Remember when you were a freshman and lived in a dorm that smelled like mildew? Well check out Dakota Fanning’s freshman crib. She has a two-bedroom apartment all to herself. At many colleges, all freshman are required to live on campus, but I guess that doesn’t apply when you’ve been in The Cat in the Hat. It’s probably going to be amazing living in that apartment her freshman year, but she’s also going to miss a lot of things many freshman get to experience, so there’s a lot of pros and cons about having that apartment (although I would have totally taken that place if someone offered it to me freshman year).

initiating the gallery...

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.

After three years of living in dorms, I can tell you this: college is exactly like (how I imagine) summer camp. And so, I have some advice for all the college kids out there who never went to camp.

You will never feel clean. From fishbowl showers that never work right to sub par laundry facilities (and your inexperience with buying laundry supplies), you will legitimately never feel 100% clean. Just like camp? Camp showers might actually be better than most dorm showers.

Everything is completely overwhelming. Between classes, new friends, dorm rules, parties, learning Greek life and all the other groups of campus, sorting all of your belongings to fit in a minuscule space and adjusting to a new routine, it’s easy to feel like you’re trying to decide between horseback riding, water-skiing, volleyball, archery, rock climbing… You’ll wish that an awesome camp counselor had outlined your days for you. [Editor's Note: Oh wait, so that's why they make us sit with those guidance people before each semester? Oopsie! Guess those schedules weren't just a suggestion...]

At first, you will love every single person you meet. Every new person is a potential new friend. Especially if you are going to school a long way from home, you will be super excited to meet anyone who is nice to you. This will happen before you realize that your next-door neighbor is a complete creep and that girl down the hall? She will sing obnoxiously in the shower every morning at 5am.

School cafeterias = camp mess halls. My freshman year, my entire class went to an orientation in a sleep away camp set in the Idaho mountains. It was my first experience eating camp food and let me tell you, it was nothing to write home about. However, the minute I got back to campus and ate at the cafeteria, I realized something: it’s all food you can cook over a fire and burn to taste “better.”

Your RAs, professors, and advisers are like counselors. Your RA will talk you down when you want to strangle your roommate. Your professor will cross their arms and refuse to give you an extension on that paper you forgot to write during the weekend of Toga. And your adviser will gently pat you on the back when you try to talk yourself into taking your first 400-level class. Regardless of how silly they might think you are, they will all still love you.

Even if you never got to go to camp, college life will show you exactly what you missed out on: constant over-stimulation, massive amounts of people your age converging on a small tract of land, ridiculously bad showers and facilities, uncomfortable mattresses, adults you look up to while also hating a little bit…

College is like summer camp for kids over 18. Except with more drinking, slightly less supervision and much better electronics.

I don’t know about every other college out there, but here at UT it’s time for people to start planning their living arrangements for the fall. Some people greet this time with the panic of trying to find a decent place to live that isn’t a ga-billion dollars, while others are excited for their first apartment with their best friends (no matter how much it costs). However, for those who’ve been in a relationship for quite a while, this time might be a time to take a big step forward and ask “what if I just lived with my boyfriend?”

As most of you know, this is the route I took. I went from dorm rooms my freshman and sophomore years to living with Matt now in my junior year. It’s been quite a trip and I definitely have some things to share about living with your significant other. Before you take the plunge, it’s good to know what you’re getting yourself into. Allow me to help.

First of all, let me say that I absolutely love living with Matt. I love waking up next to him, even if he has stinky morning breath. (I’ll admit, my morning breath is actually in all likelihood worse than his). That being said, let’s walk through the ups and the downs of cohabitation:

Up: Living with your boyfriend is a great way to save money. One bedroom places are already the cheapest on the market and you can make it even cheaper by sharing that one room.
Down: Living with your boyfriend is a great way to eliminate any and all secrets. While Matt and I are very open with each other, there are things that I don’t want him seeing me do (ahem lip waxing ahem).
Tip: One bedroom apartments are the perfect amount of space for a couple. Studio apartments are not.

