The idea of living with a bunch of new people and even a strange roommate or two can be pretty intimidating. And while it may be a drastic change from your life at home, life in a residence hall is still pretty awesome.
PROS
Community
I never thought that, as an introvert, I’d enjoy living around so many people and sharing literally everything, but I’ve found myself absolutely loving the sense of community that living on the same floor brings. There’s always someone around to talk to. Whether you’re just in your room with your roommate or at the water fountain getting a drink and getting to know the girl from down the hall, you can always find someone interesting to hang out with when you live in a residence hall.
Location, location, location
Another thing I really like is how close the residence halls are to the most important spots on campus, like the academic quad where most classes are held and the dining halls. There are no long treks across campus to get to your 9 am class and pretty much everything you need is within 10 minutes’ walking distance of where you live. This is especially great in the winter when it gets cold and windy. It makes it that much easier for me to get out of bed with the knowledge that I won’t have to be out in the cold for too long!
CONS
Sharing a bathroom
For most of us, we’ve only ever had to share a bathroom with a couple people in our immediate families and some lucky souls even had their own bathrooms growing up. But in college, we share a communal bathroom. Honestly, I thought it would be much worse than it is. In reality, most students are really clean and responsible, so it never gets really dirty. Although, it can be inconvenient at times when you have to get to class but the showers are all full in the morning. Sharing a bathroom teaches you to plan ahead (and maybe shower at night!).
Hard to study
Living in the same place as so many of your friends can be a great experience, but I’ve found that it can sometimes be hard to really focus on getting work done when I’m surrounded by so many people I want to talk to. This may not be an issue for you, but it is for me! Luckily, the University has a ton of great study spots around campus where I can go to get my work done and not be distracted.
The change from living at home to living in a residence hall can be an intimidating one, but I haven’t regretted my choice for a second. The University does a great job integrating new first-year students into dorm life. When you arrive on campus, you’ll be greeted by your building’s resident advisors and they host fun hall programs throughout the semester to help students get to know one another and get comfortable with the people they’ll be living with for the next year.