The class of 2017 had to face a new challenge this year, that the only choice we had where we will be living for the next year was picking one, and only one, roommate. The burning question of will I be living in a quad, double, or suite was not answered until August.
When I found out I was assigned a quad I was less than thrilled. Most people I talked to didn’t even know what a quad was. My simple explanation was 4 girls 1 room, 50 girls 1 bathroom. I had no idea what to expect. I was about to live with four strangers in a shoebox. But I am happy to say that I survived move in day and am now a full fledged Quad member. I’ve only been living in my Quad for about a month but I still think I can give the in’s and out’s of Quad life at QU. Below I have compiled some tips and tricks from other people living in Quads and my own experience.
Bathrooms: I want to start by talking about the bathroom because let’s face it community bathroom’s are not an ideal living situation.
- One of my worst fears is I would always be waiting for a shower or toilet but that is not the case. Even though there are 50 people to a bathroom I have never had to wait even when it was busy on a weekday before 8am.
- The bathrooms are clean. They may be a little outdated and have some weird lighting but as long as you wear your shower shoes you’re good. Our bathroom is cleaned at the same time everyday which make the community bathroom thing a lot more manageable.
Roommates:
- That’s right you have to live with four people in one room so make sure to put in the effort to get along with them.
- Respect the roommate contract: If your roommate doesn’t want you to touch her food, don’t touch her food. In close quarters the roommate contract helps to keep the peace.
- Be respectful overall. It sucks waking up for an 8am but I always try to be quiet and not wake my roommates. They do the same for me when the situation is reversed.
- My roommates and I talked before we moved in about what we were bringing for the entire room. For a Quad I recommend getting two mini fridges. It makes sense if you were in a double you would have one fridge for two people so double it for a quad. It also prevents fighting over space in the mini fridge.
Space: I know for me this was the hardest adjustment. In a quad you have less personal space but more shared space.
- In a Quad all four beds are lofted with a desk underneath. I turned my desk so that it was perpendicular with the bed and that gave me a lot more personal space under my bed for storage. I also use my desk to get onto my bed so that I don’t need to have the ladder in the way all the time.
- Command hooks truly are your best friend because you can put them all over your lofted bed and on your wardrobe.
- The top of my wardrobe became my nightstand and I love it. I can put so much stuff on top of the wardrobe and have easy access from my bed. For example I keep some snacks and leave a space for my laptop and notebooks so I can study in my bed.
- Bring storage. Every quad I walk into seems to have sterilite drawers because they are cheep and hold a lot of stuff.
Quads may not be the most ideal living situation but college is all about adjustments. Yeah it sucks you don’t get personal space or time to yourself but in the end you will be thankful for the friends you made and the bond that can only be shared by four girls living together in one room.