Up: Your boyfriend will always be there. Of the two years I spent in the dorms, the worst part was always the one mile walk to Matt’s dorm on the other side of campus. I always thought, “You know, if we just lived together we wouldn’t have to work our butts off just to see each other!”
Down: YOUR BOYFRIEND WILL ALWAYS BE THERE. Even at, oh say, 10 o ‘clock at night when you just got home from campus because your study session ran late and you haven’t had anything to eat all day and you come home to find that your boyfriend has drank all the alcohol and eaten the last two slices of bread.

Up: You’ve got your best friend by your side all the time, whether you want to watch movies, cook dinner, or…you know.
Down: But your other best friends, the ones you talk about this best friend with, are all the way across campus. And they’re always hanging out together, making memories and new inside jokes.

See? Living with the BF isn’t the super fun perma-sleepover you might think it will be. You really need to love somebody before you decide to put your relationship through that kind of stress. To be quite honest, I think I moved in with Matt a little early. He was the one who asked me to live with him, and while I wouldn’t change anything, I do kind of wish that I had lived on my own a little while before I settled in with Matt.

My biggest piece of advice is to make sure you don’t do something that you’re going to regret. If you want to be independent and live on your own, then by all means do it! Don’t be afraid of hurting your sig other’s feelings – you have to do what is right for you!

Moving in with your boyfriend is huge, so don’t enter into it lightly. Make sure you discuss everything that could come up, like who pays for what, one car or two, chore lists, etc. If you and your boyfriend decide that this is something you really want to do, then I wish you all the best of luck. Just make sure he restocks the Absolut when he finishes the bottle….

Happy Housing Hunting!

Week after week (after week after week…), CollegeCandy and our pal John bring you some of the weirdest, funniest, and saddest things he hears on his college campus. And we know he’s not the only one who hears this stuff. Join the Overheard revolution! Listen in on some weirdos’ conversations and share them in the comments or send ‘em over. You know there’s a lot of funny things to be heard on your campus, so get to it. We’ll throw them in a future post!

(Two girls in the dining hall.)

Girl 1: God, I am seriously the best wing man ever!

Girl 2: Well, who’s your wing man?

Girl 1: (Pointing to her breasts and shimmying) I’ve got two.

(Man, woman, waiting in the lobby of a hair salon.)

Man (looking in mirror): What do you think? It worked for Wolverine, you know.

Woman: No. It wouldn’t work for you.

Man: It’s … it’s working already.

(Two guys, in a dorm community kitchen.)

Guy 1: What the f—?

Guy 2:  I can’ t cook these. These are like, Russian Nesting Kielbasas or something.

(Guys talking over dinner at the dining hall.)

Guy: I wouldn’t want to kick any girl filled with toffee. She can keep it.

(Guys, girl, talking in a dorm hallway.)

Guy 1: God. So itchy. I hate Beardvember.

Guy 2: I think it’s Novembeard, right?

Guy 3: I’m used to hearing “No Shave November.”

Girl: I always just called it “30 days of pubes.”

(Girl, serving herself food, looking quizzically at the pasta.)

Girl: Who stole the insides of these?

(Two girls and a guy, in the library.)

Girl 1: I wish all the lights were tanning bulbs.

Girl 2: I know! We’d be so tan, we could just pretend it’s summer. No one would know. It would be amazing.

Guy: Yeah, or we’d all burn to a crisp after our eyeballs fall out. It would be like “‘attack of the sick overworked bacon students in the library.”

Girl 1:  Way to bring me down. Debbie friggin’ Downer. Now I want a breakfast sandwich.

Girl 2: Ooh, with bacon?

Guy: I hate you both.

(Girl, on the phone.)

Girl: It’s not that. It’s that I never believe you any more. I don’t … no! I can’t trust you! I just can’t! Listen, I can’t do this right now. Can I hang up and just text you instead?

(Girl and guy, walking past yelling girl on campus thoroughfare.)

Girl 1 (yelling): Who wants some free koofers?

Girl 2: What’s a koofer?

