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The other day I was reminiscing about my dorm decision experience and recalled a few things I fussed over. I’d like to share a few of the thoughts that came to my mind with other college-bound or curious students.

What if I have roommate issues?

First of all, if you have roommate issues, your college’s Residential Life will be more than willing to help settle those concerns. For the most part, if you have roommate problems, you can bring it up with your RA, Residential Assistant, who will try to settle the issue(s). If conflicts persist, your RA can help you request a roommate switch through Residential Life. Res Life is there to help make your college experience wonderful!

How should I choose my first-year roommate?

Personal Experience: I went with a random when choosing my first-year roommate and things are great! I highly recommend choosing a random roommate for your first-year. Many people build strong and long-lasting relationships with their first-year roommates. At least, if you don’t become the best-of-friends, you will probably get along well. But just a word of caution, a random is a hit-or-miss situationthere is always the unlikely possibility that you get a nut-job of a roommate. Social events hosted by the college are another interesting way to choose your first-year roommate. Open-house for accepted students, Orientations, and Summer Programs are great ways to meet your peers and choose a potential roommate. Then again, how well can you know someone after one-day? The guy/girl could be the weirdo everyone else will be talking about! Other college freshmen have turned their attention towards social networking sites such as Myspace and Facebook to meet their peers. On the “Bentley Class of 2012” Facebook group, there is a discussion board posting called “Roommate Application.” Through this electronic medium, some incoming freshman found friends and prospective roommates. But as always, beware! Be cautious when meeting people off the Internet. Also, please note that not all colleges allow you to choose your first-year roommate. Most colleges have you fill out a questionnaire to match you with an equally interesting roommate.

Should I have more than one roommate, or any?

Opting for housing with more mates can be a great decision. The most common type of housing is the double, where you have one roommate, but other interesting options include triples and quads. For many people, the triple can be the way to go. My peers who have triples love the living situation. The room is a little bigger compared to doubles and as I like to say, the more the merrier. Quads are also fun, if not better. Quads are significantly larger than doubles and triples and with the extra room, you can bring in more stuff, or just more people and have a nice social get-together (a clean one of course, unless you, your roommates and guests are 21 or over). Lastly, you really lose out if you choose the single. Yeah, get more room for yourself and don’t have to worry about adjusting to and accommodating for another person’s lifestyle, but it gets lonely when you’re all alone, ALL THE TIME. At least with a roommate, you have the luxury of company.

What’s the deal with co-ed dorms?

Co-ed dorms. That’s in interesting issue. Here at Bentley, the dorms are co-ed, but the situation is that girls live on their own floor, or the other half of the floor with segregated bathrooms. Guests of the opposite sex are allowed in all rooms (there is no rule against it, unless you or your roommate dislike that). Other schools that aren’t co-ed may have a restriction on the opposite sex staying over past a certain hour, and may segregate the opposite sex by having all-male and all-female housing halls.  A word of caution: guys and girls go through entirely different issues, issues that the opposite sex may not be able to handle. Also, if sexual relationships build between roommates, the situation may be awkward because of the on-going relationship or because of tension after a break-up.

Well, that’s all folks.

Sincerely,

Danny Wong Bentley Class of 2012

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