Posts filed under 'College Dorms'
Need a break from all those college or scholarship applications? Get in the holiday spirit by checking out our annual list of the coolest stuff, all with campus life in mind.
School Pride
Collegiate Beanbag Toss: Especially if you’re going to a school where tailgating before football games is a part of student life each fall, a beanbag toss game (also known as cornhole) is a must. Target is among the stores selling the games with school names and mascots on them; you can also find them offered by your potential school’s bookstore. $69-$99
Collegiate Wallet: One of the first thingscollege freshman was a faux-leather ID holder/keychain with my university’s logo on it. But the Pottery Barn Teen wallets are so much more stylish, with the logo and school colors stitched in needlepoint. $55.
Dorm Room Stuff
Door Organizer: In college, you’re going to be so busy that anything that can help you remember important items (like those keys!) is awesome. The Doorganizer from The Container Store is one of those items, staring you right in the face as it hangs from the door knob. It holds phones, keys, glasses, pens, flash drives, and other stuff that you need on a daily basis. $11.99.
Cool Tools: Show your independence by asking for some tools, even starting small with a hammer, screwdriver, and wrench set. But girls can still be cute, such as the Tools for Her set. $19.99.
Tech tools
Mophie Juice Pack Air: Here’s a common Facebook status update: “My battery died so don’t call me. Just FB me!” Don’t let your cell phone die and disconnect you from your friends and worried family. This iPhone case, available in red, black, and white, has a rechargeable battery. $79.95.
Pandigital Frame: Remember your high school friends – and have room for photos of new college friends, too – with a digital frame. There’s a ton on the market, but you’ll want to see how many images it stores (this one from Bed, Bath & Beyond can hold up to 4,000), the frame’s size, and if it comes with a remote (just in case you want to skip past any of those embarrassing photos). $59.99.
Traveling Around
KAVU Keeper: Look all laid back, but organized, with the five compartments in this slender bag to hold your cell phone, keys, and anything else you’re likely to lose while on campus or hanging out with friends. We love the pattern names, like Fireworks, Wallpaper Stripe, Licorice, and Arctic Bloom. $30.
Car Trunk Organizer & Cooler: If those busy weekend trips make it seem as if you are constantly living out of your car, you can get organized with this car trunk organizer. It may join the wooden bar you may have affixed in your car to hang up your clothes too. But this organizer also comes with a cooler, making you a popular person when on a road trip with friends. $49.95.
–Lori Johnston (Delaney Young contributed)
December 12th, 2011
College students can’t wait for Thanksgiving break, a time to reunite with family and friends and take a break from school. Sleeping, watching movies, eating home-cooked meals … it’s all part of the plan.
You’ll likely be experiencing those same things next year, as a freshman in college heading home for the holidays. But if you see what’s been happening at colleges and universities all month – before students left for their break – there’s a big focus on giving back. From traditional volunteer activities, such as making meals for the homeless, to more unique efforts, here’s a look at some schools where the students took time to give back.
Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, NC
During “Turkeypalooza,” Wake Forest students, faculty, and staff volunteer to cook Thanksgiving meals on campus and deliver them to area non-profit groups.
Wake Forest students at last year's Turkeypalooza.
Adelphi University, Garden City, NY
Students whip up some peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to donate to a local soup kitchen. The school’s community service organization, C.A.L.I.B.E.R., make 231 PB&Js alone during the month of November. Students belonging to Greek organizations on campus participate in the soup kitchen’s adopt-a-family program, whose goal is to create Thanksgiving meals for 11 families.
Michigan Technological University, Houghton, MI
Members of the Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity recently picked up bags of groceries left on doorsteps by giving families, collecting 6,000 pounds of food for a food pantry that assists poor seniors who live alone.
Creighton University, Omaha, NB
An annual Thanksgiving dinner hosted by the school’s Freshman Leadership Program raises money to benefit Precious Memories, a non-profit focused on children. Each year, the dinner raises about $2,000.
McDaniel College, Westminster, MD
During National Hunger & Homelessness Awareness week (Nov. 12-21), the school’s Social Work Action Team (SWAT) participates in a variety of activities that include collecting donations during a healthy food drive at a football game.
Chestnut Hill College, Philadelphia, PA
CHC is one of the colleges that participates in the Philly community’s Empty Bowl Dinner, which raises money for the Philadelphia Interfaith Hospitality Network to provide food and shelter to homeless families. Students help during the dinner in a variety of ways, such as serving soup and clearing tables.