Guy: It’s a sensation you get down in your nethers.

(Two girls, on computers in the library.)

Girl 1: All these guys are such crap.

Girl 2: Yeah, I want to date the good guys. I want the good guys with the right moves.

But before you lock your doors and resign yourself to online courses, there are some things you can do to try to avoid getting sick, like protecting yourself against bacteria. As a self-described germaphobe, I am not embarrassed to say that I carry antibacterial wash with me everywhere (it comes in handy at frat parties), and you should consider doing the same since so many germs are on doorknobs, tables, and communal computers.  Plus, you’d be surprised how many of your friends and fellow students aren’t washing their hands after going to the bathroom! I see it all the time and I’m like, “Hey girlfriend, I’m standing right here and can see you aren’t washing your hands!”

But rather than yell at random strangers in the bathroom, even if they deserve it, you can protect yourself.  And that doesn’t mean squirting that nasty smelling Purell on your hands every 10 minutes; there are some really great smelling cleansing products out there that won’t leave your hands dry and cracking. Give some of these a try:

Hand wash: Indulgences Purifying Hand Wash in Coconut Nectar is a cheap antibacterial that cleans and moisturizes. Oh and it smells deeeelish.

Bodywash: Fresh Brown Sugar Body Polish - This body scrub exfoliates but also includes real brown sugar, which is a natural antibacterial ingredient.  Fresh also makes a soap bar that has the same helpful sugar properties.  Who knew that sugar was good for more than just curing a sweet-tooth?

Lotion: This Bath & Body Works lotion is small enough to throw in your purse, and has moisturizing beads to leave your skin soft and germ-free.  Try Midnight Pomegranate, my fave new B&B scent.

Waterless Hand Foam: The Bath & Body Works hand foam is the quickest way to sanitize your hands after touching public surfaces, plus this Sea Island Cotton scent should take you on a mini-vacay.

All Rolled into One: Bath and Body Works: Spread Love, Not Germs Kit. It’s only $19.50 and you get tons of antibacterial products in top selling scents like Sweet-pea.

Stay clean, healthy, and smelling delish this year, ladies.

[It's pretty obvious that the average CollegeCandy reader has some very strong opinions. Opinions that she likes to share with everyone on the site. We love a strong woman, so we thought we'd give her a real forum to discuss her thoughts, feelings, and perspectives. Every Friday I'll be featuring a hot topic (like a textbook throwdown!) and leaving it up to you, the readers, to duke it out. So, read it and get your debate on in the comments section below!]

Two weeks into the semester and most of my friends are already sick enough of their new roommates to have practically moved in with their boyfriends. All this shuffle got me to wondering – wouldn’t it be easier if they could all just live with the boys the way they almost are now?

Turns out that I’m not the only one thinking along these lines. In fact, murmurs have been floating around for the last couple of years about some schools that are not only making their dorms coed, but their dorm rooms.

That’s right, mixed gender roomies.

On the one hand, it sounds like a great idea. As much as I love my lady friends, there can be a lot of drama with two girls sharing one little space (I know friendships that have ended over clothes-borrowing debacles) and guys – in general – tend to be a bit mellower, which could be a bonus. Also, most couples I know spend most of their time at one person’s room as it is, so it just makes more sense to let them officially keep their stuff in the same place. Aside from that, most schools have already integrated to coed dorms and many even have unisex bathrooms and showers, so it seems pretty ridiculous to keep up the whole single-gender roommates idea in the face of all the rest. It’s kind of an antiquated notion, really, and some might argue gender discrimination.

In fact, at that point we reach one of the most pivotal upsides to the mixed gender roommate situation, which is that it finally addresses the LGBT issue. Traditional single-gender room assignments presuppose straightness, which just isn’t always the case. If the argument is that guys and girls shouldn’t room together because they might end up having sex, doesn’t that mean that gay guys and girls shouldn’t room with people of their own gender by the same virtue? It’s gone un-discussed in the classic college dorm model, but the truth is that there needs to be options out there for everyone and the best way to do that is to open up the field.

