an incredibly fun year but those were 2 guys that I would not have lived with otherwise. I knew it was for a limited time and decided to just enjoy the experience.

If you're laid back and can roll with whatever comes your way then it shouldn't be an issue and could be a fun experience. If you're more of a control or neat freak and like to do things "your way" then having a single may save you some of the typical frustrations that others have.
 
Last edited:
nlax30 said:
If you're laid back and can roll with whatever comes your way then it shouldn't be an issue and could be a fun experience. If you're more of a control or neat freak and like to do things "your way" then having a single may safe you some of the typical frustrations that others have.
Click to expand...

OP, this is the long and the short of it. I like having my own place, but it is a bit on the expensive side, and it does have its disadvantages -- there are good things to be said for roommates. Then again, having roommates has its disadvantages.

Like usual, it really just depends on you.
 
Besides cost, you'll miss out on an oppurtunity to bond with someone. Some roommates become lifelong friends. Some do not.
 
Thanks for the replies everyone!

I am pretty sure that I'll go with a double instead of a single, but I'd like to talk about community bathrooms now.

I don't know if I should try to go 'all out' for a private bathroom or a connecting one or if the community bath is fine. Could we discuss this too and experiences you've had with these different styles? Thanks, and if I need to be more specific please let me know.

Shared space with community bath: $8,504 (includes food fees of $1,700)
Shared space with connecting or private bath: $9,023 (includes food fees of $1,700)
**Shared space in San Jacinto and Duren $10,564 (includes food fees of $1,700)

Difference in cost isn't a big deal because I'd gladly pay the $500 with my own money if the private bath is 'where it's at'.
(**It's unlikely that I even get San Jacinto because it's very popular. Also, SJ and Duren are far away from my 'premed' classes, so I don't think those would be good anyways. But, I think the rooms are much nicer. I'm going to try to find the dimensions of those ones v. more traditional rooms ($8,504-price rooms) to post.)
 
I hope you mean a "singles" dorm... oh yea!
 
Really? I wish I was rich enough that dropping 500 bucks on bathrooms wasn't an issue. Suck it up, and use the communal, it isn't that bad. I'm sure it varies from school to school, but they're pretty nice from what I've seen, and I'm sure you'll find better things to do with $500....
 
the duck said:
Really? I wish I was rich enough that dropping 500 bucks on bathrooms wasn't an issue. Suck it up, and use the communal, it isn't that bad. I'm sure it varies from school to school, but they're pretty nice from what I've seen, and I'm sure you'll find better things to do with $500....
Click to expand...

I'm not rich. I'd be using the money I made from my jobs to pay the extra $500. I wouldn't mind spending the extra $500 if it makes my entire first year of college a much better experience.

Let's hear some more input on community baths, private baths, and connecting baths!
 
Earl Simmons said:
I'm not rich. I'd be using the money I made from my jobs to pay the extra $500. I wouldn't mind spending the extra $500 if it makes my entire first year of college a much better experience.

Let's hear some more input on community baths, private baths, and connecting baths!
Click to expand...

If you get your own bathroom, it is totally worth $500 (unless your grades suffer because of working).... Community bathrooms suck, people are disgusting. Living alone is so much better, you don't have to worry about coming or going, studying whenever you want, doing whatever you want in your room, etc etc. Having a roomate is only nice for having someone around, and you have friends for that. I've never actually lived in a dorm but my friend (senior) has for four years, and she's had the craziest roommates!
 
I am a total control freak and never get along with roommates but I had a blast in the dorm and am still really good friends with my roommate. I think my college experience would have been totally different if I had lived in a single room.

We had a connected bathroom...it was really disgusting because no one ever cleaned it (well I did when it got bad enough, but it's gross cleaning up after other people). Do community bathrooms get cleaned by the university? If they do I would go for that, to be honest. One less thing you have to worry about.
 
Yes, I believe that the community bathrooms get cleaned 2 times a day.

What about private baths? (shared by 2 people)
 
I had a roommate first year and it was awful. She was super inconsiderate, coming into the room at like 4 am and turning all the lights on😱 and when I talked to her about it, she just shrugged and kept it up. RAs are great for helping out with stuff like this, though, and I know that once my RA mentioned something to her she stopped doing it for a while (of course that could be because she spent most of her time off campus, spending the nights at MIT haha). Despite having a bad experience, I recommend having a roommate at least for one year. It's super important for integrating into the community and having at least ONE person who you can legitimately hang out with at first. You might not become besties, but that's fine. You'll always have that bond. My roommate and i still facebook each other and say "ROOMIE!!!!!" so there's that.

As far as bathrooms go I'd say don't worry about and get some shower shoes. They're kept pretty clean and you can always complain to your RA if there's something really gross going on (like a hair clogged drain as big as a squirril😱)

Ah, I loved college! All this communal stuff is so important for forming bonds and making friends, especially for the typical introverted premed student! 😀
 
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