Iowa State University, Ames, IA
Students’ annual Give Some Warmth drive collects new or gently used mittens, hats, and scarves.
Western New England University, Springfield, MA
The school’s United & Mutually Equal Club (U&ME), a multicultural group, holds an annual Children’s Holiday Party for more than 200 preschoolers, who each get a free gift from Santa and participate in activities such as face painting, music, and storytelling.
Washington & Jefferson College, Washington, PA
For Homelessness and Hunger Week, students volunteer for the Fall Food Share at a local grocery store, asking shoppers to collect specific items to be donated to the Greater Pittsburgh Food Bank. They’re also participating in “Bean Bags to Bag Hunger,” a corn toss competition to benefit a local food bank.
Purchase College, SUNY, Purchase, NY
Students in two residence halls have organized two events: a winter clothing drive to collect hats, gloves, scarves, and sweaters, and a food drive for a local food bank.
Wow! That’s a lot of good work being done on college campus, and it’s just a small snapshot of how students are giving back around the country. If you’re already involved in activities like this in high school, it’s great to see that there’s the opportunity to continue to help others when you head off to college.
–Lori Johnston
November 23rd, 2011
When you’re on a campus tour, be sure to check out for yourself all the spots where college students spend time studying. Some stake their claim in spots for hours, preparing for big tests or writing major papers, while others grab theirs for just a few minutes to cram before a test.
Here are 11 spots where you’ll find college students studying – and you may be joining them soon!
1. Outside on the quad
On sunny days, students gravitate outside to soak up some rays while hopefully also soaking up some knowledge. Nice grassy spots on campus, at your school’s intramural fields, or at local parks or nature trails help you make an afternoon of studying. Bring along a picnic and a Frisbee for (hopefully short) study breaks.
2. Bars
Before the music gets blaring at bars and clubs near campus, some students chill out midday with a textbook or their laptops. Some are 18 and up; others are 21 and up. Beverages and food are available, and some students of legal age choose to study with a beer or glass of wine, too.
3. Libraries
At your college, you’ll quickly learn which libraries are most conducive for studying and which ones are best for socializing. At some schools, even certain floors of a library have no-talking zones, while others are open to groups who need to discuss class notes or information for class projects. If you need to get some intense studying done, look for the libraries where graduate students hang out, like a school’s law library, and see if they allow undergraduate students in.
4. Gyms
Working out can be a great stress reliever, and it’s common to see students on treadmills and elliptical machines with reading materials or homemade flash cards in hand. If you’re into weights, reading a few pages also is a way to take a break between sets.
5. On the job
Some jobs in college offer environments where, when there’s no customer or work assigned by your employer, you can hit the books. Maybe it’s working at the library, a movie theater, or checking IDs at a dining hall.
6. Coffee shops
You may already be doing this as a high school student, but coffee shops remain one of the most popular spots for studying while in college. The java keeps flowing while you learn, and there’s often free wireless Internet access. But beware – it can be costly choice for endless lattes or frozen coffee drinks, so think about your budget. Also, seating can be limited, especially near all-important outlets for laptops.
7. Student centers
Although some student centers are tempting environments, with movie theaters, eateries, and video game and pool rooms, they also offer plenty of seating and big tables for studying, as well as rooms you and your study partners can reserve. Some student centers are open 24 hours a day, particularly during finals week.
8. Your dorm room
Sometimes you just want to stay put. So close the dorm room door, get away from Facebook, don’t worry about finally cleaning or making the bed, and see how much you can get done. Your dorm also may have study rooms for you to get away, if your roommate is keeping you from focusing on school, but make sure it’s not a party scene in those rooms.
9. Vacant classrooms
Some buildings keep their classrooms open for studying, even after class is over. Just make sure you’re allowed to be in the rooms before setting up for studying.
10. Near your professor’s office
Especially a good idea if you need help on an assignment, park yourself outside your professor’s office or in a study room nearby, timed when the professor has office hours.
11. Memorial gardens
Some campuses have designated gardens, chapels, and cemeteries in memory of former students and faculty. Although it may seem morbid, the spaces are created for reflection. So the more quiet, reserved settings are spots where studying happens too, especially since there’s often benches or seating.
–Lori Johnston
November 10th, 2011
Dorms or residence halls are the most common living situation for students heading off to school. Both give you the opportunity to live among other students your age or with your same major. There’s no doubt the relationships you form in a dorm could last throughout your college career.
