There are a few certainties in college.

You will study.
You will dress up in costume at least once.
You will eat more Easy Mac than you have ever eaten before. And sometimes you will eat it on a cookie slathered in cream cheese.
You will have a roommate at some point.

Yes, roommates and college go together like SoCo and Lime. They’re good goin’ down, but sometimes things can get ugly very quickly.

You may come from a home with tons of siblings, or you might have enjoyed bunking with a girlfriend on a week-long camping trip, but nothing is quite like living with another person in the tiny hole we call a dorm room. While having a roommate has its challenges (hello, you’re sharing a tiny room, you’re bound to disagree at some point…most likely over the TV) it can also be fun. That is, if you do it right. Here are 10 little nuggets of wisdom to ensure your roommate experience is a great one. Read More »

[Meet Margaret. She's a recent high school grad gearing up for her first year at Yale. We'll check in with her every week to see what she's doing, what she's packing, and what new college surprises she's tackling (or freaking out about) next. Oh, to be an incoming freshman again....]

So on behalf of all my soon-to-be college freshmen out there, I can vouch that I have been a Facebook stalking maniac lately. Even more so than when I decide that I like a guy–and it’s pretty unhealthy then. So what’s the source of all this wall-post-analyzing, photo-clicking frenzy? I just received a letter telling me who my 3 randomly selected suitemates are for the upcoming school year.

Oy vey, I know, right?! I mean this is the start of this giant (GIANT!) new part of my life, probably more important than when Mary-Kate-and-Ashley (always said together) became Mary Kate Olsen and Ashley Olsen (“separate entities”, but really, who are we kidding? They are nothing without each other!). And what if I start out my new life with a roommate who is a complete dud?! I mean, sure, Seventeen makes it seem like our roomie is gonna be our next BFF–but you guys, we’ve all heard the horror stories ranging from the weird little pet peeve arguments (suitemates not allowing coat racks in a corner of the dorm) to the fatty issues (roomies getting drunk on you and bringing their flings back to your room when you are on the top bunk being like “Uhh, what do I do. . .”).

So really, you gotta get a good feel on what your roommate is like before you meet her, am I right? Read More »

Got some college questions? Unsure of a decision? Tangled up in some guy/roommate dramz? Just wanna chat it up with some really awesome chics? We’ve got the girls for you. Hit them up in the comments or shoot them an email with the subject “College Q&A”! They’ve got all the answers you need, no matter who you are.

Question
I’m going to college in the fall and I’m rooming blind. I just got my roommate assignment in the mail and looked the girl up on Facebook. I know I shouldn’t judge someone from their Facebook page but she just doesn’t seem like someone I can get along with at all. Shes from a very different world than me (I’m from the south and she’s from L.A.), she definitely likes to party a lot (there are lots of drunk pictures) and we just don’t seem compatible at all. I’m getting really scared that its gonna suck so bad and I’m going to hate living with her. Should I try switching rooms? Is there anything I can do to make this better?

Party Girl
Have you ever heard the phrase, “Don’t judge a book by its cover”? Well, in our generation, it should read more like “Don’t judge a girl by her Facebook page.” Really. I can’t imagine what someone would think of me if they only had my Facebook page to go by (actually, I would guess the words “alcoholic” and “slut” might come up)… Do you want this girl judging you by the same standards?

I say go ahead with the room assignment. Give her at least three months and if by the end of that you can’t even tolerate her presence, then apply to switch. Who knows? This Cali girl could be your new best friend. Since it’s your first year at college, you’re going to change exponentially. You might not even be the same person in three months as you are now. It’s always good to hang around people different from you – it challenges your beliefs and encourages you to grow. And hey, it sounds like this girl is gonna be a good time, so at least you’ll never be bored! Read More »

Part of the excitement of moving up to college is meeting that awesome roommate and becoming BFF for life: you party together, study together, laugh together…stand up at each other’s weddings and throw each other baby showers down the road. It happens for some people.

And it couldn’t be further from reality for many others, which is why many students opt for the sweet, glorious single.

At Princeton, singles are rarely occupied by freshmen, but they’re the absolute hottest real estate for older, wiser sophomores, juniors, and seniors. I’m surprised by how many freshmen claim they would never want a single and then end up wishing they had one by the end of the year. Here are a few reasons why you should consider the sweet single life for next year.

Odds are your roommate will not be your BFF.

While my roommate and I didn’t have any major clashes, we were from different worlds and ended up parting ways at the end of the year without staying in touch. And this was the case for most of my friends. Don’t worry about missing out on a close friend by gettin’ your own place; your closest friends will be the people who share your interests and activities, not your sleeping space. And there’s no chance of having those worst-case scenario roommates you so often hear about. You know the ones: the guys and gals who leave moldy food under the bed, get in crying fits on the phone at 3am, want to hold wild room parties every weekend, or leave their alarms set for five in the morning and just. keep. hitting. the snooze. for hours. Read More »

To put it plainly, my first college roommate was a megabitch. Sharon* (named changed to protect the dreadful) and I never spoke. Our room was silent and filled with angst. I would try to start conversations on topics I knew she enjoyed (dance, The Bachelor, being the biggest jerk ever) but she would usually respond with one word answers or with exaggerated sighs.

The worst part? Sharon was super fun and nice with every other person on our floor but for some reason couldn’t stand me.

I made myself scarce and tried not to be in the room when she was. I hid out in the dorm lounge and the cafeteria. Meanwhile, Sharon did the opposite and made my life a living hell.

The final straw came the night she came home drunk at 2 AM before my first big test. She shushed her gentleman friend loudly as they stumbled into our room, then she dragged the poor shlub up onto the top bunk of our bed for what had to be the most awkward dorm sex ever. I told myself that night that I would try to find a new roommate. Sharon must have heard my prayers because a few weeks later she asked ME to move out so she could live with her best friend. I didn’t even feel like arguing or complaining. I just said sure and amazingly enough moved into the open room right across the hall.

Since then, I’ve had some great and not so great living situations, but none of them taught me as much as my first semester at college. Here are a few tips for those of you taking the plunge into dorm life. Read More »

Going away to school is intimidating enough. You’re in a place you know nothing about, and if you’re far enough away from home, you probably don’t know anyone who goes there. You’re pretty much dumped in a completely foreign surrounding and told to hit the ground running. If you’re lucky, in some places the ground is made of nice recycled tire mulch. More realistically, though, it’s dirt with a few twigs and stones. And sometimes the ground is cement.

Obscure analogies aside, the only thing more unnerving than being in a place you know nothing about is being assigned to live with a person you know nothing about. Even if your school was nice enough to give you your roommate’s contact info earlier this summer, your conversations haven’t gotten much further than who is bringing the microwave. It can be a scary experience walking into your dorm, laden with boxes, and seeing a room that probably isn’t much larger than your bedroom at home…with another person smiling at you from their bed.

But it doesn’t have to be so scary. Roommates are one of the most awesome parts of going away to college, and I found that having a roommate my first year who was actually a year above me helped a lot. But for all you incomin’ freshmen, that probably isn’t the case. Still, no worries. Here are five awesome ways for you to break the ice with your brand new bud. Read More »