Roommate 101

In college it is almost impossible to never have a roommate or suitemate, unless you live at home and commute to campus. Which means you need to embrace the idea that you will have one of the two. Roommates can be good and bad. It’s good because, having one teaches you how to live with different people with makes you more diverse and open to different things that you are used to. It can be bad because you get some of those roommates That are almost impossible to live with.

Ø  Always make a roommate or suitemate contract so that your roommate is aware of what you are okay and not okay with. This contract sets the tone for the year!

Ø  Things you don’t want shared keep in your personal space so your roommate does not think it is okay to use. A treasure chest with a lock is your best friend.

Ø  Build a relationship with your roommate. Roommate can become lifetime friends. Your freshman roommate may be your roommate throughout your entire college career and maybe after.

Ø  Split the cost on things you share to save money. Always visit www.coupons.com or www.dgdigitalcoupons.com to help save money on toilet paper, hygiene products, food, etc.

Ø  Go to events together but also make other friends that just each other so that you don’t get annoyed by each other’s company.

Ø  Decorate the room together so that you both feel that the space belongs to both of you. www.pinterest.com is a great website for cheap decorations.

It’s Your Schedule! Not Your Advisers!

In college a lot of students, especially first-time freshman, make the mistake of just going to their adviser and letting them pick their schedule for them. It is okay for your adviser to make suggestions but that does not mean you are required take everything they are suggesting to you.

Ø  Always look at your degree evaluation and academic catalog to see what you need to take for your major. Go to your adviser with the classes you already have in mind to take.

Ø  Make sure that the prerequisites for your major that are only offered once a year are to the top of your list. The worst feeling is having to take a year of classes you don’t need as time fillers because you are waiting an entire year for a class you need before you can get into your program.
Try  to put a fun class in your schedule so that you have something to look forward to during the week. Every major requires electives. Take advantage of something you are interested in. For example, I took BA 101 as my elective and I loved it so much it became my major. You never know.

Ø  Don’t be afraid to look up your professor before you take their class. Personally, I always check www.ratemyprofessor.com just to see if that professors teaching style somewhat matches my learning style.

Ø  Just because you can handle being to school at 8am in high school it does not mean you are going to be able to do that in college. Check out http://college.usatoday.com/2014/01/06/how-to-create-the-perfect-college-class-schedule-for-your-personality-type/ to see exactly what type of person you are so that you can get advice on what time of the day classes are best for you.