But not all schools guarantee housing for freshman, especially if on-campus housing is limited. And it seems like every fall you hear of schools who have overbooked their dorms, causing some students to live in the dorm’s student lounges or with resident advisors. Or some are sent to hotels. Students at New York University were sent to a hotel last year, and some may be doing the same year. Students at Daemen College in Amherst, NY can stay at a Homewood Suites near the school while waiting for a spot on campus or in a renovated housing development where students from a variety of schools live.
At Virginia Tech, some students were enticed by “buyouts” to cancel their housing contracts; the offer was guaranteed suite housing and early preferences for housing next year, plus $300 in dining dollars.
Consider these other college housing options:
1. Find a family setting.
Some families offer rooms in their homes for student during the academic year. It’s a good option for students who want to have a family environment and enjoy the home-away-from-home feel that a family setting provides. Sometimes these situations are connected with a nanny job opportunity, in which you could live rent free in exchange for watching the homeowner’s children. Some placement agencies can help connect students with families seeking child care; in other instances, it may be connected to relationship you have with a mentor or someone from a church. You will want to discuss upfront your required financial contribution and your responsibilities as a student in the home. Plus, will they set the dreaded curfew, or will you be able to come and go as you please?
2. Rent out a basement.
Rentals in a college town don’t just include apartments, but some professors and other homeowners offer a portion of their basement, or their entire basement, for students to live in. The setup typically allows students to have their own entrance in the house, so it’s not as close quarters as living with a family. You’ll want to find out about rent costs as well as what utilities are covered in the deal. Plus, you’ll want to make sure that the basement dwelling offers some type of security, as that part of a house can be a prime target for break-ins.
3. Lodge at the sorority or fraternity house.
This is not typically the option for freshman members, but is something that sophomores and upperclassmen do as part of their involvement in a sorority or fraternity. The fraternity or sorority will have requirements for living in a chapter house, which are located on and off campus at public and private schools. It’s a plus for students whose social life will revolve around activities at the house.
4. Live in a unique dorm community.
At some schools, students from the same major, such as engineering, all live together in a home offered on or near campus through particular programs, often with student advisers. Some religious organizations also have residences for students of the same faith to bunk together.
5. House sit, or swap houses.
If you find someone who won’t be living in their home for a year, offer to house sit (for free or at a reduced rate). This could be the case if a professor is going abroad to teach. You will need to be responsible about living in someone else’s home, especially if you have friends over. Or, you could swap your current place for a condo or home in your college town. Sites like Craigslist often advertise home exchanges.
6. Think outside the box.
When it comes to finding affordable housing, some students go with even more unique choices, such as living in trailers and RVs! Now that’s one way to break the ice during Freshmen Orientation!
What’s the most unique college housing situation you’ve heard about or experienced? Let us know in the comment section below.
–Lori Johnston
August 17th, 2011
One of the most burning questions college-bound students have before the start of freshman year is: Who’s gonna bring the TV? Whichever roommate has the biggest screen usually wins, and that means a lot of prime real estate will be reserved for it in a tiny dorm room.
Although you may still be planning on bringing a TV to school with you this fall, chances are you’ll be catching the latest episodes of your favorite show on your laptop or iPad, too. Because young adults like you are watching shows and movies online, it’s one of the reasons why the number of U.S. households with TV sets has dropped for the first time in 20 years, according to data by TV ratings company Nielsen. It declined just 98.9 percent to 96.7 percent, but considering how much our society loves TV, it’s a pretty big drop.
A common sight on college campuses today is students sitting around on campus or in their dorms with a laptop. Sure, they might be checking their email, but chances are they’re catching up with the latest antics of the “Jersey Shore” cast or laughing at a scene from a recently released comedy.
Rebecca Morrow, interim director of residential life at Albright College in Reading, Penn., writes in an e-mail: “In some cases yes, students opt not to have a TV in the room. I would say that for the most part students are still bringing a television (usually a flat screen) to campus. Generally, females bring smaller televisions and guys bring larger TVs for video games.”
Chad Quinones, who is on the residence life staff at Roanoke College in Salem, Va., says that students arrange their rooms around their flat screen HD TVs, which are brought in mostly to play video games.
Are you planning on bringing a TV to college? If so, will you watch TV or movies on it, or is it mostly for playing video games with friends?
