Now that I am not a freshmen resident anymore there are a lot of things I wish I knew before dorming. This is to any high school seniors now that might need some advice before late August or early September so they can adjust to the dorming life better.

1. Picking Classes

Make sure you do not pick early morning classes, or at least try to avoid them as best as you can. You might think you are a morning person because you wake up at 7:00 and go on a bus or drive to school, but I promise you that will change. Once you realize that waking up early is not mandatory, you will want to have the freedom of sleeping in. Having that freedom is a privilege though so make sure the afternoon classes are not full and register for classes EARLY!

2. Dorming paperwork

Make sure that while you fill out any type of important paperwork for school it is all on time. Make sure you pay bills on time like housing, meal plans, class bills, etc on time so you know everything and there are no surprises.

3. Decorating your room

Remember to not use tape on your wall! Go to stores and get hooks for pictures or use thumb tacks for tapestry, taking tape off walls is not easy and that was my mistake, personally. Make sure when you move out that you are careful with taking pins out of walls you do not want to have to pay for damage.

4. Pack a lot of clothes and food

I know in high school it’s fun to wear cute jeans and a nice shirt but do not be shocked if you notice you are wearing sweats more often than ever. It is normal to not feel compelled to dress up, especially since you will only be in one or two classes a day. For food, bring snacks but also try and pack small meals (microwave macaroni and cheese or ramen). You will get hungry at night and even though snacks are nice to have during the day eating, at night is something you will start doing even if the meals are not huge. Depending on the school you go to campus cafeterias may close early (especially on the weekends) and you might not have money for takeout. It is nice to have back up meals so you are not going to bed on an empty stomach.

5. Don't forget to have fun!

You are dorming away from home. Get involved, be responsible, and have fun. College is the best time of your life, minus the endless amounts of papers and finals. You only get to do this once in your life and after my first semester away from home, I enjoyed every minute of it. I was very grateful that my roomies were fun and that I made plenty of new friends, too!

No matter if you dorm or commute, college is what YOU make of it. So do your homework, go to classes, try your best, and have fun. The typical “college experience” is a cliche term; college is an experience and it is all about what you make of it. Get involved and have fun, but do not forget to buckle down and be serious when you know you need to be.