Sad story of my life: I never went to camp as a child. It felt like all my friends did – they would leave for four to six weeks during the summer and come back with ridiculous stories about cabins and counselors and all the fun they had. And I had been at home watching Bug Juice and Totally Circus (which also made me want to join the circus) on the Disney Channel.

Right before I started my freshman year of college, an older friend said something very interesting to me. He said: “Living in dorms is basically like an extended version of summer camp. But with more drinking and less laundry.” I explained to him that this metaphor was lost to me since I’d never actually been to summer camp. After he briefly mourned the fact that I had missed out on an epic childhood experience, he said, “Well, summer camp is basically being dirty all the time and vaguely annoyed by everyone around you, but you’re too busy to notice because you’re simultaneously having fun and trying to keep your head above water.”

Too true, sir. Read More »

It’s the summer after you’ve graduated high school. You’ve finished your exams. You’ve finished the college application process. You have your diploma, you’ve taken the pictures in the cap and gown and you finally decided on a college. So now all you want to do is kick back and relax and enjoy an entire summer free of responsibility and full of hanging with your friends before you each go your separate ways to start some new adventures.

Believe me, I know exactly how you feel. I was there four short years ago. And because I’ve been there already I know what comes next. So I thought I’d give you a little advice. Because all those papers that came along with your acceptance letter, they weren’t there just to stuff the envelope. Starting college involves a lot more than checking off the box next to “I will attend.” So here are a few things to keep in mind.

1. Send in a picture for your id. Chances are you already have a form telling you how to do this. So send in the picture. And make it a good one. One you like. One you won’t regret four months later, or better yet, four years later, when you’re a senior using an id that looks nothing like you because you no longer have pink hair.

2. Activate your college e-mail address. Again you were probably sent a whole bunch of papers when you sent in your acceptance . One of them probably tells you how to activate your e-mail. Do that. So you’ll get all those e-mails different offices will no doubt be sending you. And so you can join your school’s Facebook network.

3. Get in touch with your roommate. So it’s not an awkward first meeting on move in day. So you know what you’re getting into. And so you don’t end up with two refrigerators and no microwave. Plan ladies, and plan well.

4. Check the parking policies. Find out if your campus allows freshman to bring cars on campus. And if they do, find out if you have to pay for your parking pass. And then sign up for a parking pass. If you have a car, that is.

5. Check and double check that move in date. Season four. Episode one of Gilmore Girls. Rory wrote the wrong date down. Chaos ensued.

Read More »

What’s all the ruckus about coed dorms?

The president of Catholic University was in the news today announcing that the school would begin to phase out coed dorms and resort to the “old fashioned” way of living: single sex dormitories. The school has decided to take these measures as a means to battling “binge drinking and casual hook-ups.”

Hmm, this reminds me of that moment when I was younger and my mom said “don’t touch the stove” and of course, if you tell a toddler not to do something, they’re instantly on a mission to do the complete opposite — just to see what will happen.

But back to the topic at hand: segregating the guys from the girls won’t necessarily stop the casual hook-ups and binge drinking. That’s partially what college is all about! (Well that and your education of course!)

So it won’t matter if you have to go across the hall or across the campus; students are going to continue to drink & hook up as they please.

But I digress. I suppose there are a few pros and cons to having coed dorms.

Pros:
- gender neutral dorms promote a more LGBT-friendly campus.
- couples have the option of co-habitating
- coed dorms promote a more communal feel to campus living (uh, not sure of anyone’s noticed but the single sex homes aren’t doing too well in the real estate market. That was a joke by the way.)

Cons:

- More hooking up (yeah right)
- Binge drinking (um, have you ever been to a frat party? Those guys can drink until they can’t feel their toes: no girls necessary!)
- Safety: perhaps school admins are fearful of “domestic” violence issues increasing with guys & girls living together
- Enforcement: having single sex dorms would obviously require extra security/ or RAs. Some one would need to monitor the dorms at all times to make sure that people aren’t sneaking in.

So here’s my biggest issue: You can’t request to live in a single sex neighborhood, or to work with only girls or only guys when looking for a job, so why make dorms that way?

If colleges are supposed to prepare us for the “real world,” why are some of these institutions so against the norms of the real world? If you ask me, transitioning from coed dorms to single sex dorms is backwards, and anti-progressive. What do you think?

Just another day heading to class...

While every college girl shares many of the same college experiences (Procrastinating, Blue Book exams ), she also carves her own path and has her own unique adventure. Have you ever wondered what it’s like for other girls? What it’s like to be an online student? To get married?! To play an NCAA sport? Well wonder no more. Our one-of-a-kind CollegeCandy writers (and readers!) are sharing their unique experiences and opening our eyes to different college worlds.

I am a commuter student.

It’s a statement I’ve had to reiterate more times than I can count during the last four years. It’s a concept some people just can’t seem to understand. It’s something that professors don’t think about when they schedule their classes. It’s something club organizers don’t care about when they schedule their meetings. It’s something you hardly ever hear on my campus, one that’s over 70% residential. It’s a foreign concept to most college students, but not to me.