–Lori Johnston
August 8th, 2011
With computers replacing pens and notebooks and Smartboards instead of chalkboards, students can’t miss the ways in which technology has changed the classroom. Aside from this tech revolution, however, a more subtle uprising is brewing, and school supplies like notebooks and backpacks are taking the brunt of it.
If you’ve been living in a non-digital parallel universe, we’ve got you covered. Here, we take a look at perennial favorites that still appear on student desks and backs, but in designs that are changing the face of school essentials:
1) What happened to a simple ring or buzz to wake you in the morning? Instead, these new alarm clocks run from us in order to get us up and at ‘em—literally! You’ve got to chase this little gadget in order to shut it off.
2) Would you like fries with that? These pens double as silverware, allowing students to take notes and eat without balancing multiple utensils. Watch out for food stains on that term paper!
3) So what are students using to take notes nowadays? Environmentally friendly but slightly wacky notebooks, of course! Made out of—blech—elephant waste, these notebooks earn points for green thinking, but after using marble or spiral notebooks for over a decade, the idea has a strange scent about it!
4) The talking pen is another wacky invention that had us talking, too! Pens like these utter phrases like “Wow, we greatly appreciate your efforts and dedication.” Hopefully, that phrase will be a good omen for an A!
5) In case your USB doesn’t excite enough, you can get a USB pet from ThinkGeek. After charging these strange little inventions from your computer, you can race them around your desk with a remote. Since pets have never been allowed in school, this idea screams foreign!
6) These stamps get the seal of wackiness! Imitating the “Like” and “Dislike” options on Facebook, these stamps are pretty hip, though stamping your work with “Like” won’t cover the open-ended question your teacher assigns. They keep us asking, “Where’s the ‘Comment’ stamp?”
7) The quirky design of this desk caddy makes it onto the list of wacky school supplies. If that’s the image you want sitting on your desk, then so be it, but it is certainly not the plain cup or mug others will use to hold their pens!
8) Why not store your extra pencils in… a sneaker? Stylish but strange, these Converse pencil cases have wacky written all over them. They even come in multiple colors like the sneakers themselves!
9) Fish tanks can be scenic—as long as you’re not the fish. In this case, you’ll be staring at scissors, pens, and pencils instead of goldfish to this fish tank, which also doubles as a desk lamp and clock, to fit swimmingly onto your back-to-school list.
10) And what can you store all of these wacky supplies in? A refrigerated backpack of course! Hopefully keeping everything except your back cold, this backpack might be useful if you like a cold drink, but walking around with a cooler all day? Sounds like a prop for another Animal House movie!
–Alivia Ashenfarb, our guest blogger who is also starting her second year at Boston University this fall
July 18th, 2011
If you love receiving presents (and we all do, right?), it’s a great time to be a high school graduate. Some of your family, neighbors and friends are probably dropping off gifts to celebrate your accomplishment – and get you ready for college. At a party I attended this weekend for a high school graduate, there was a big pile of presents and cards in the corner, right near the German chocolate cake. (Yum!)
Incoming freshman need just more than a set of clean sheets, a phone, and a laptop to survive in college. So here are some of the fun and stylish things that could make great gifts during graduation season:
Keeper of the Keys. Show your school spirit and keep close tabs on your keys (I know one college student who constantly locked hers in her car) with a key chain ($25 from Pottery Barn) stitched by needlepoint with your college or university logo and colors.
Smells Like College Spirit. You’re barely going to have enough time to study, not to mention clean your dorm room, and if you have multiple people living with you (and possibly pets), you’re going to need to cover up all of those odors with a fragrance you love. Squirt your room with sprays such as Bath & Body Works’ pink sangria, sparkling Mojito, and peach Bellini. Best part? You don’t have to be 21 to enjoy these responsibly.
Stay Organized. Space is limited in your dorms or apartments, so anything you can get to keep things organized or hold multiple items is a must-have. Pottery Barn’s Perfectly Prepped Hair Accessories Organizer ($99) has spaces for your hair dryer, curling iron, flat iron and all the styling stuff you need for those days when you can actually wake up early enough to do your hair. You can even get your name on it – just so your roommate knows not to steal it!
Laundry time: The Container Store has bins and baskets covered, with a variety of sizes, colors, and patterns like polka dots. But it also has the cutest laundry hampers, like the cute reisenthel® Clothesline Laundry Hamper ($39.99) that has connected well with the growing clothesline trend. People are choosing to forgo the dryer and line dry their clothes, saving energy all while giving shirts, shorts, and other clothes a sunny smell. You may not want to (or may not be able to) hang your clothes outside for all to see on campus, but you can toss your dirty laundry in the handled bag and tote your clothes to the dorm laundry room (or your parents’ house).