However, there could definitely be some problems with having mixed-gender roommates, the first and most obvious of which is that it’s a hassle. Even disregarding the inevitably huge public backlash, rooming with someone of the opposite gender opens up some problems that could end up in a lot of sudden, desperate requests for room changes. Not the least of these is the fact that living with someone is kind of a make it or break it scenario for couples – either you love it or they make you nuts and you end up breaking up. And breakups mean that someone is going to have to move, or you will have to live through each others’ attempts to move on and date other people. Oy.

Even if you aren’t dating the guy you live with, sharing all that time and space (not to mention the need to change clothes) really ups the chances of some chemistry igniting – and maybe fizzling. And if you don’t end up attracted to the guy, or vice versa, there is always the fact that some guys are messier/have different living habits and I have enough of my own shiz to clean, thankyouverymuch. Finally, though you love your guy pals, sometimes you just need a night with the girls, and girl time just doesn’t happen as easy with a guy around – straight or not.

So, am I giving everybody a fair shake here? Do you wish your school would let you do the coed roommate thing? Will they? Or do you prefer having a little girls only space? Let us know in the comments!

Living in the dorms is one of the most essential college experiences. Years from now, you’ll tell your friends and family of all your adventures and mishaps. You’ll never forget those obnoxious fire-drills at 3 am, the industrial blue carpeting, how hard it was for you to climb up into your bed…whilst drunk.

Most of all, when you look back you’ll remember the people you spent these times with, and all the friends you made. But when it comes to dorm buddies, there are the good friends (they don’t steal your shampoo and they grasp the concept of hygiene) and then there are your dorm BFF’s…

The Aspiring DJ: As annoying as his incessant Facebook messaging may be, the DJ is a good dorm friend to have. Not only does he have vast knowledge of the hottest clubs in town, he knows the cheapest best nights to go. His iTunes shared library is effing awesome and he’s always happy to demo his spinning skillz at whatever event you’re hosting (AKA whatever themed pre-party you’re having in your room, he’s happy to bring an equally festive mastermix). Not only is he the life of the party with his hilarious and entertaining personality, but he has a special place in his heart for nightly AYCD party buses. He wants as many of his friends at all his gigs as possible, so you’re always on the V.I.P. list when he MC’s at da club.

The Girl Who Always Has a Package Waiting: Of the UPS variety, not the Fruit of the Loom variety (trust me, that girl is not your BFF). She always has a message from your R.A. on her whiteboard “Package downstairs!” She always seems to be carrying a massive box up the stairs, and you, by all means, should help her carry that package. Because when she excitedly opens whatever baked goods/ treats her mom has sent her, she will inevitably share out of gratitude. The more you get to know this new friend, the more you’ll realize that Mom’s separation anxiety translates into brownies…and cookies, and peanut brittle and cupcakes. Girlfriend can’t possibly eat all that homesickness herself or she won’t be able to fit through the door to pick up her never ending stream of snail mail lovin’. This is where you need to be a good friend and split some of those ooey gooey calories… for her sake.

Your Study Buddy: When your R.A. inevitably slips a note under your door calling you to a mandatory hall meeting, do not sigh and lament this as time you’ll lose partying. Rather, prepare yourself for fun filled games like “two truths and a lie,” “guess who I am by what I wrote on this slip of paper,” and, my personal favorite, “sit in a circle and say your name and major.” The last one is particularly important, and you will want to listen very carefully for everyone with the same majors as you—they are your new study buddies.

You’ll have to take the same classes for the next four years, and even if you’re not in the same section, you can all help each other with specific assignments, studying for tests, sharing expensive books and occasionally e-mail each other to find out what you missed in class (obvi only applies if you’re in the same class). Be good to your study buddies, do not take advantage of them, and do unto your stubu as they would do unto you.

