College movies glorify dorm living. So it’s no surprise when you arrive at college that your expectations are high. The movies paint a picture of a perfect oasis oozing with hormones and fun around every corner. About three nights in you’ll quickly realize it’s not what it’s cracked up to be. Here are five reasons why dorm life just isn’t it.
- It’s expensive
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I felt like I had always heard that dorm living is more expensive than living off campus. I never realized how much more expensive living in a dorm is. In Lawrence, you’ll probably be able to rent a spacious apartment for way cheaper than your 180-square feet dorm.
- You have no privacy
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I am big when it comes to privacy and being able to have alone time. In a dorm you don’t get that. You will constantly be within 8 feet of another person at all times. Trust they’ll get on your nerves too. When you need to study for a test your roommate might think it’s a great time to watch Tik Toks on full volume. Not only do you have a roommate, housing is allowed to come in at any time they want. They won’t, but if they had probable cause they might.
- It’s dangerous
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You might think that a dorm is one of the safer living options, but you’d be wrong. Working as a desk assistant at my dorm, you learn that a ton of sketchy stuff goes down. From break-ins to creeps, weird things tend to happen in student housing.
There have been numerous times where people who clearly don’t live in the dorms beg to get in or are let in the dorm by others. Most times the perpetrator is caught fast and quickly escorted off campus, but the fact that it happens often gives me the creeps.
One of the biggest tips I can give you is to lock your door. Many people don’t lock their doors and in consequence things end up getting things stolen. Thought it might seem tempting to leave your door unlocked just so you don’t have to bring your key, just lock it.
- It can make getting a job harder
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Finding a part-time job in a college town can be a difficult task, due to the oversaturated market. Living in a dorm can make obtaining these jobs even harder. Most dorms will kick you off campus for breaks leaving you with nowhere to go, but home. That can be hard from an employer’s standpoint. Having a team member not being able to work in summer and during holidays is difficult to work with, even though both of you don’t have much control over the situation. It even might end up being the reasons why a job turned you away. Here’s a tip: try to find a job on campus. They’ll be more understanding and easier to work with.
- Cafeteria food
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I know for most schools if you live in a dorm you have to get a meal plan. Meal plans can be nice because you have no worries whether or not you will go hungry. Normally, meal plans are expensive and the food at the cafeteria is overpriced. Not to mention if you want actual home cooked food, you’ll probably have to use a communal kitchen, which is a whole other experience in itself.
Overall, living in a dorm is living in a whole other world, where everyone is going through the exact same thing you are. It might not be the best, but the memories you will make from the dorm will be unbreakable.