Bunk mate: When space is tight, it’s easy for things to get lost. So you slide the simply named “Bunk Pocket” ($6.95) over the post of your bed or loft, and it can hold your phone, glasses, ID, key, remote control, and any other items that you’re going to need while you’re laying in bed or desperately trying to get out of it.
Message center: Leave messages for your friends and roommates (we’re hoping they’re sweet notes and not snarky ones about kitchen messes) with the Umbra® Puzzler Boards ($8.99), also from The Container Store. The cork board and a dry erase boards fit together for a message center that’s so much better than leaving a Post-it note on a cabinet.
What’s on your wish list? Tell us about it in the comments section below.
–Lori Johnston
June 1st, 2011
Want to get a sense of the highs and lows about being a college student? You’ll find realistic insight–in real time–on Twitter. Students’ comments capture the college experience – so here’s some of the honest truth about academics, relationships, money, and more.
Now’s the time to read all the comments – good and bad – because #incollege is trending on Twitter this week. Here’s a few of our favorites. If you’re on Twitter, go on and add some words of wisdom of your own.
–Lori Johnston
May 26th, 2011
Some colleges get the dubious distinction of being named a top party school by The Princeton Review or even Playboy magazine. These rankings just further show how much drinking is part of college life, which is often a temptation that causes some students to plummet academically during freshman year–usually as their perceived social status is rising.
It’s common for college students, underage or not, to say they must drink to handle the stress of school, or to spend weekends blowing off steam related to the flurry of exams, papers, and projects combined with work and financial pressures. But some colleges are paying attention to the tough topic of alcohol and drug use by offering programs and even on-campus housing where students can counter addiction.
Residence halls for students who have been treated for drug and alcohol abuse are offered by schools including Augsburg College in Minneapolis, the University of Vermont, and Rutgers University in New Jersey, USA Today recently reported. At Rutgers, the substance-free campus housing allows students to live in a place free of nicotine, alcohol, and drugs, and with access to support from counselors to handle the demands of college.
These and other efforts at schools across the country show that if you have had problems with drug and alcohol abuse in high school, you don’t have to face a losing battle in college. If you’re in this situation, consider searching for a school that is making a point not just to teach academics, but also to provide life lessons to students.
The more services and help that schools offer related to drug and alcohol abuse can put you on a better path once you graduate. Students will be better prepared to handle the stress of the real world – without using alcohol or drugs to help them through it.
–Lori Johnston
May 9th, 2011
Deciding on which college to attend is the first in a long line of decisions students must make before attending their first day of classes. One of the toughest decisions is picking a roommate. Many schools offer college roommate matching programs as well as give you the option to pick your own, but which is the right way to go?
Comfortable v. New
Chances are your natural choice would be to live with someone you already know because it’s comfortable, but living with someone new can be just as exciting. Consider the following:
- Don’t room with your best friend simply because they are your best friend. You have never had to live with them 24/7 before, and you may find out that you aren’t as compatible as you originally thought.
- Roommate matching systems can be great if you fill out the student questionnaires accurately.
- The point of college is to meet new people and try new things; living with someone from home may become a safety net that keeps you from exploring.
- Some schools offer online websites that allows students to connect prior to freshmen year, so they can then choose their own roommate by “meeting” them online.
- You can always ask for a new roommate if it turns out the one you picked or are given is not the best match.
Roommate Survival 101
Now that you’ve decided with whom you want to live, you actually have to figure out how to live with that person in oftentimes cramped quarters. Here are some survival tips:
- Do be honest about your habits upfront, even if it’s your best friend. Remind them about when you like to go to bed, study, etc., and be respectful of their preferences, too.
- If you’re rooming with someone you don’t know, try to meet them or talk to him or her before you move in, so that way your first day at school is a little less scary.
- Plan out who is bringing what and what you want your room to look like ahead of time. This will save overpacking and decorating frustrations when you move in.
- Establish rules about food, visiting hours, and sharing items in general, then be sure to stick to these rules.
- Communication is key; your roommate is not a mind reader.
- Always try to be a better roommate than what you would expect from someone else, and you’ll be just fine.
The first year at college is an exciting adventure, and part of this adventure will be shared with your roommate, so try to make your relationship with them the best it can be.
–Delaney Young
April 25th, 2011
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