How to Help Your College Freshman Adjust to Dormitory Life

Going away to college is an adjustment for the student and the parent. Usually the biggest shock is in getting adjusted to the new living arrangement. Where at home one has his or her own personal bedroom, depending on the college, and the housing arrangement, most freshmen will share a room with someone. This article provides a few tips on how to help your college freshman adjust to dormitory life.

Most colleges require that freshmen live on campus the first year. Depending on the university the accommodations may be student apartments or university dormitories, both of which require a roommate. Where dormitories can be a challenge, the situation can still be accomplished in a way where the student will adjust and may even come to enjoy dormitory life.

The first way to help your college freshman adjust to dormitory life is by insuring he or she attends orientation where other students looking for dorm mates will be in attendance. Visiting the campus ahead of time also puts the student in the position to meet other people of the same classification, from other places that will be attending the school in the fall. Students sometimes meet locals also attending the same college. It is at these venues where college freshmen come together and meet others allowing the possibility of meeting a roommate with common interests, and possibly even background. This is not to say that opposites won't attract. Your college freshman might be ready for something and someone totally different from what is the norm at home. Once the roommate situation is settled then it's on to making the dormitory feel like his or her new home.

The number of people in a dormitory room will be determined by the set up of the schools, and usually by the age of the buildings. If there are more than two in a dorm room, unless the students come up with a common theme, decorating will be based on one's personal space. Take your student shopping to buy the necessities such as televisions, radios, DVD players, and such to make his or her surroundings as comfortable as possible will assist in helping your college freshman adjust to dormitory life.