Seniors are beginning to plan for college dorm life. A crucial step to this process is picking a roommate and figuring out where to live on campus.
Whether staying local or attending college hours away from home, here are tips and tricks from the previous freshmen class attending universities:
Don’t hesitate to reach out to students who currently attend the university you are planning on going to. Hearing it first from a student who has been in the same situation you will be in is beneficial.
Although most schools provide packing lists and suggestions on decorations that will fit in your dorm room, students know what’s best and what you will actually need. If you are having difficulty finding people to reach out to, look up videos on YouTube and TikTok. Many college freshmen have spent time making reviews and vlogs of the best and worst items for your freshman year dorms.
You WILL need cleaning supplies to avoid illnesses and germs gathering in your dorms.
You also will need to be realistic with the space you live in, the biggest tip from social media influencers is do not clutter your space. Make sure to buy things that will not take up unnecessary space. Lamps and big charger ports that can go on desks or small areas in your room are unnec
essary when there are much morespace conscientious options.
For most dorm rooms you are given a ceiling light and an additional one near the doorway. School lights will wash out the room and give it a gloomy feel. Bringing a standing lamp or a bright mirror with led lights surrounding can add new lighting to the room without taking up an immense amount of space. Find smaller bases and thin posts that take up minimal spaces on desks and side tables.
COLOR COLOR COLOR. Picking a color scheme is the foundation of your freshman year dorm. Once you have found your roommate, if you have one, come up with an agreement on a color scheme because coordination is key. Having decorations that follow different color schemes can make your dorm seem messy and all over the place. Picking three key colors can put together your room in a sophisticated way.
Boston University interviewed a celebrity designer Cortney Novogratz, who said, “I’m really all about color and making things really happy and bright.” Taking your colors to bring your dorm room to a second home for you and giving you the sense of comfort can really set your room apart from others.
To find room decoration examples, Pinterest has great mock setups for your future dorm. Taking the time to search up “dorm ideas” on Pinterest can bring you to endless possibilities and ideas. Photos will include dressers, lamps, bedding, and wall decorations. Seeing an entire room put together can help you gather ideas of what colors work best with one another and are the right fit for you. The new tool on Pinterest; photo searching, can help you find specific products and bring you to the corresponding website to purchase items for your dorm
room.
While some dorm rooms are filled with luxuries like drywall compared to cinder block “prison cells.” WHS Graduate Mia Petrini, attending Sacred Heart University, dormed in a room with the boring cinder block room look. She immediately purchased wallpaper to cover the bland walls and had her own homey feel to her dorm room.
Decorating your walls or adding photos from your home town might be the pieces to tie together a room to make it comforting for you over the next year you have to live in it. Amazon has plenty of prints and hanging decorations designed for dorm rooms that will not leave marks; which is a requirement for most housing situations. Looking up the color of your choice and then dorm decorations can lead you to numerous assortments of decor.
While you want to figure out how to make your dorm room cute, you also need to be practical. Taking all of your favorite belongings from home and adding more as you continue shopping for the next school year, you will need plenty of storage space to keep the clutter away. It is typical for dorm beds to be raised leaving space for small dressers and shoe racks. This allows extra room for clothes and a way to keep shoes out of the way..
A popular storage element is two bedside tables with lamps that include a charging port on top. This storage can be useful for everyday items you need out of the way and covers that extra lighting that is essential to your new dorm room.
One thing that is essential for every dorm room is a mattress topper. When adjusting to the dramatic change of a new room, having a bed that can give you the same comfort as your previous bed at home is essential. The twin size mattress topper is the perfect option to add your own level of comfort to your XL twin size bed. Amazon and other local bed stores can be a great place to find your perfect mattress topper.
As a girl, some of your favorite things may be getting dressed up or having a nice outfit. Finding a perfect full body mirror that can fit into your dorm and still give a simple aesthetic look can be helpful to tie together the room. Looking at Amazon, Target, and Ikea can give you great ideas for simple full body mirrors, whether you like a gold, silver, or wooden trim there are endless options.
Aubree Lewis, a WHS Alum, who attended Penn State for her Freshman year had difficulties with her roommate her first year. She learned from it, “Remember that what’s yours is YOURS. You have no obligation to share or let people borrow, especially if it isn’t reciprocated”. While dorm room decorating can be exciting, make sure items that are shared and communal for both you and your roommate are split evenly.
The whole process can be overwhelming after finally deciding which college you would like to attend. For more advice look through Youtube and Tiktok videos to get more ideas and tips about what is essential for your freshman year and what you can do to make this transition to your next chapter in life as smooth as possible.