The girl Who Had Two U-Hauls on Move-In Day: Your little sis marveled at the amount of stuff some people could bring with them. Your parents silently thanked God that they didn’t have to help you move that much crap. You caught yourself thinking “Lucky Bitch won’t have to go to the gym later after carrying all those boxes up stairs.” You didn’t think much else about her until one night, as you were drifting off to sleep in your twin XL, you pondered what she possibly could have needed 2 trailers for. After all, the dorm came with furniture and a mini fridge. You managed to fit all your extra stuff in your backseat and your parents trunk. The only thing you could possibly think of is that she must have just needed an extra one for all her shoes, clothes and purses.

Bingo! You saunter down the hall to introduce yourself and see her clothes spilling out of her drawers, closet and falling off of her clothes rack. So exasperated is she by her need to organize all her (super freaking cute) stuff, that now would be a good time for you to generously offer some of your closet space. Perhaps you could store some of her dresses in your fave color and shoes in your size? Seriously, you are such a good friend.

The Guy With the Really Good Fake: You know who I’m talking about. About 6’3, brown hair, full beard, wears Dad shorts? Yea, him. Chances are, he’s had his fake I.D. since he turned 13…and he’s never been turned down. He’ll be the one hosting most of the dorm parties and pregames, due to his close relationship with Steve from Megadiscountliquor Barn. Be very polite to him, as he is using his gas money and incredibly valuable time to go on beer runs for you. Be prepared to pay a nominal convenience fee (but if he tries to charge you more than $5 extra take your business elsewhere) and never look him in the eye. Tell him Kari sent you—he’ll know what you’re talking about.

What kind of friends would you love to make in your dorm? What kind of dorm BFF are you? Know any of these people (especially the girl with all the clothes!)?

Last month, Katie Freitas, a student at Stonehill College in Massachusetts, became so frustrated by the fact that her college would not distribute birth control, she decided to do something about it herself. Because she was concerned about the dangers of other students having unprotected sex, Freitas attempted to create a Sexual Health and Awareness Group on campus, but was denied by college administration. She then collected hundreds of free condoms from family-planning agencies and distributed them in the dormitories around campus.

However, when the administration heard about this, they quickly confiscated the boxes of condoms.

Now I understand the fact that Stonehill College, which is Catholic-affiliated, refuses to distribute birth control because it is against Catholic teaching. My school is also Catholic, and likewise does not distribute birth control of any kind at the student health center (there are also rumors that the school will take away any condoms or birth-control pills they find in students’ dorm rooms, but I have yet to hear any evidence to either support or deny this). However, having lived on campus, I know firsthand that not distributing birth control doesn’t stop students from having sex: I’ve heard the stories, seen the evidence, and overheard things I shouldn’t have (and didn’t want to!).

The fact is, if college students (or any person…like Bristol Palin?) want to have sex, they will—regardless of whether or not contraception is readily available. But the idea that my peers would have sex without birth control or protection from STDs scares me. Reports have shown that an average of 1 in 4 college students has an STD, and teen pregnancy is on the rise again in the U.S. after a 14-year decline. While I understand the importance of supporting values in religious-affiliated schools, isn’t students’ health and safety more important?

[Photo courtesy of Yale Daily News.]

I know, I know, many of you are shocked. Isn’t a key part of the college experience the independence you gain living in dorms? You have to learn to cook, clean, do laundry and manage your own time! And what about rules? People always question how I live under my parents thumb at 19. And I do agree, it’s definitely not easy to abide by rules when I could be making my own, under my own roof.

Bar none, the best part about living on your own for school is the freedom. When you move out of your childhood home, curfew and chores go out the window! If you want to come home at 5AM every night (or morning depending on how you look at it), that’s totally possible. But with mom and dad sleeping soundly and working the next morning, even if your curfew is non-existent, you still can’t help but feeling guilty. After all, you’re still bumming off of them.

The newfound freedom of living on your own extends to every single aspect of your life. No one is nagging you, reminding you to eat right or do your homework or even go to class. The independence forces you to become a responsible adult and sets you up for the real world, where no one but you will makes sure you are taken care of.