Let’s rewind a few years, back to when I was first applying to college. I made a list of what I wanted in a college, and where I wanted to go. And when it came down to it, the colleges right here in NYC, in the place I am lucky enough to live, had everything that I wanted. I applied to colleges out of state as well, but I wasn’t going to choose a college just because attending that college would or wouldn’t allow me to dorm.

So I sent out my applications and checked off that little box that indicated I was undecided about my residential status. When it came time to make my decision, I chose a college that was 20 minutes away, and while I still could have dormed, it just didn’t seem unnecessary. Was I really going to pay another $10,000 a year just to live on campus? It wasn’t like I hated living at home, and I had a car, so I wouldn’t be relying on public transportation. And 20 minutes is less time than it takes some students to walk across their campus. I simply couldn’t justify it to myself.

So I decided to give commuting a chance. Read More »

THIS CONTEST IS OVER. Tear.

As we speak (type? read?), freshmen across the country are moving into dorms for the very first time. Woooo! (Don’t forget your flip flops!) We wanted to help them out by providing some basic rules to dorm life (that won’t be covered in the first floor meeting). In order to reach as many freshmen possible, we not only posted this very blog, but we also sent our writers out on foot to flier dorms from coast to coast and help spread the word. That is, assuming they didn’t get caught and assaulted by an R.A. first….

So what are the 5 unofficial rules to dorm living?

We’ve got 4 right here and we’re looking at you (yeah, you!) to tell us #5. Why would you do that? Well, besides just being a generally nice person and doing something out of the goodness of your heart, how about doing it for $200 worth of textbooks at CampusBookRentals.com?

Yeah, we’re pretty nice, right?. So read (and adhere to) our 4 rules and then add your own. We’ll randomly select a winner September 10, 2010 and announce the results on Twitter and Facebook. Read More »

Hayden Panettiere is single again.

Lunchtime liposuction?

Online shopping made even easier.

Rihanna is not buying Chris Brown’s apology.

Katy Perry is not bumping uglies with Benji Madden.

Carolina Herrera hair and makeup how-to.

How does sex in space work, exactly?

Live luxuriously on a budget.

M.I.A’s baby is adorable!

A-Rod specifies what drug he used.

The new Facebook terms are not that big of a deal, so chill the eff out, people.

You know, I realized shortly after I wrote about the top five small-space animals that, well, not everyone can have animals. Now, I know that there are certain people who sneak by their ordinances and ignore the rules of the college/landlord/whatever and keep their critters regardless of what is and isn’t allowed. But for people who do want to follow the rules or having a pet right now just isn’t feasible, how about brightening up your room with a little green?

Plants do a lot more good than people give them credit for. As we all know from third grade science, they take in the gross carbon dioxide we breath and give us back lung-friendly oxygen. They also do an amazing job of cleaning the air. They can also filter pollutants in our air – stuff that come from everyday house products like plain old bug spray, spray starch, and even glue. And studies have proved that in work places that had plants had up to a 40% reduction in headaches, sour throats, and coughs. There was also an 84% increase in well-being. If you don’t like numbers, though, let me put this in laymen’s terms: plants + your dorm = happier, healthier place. Read More »

Ahh, to be a freshman again…

Long after the fact, I can safely say that there is no experience that can quite match being 18, fully on your own for the first time in your life, and living in a dorm surrounded by the hundreds of the horniest creatures on this green earth.

As a kid who had a pretty awful high school experience when it came to members of the opposite sex, I went into my freshman year with the attitude that I’d pretty much take on all comers. I turned down girls like a 15 year old boy would turn down an offer to look through Penthouse magazine.

Needless to say, it was a very fruitful year. Read More »

I have these neighbors. On both sides. Who are horrible.

My roommate and I call our apartment the Bermuda Triangle of Loud. We call it that because both sets of neighbors are completely and totally oblivious to the fact that they’re living in a place where the walls are as thin as cardboard.

On one side we’ve got the couple who scream obscenities at each other at midnight, throw things, and watch horror movies into the wee hours of the morning, forcing my roommate to close her eyes to the sound of people getting their heads ripped off. On the other side we’ve got a posse of flipped-collared college boys who can’t be any older than 22, throwing ginormous parties every day of the week (and who pee off their balcony when drunk).

Now, I’m a big believer in letting people live their life how they see fit, but when it starts to interrupt my daily activities (and my roommate’s dreams), I get pissed. How does one not understand the basic rules of living in an apartment? How is one so rude that they just don’t care? And most importantly, how should I go about telling them off?

If you’ve got noisy neighbors (and those of you moving into college for the first time next year most likely will), there’s a few ways to go about it.

At first, give it some time. Not everyone is used to close quarters living, and some people may not even know they’re being as obnoxious as they are. Let them settle in, get the hang of the place, before deciding you live next to idiots. Read More »