As for the pros of living with my parents, I think that the free room and board is definitely #1. When my friends are slinging burgers, chasing after annoying children or cutting grass 8 hours a day, 5 days a week, ALL summer long, just to pay for rent next year, I am leisurely working three shifts a week at my favorite bookstore. And all that money is going directly to my travel fund, to pay for flights and hotels instead of a cramped apartment. And come on, you can’t beat the free food.

Every night, I come home from class to a homecooked meal (thanks Mom!) and pantries full of food. I have seen student kitchens, they are a sad sight indeed. Sparse is an overestimation, with a couple boxes of Kraft dinner and cereal and maybe a can of instant coffee. Well what about the meal plans, right? Unless you’re responsible and stop yourself from eating the temptingly greasy dishes the cafeteria serves up everyday, you might soon find your jeans fitting slightly tighter and suddenly, not at all. And certainly no one wants to return home as “The Fat Friend”.

So what do you think? If it was/is a possibility to live at home while going to post-secondary, would you?

However, neglecting your sheets for too long can result in some icky, unwanted guests– and I don’t mean the one-night mistake you made last Saturday. Here are the five nastiest things that should inspire you to grab the Tide and make a date with the washing machine.

1. Bed Bugs

Reports of bed bugs are rising on college campuses and even if you’re particularly clean, you may not be safe. The little bastards can catch a ride to your room on luggage, clothing, and old furniture (e.g. your hand-me-down futon). Plus, they can live up to a year without a feeding, so they could have been hiding out in your empty dorm room for the whole summer just waiting for you to move in and unpack. Luckily, pest control on college campuses is prepared to snuff the buggers via steam, extreme heat, or pesticides. If you wake up with little red welts from bedbug bites report it immediately before the infestation spreads down the hall.

2. Your Personal Sheddings

When we hit the sack every night, we shed dry, dead skin and hair. Gross. I gag at the site of a hair-clogged shower drain, and sleeping with hairballs seems just as unappealing. Girls with long hair shed a lot, so there’s also the chance that you’ve left your mark in your man’s bed as well. Of course, dead skin and strands of hair are a breeding ground for microorganisms, so bacteria can escalate after just a few nights of shedding in your sleep.

3. Bodily Fluids

Not only do we lose skin and hair while we sleep, but we also sweat every night. And that’s just one of the many bodily fluids that can collect in our sheets. We’ve all heard horror stories of hotels that don’t pass the black light test, but all of the things that go down in smarmy motels go on every night in college dorms, where there’s no maid service. Whether you’re snoozing in a sea of sweat or semen, or you are notorious for drooling on your pillow, soaking your sheets after a particularly hot night (or a hot one night stand) will flush out the bacteria.

4. Scabies

Another member of the bug family, scabies is caused by eight-legged parasitic itch mites. Though it is hard to catch scabies from brief physical contact, it is still possible to contract them from shaking hands or sharing infested bedclothes. Speaking of which, the most common form of transmitting scabies is through sexual contact, an act we all know runs rampant through college campuses. Scabies can produce small bumps or blisters, which are accompanied by relentless itching. Luckily, scabies can be treated fairly easily through mite-killing creams and sprays, and your sheets and clothes can be taken care of with one simple wash.

5. Whatever You’ve Been Carrying Around Campus

Good Morning America recently tested the sanitary habits of University of Maryland students. The students rubbed some lotions on to their hands and continued with their day. Hours later, the students’ hands were put through a black light test, which revealed how often the students had washed their hands after touching doorknobs, using the bathroom, eating lunch, and working on computers that thousands of other hands have touched. The black lights revealed remnants of the lotion around fingernails, crusted around bandages, and caked next to rings and watches. The lotion also proved to spread like bacteria, and showed up on clothes and other parts of the students’ bodies including near eyes and noses where infections could develop.

That said, all of the germs and bacteria you encounter each day as you trek from class to class sharing desks, computers, and books with hundreds of thousands of other students can ultimately end up in your sheets. Your bed is your final destination at the end of the day, so while it’s a good idea to keep your linens fresh, it’s also a good idea to go to bed clean yourself.