posted
So I'm starting as a freshman at Utah State University this fall. Looking forward to it, but I do have a couple of questions regarding apartments for those of you that have been through that type of thing already:
I'm not going to be living in the on-campus dorms, due to their ridiculous cost (even when you factor in the meal plans). I'm looking into an apartment that looks really nice, reasonable price, most utilities paid, fully furnished, etc. Basically, it has what I think I would need. I've looked into it quite thoroughly.
But I don't have anybody that would be able to rent with me. It's four people to an apartment (private rooms). I guess I'm just worried about renting with people I'll never have met until I've actually moved in.
But I guess this is really the case anywhere you go for college housing, right? I really wish I had at least one person that I knew that I could rent with, but that doesn't seem to be happening unfortunately.
So I guess my real question is, what are some of the experiences some of you may have had in this type of situation? Any tips or suggestions? Horror stories?
Bah, I'm just worried and I need advice. Posts: 290 | Registered: Sep 2002
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posted
My husband (KPC) did this while attending Ricks/BYU Idaho (he was there during the change-over), and besides one really awful roommate (not awful to them, specifically, just awful in general; he drove on the grass, angered a big huge Samoan football player who broke down the door to get at him, etc.) he had good experiences. He's still friends with some of his old roomies. Posts: 21182 | Registered: Sep 2004
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posted
It was my experience that while off-campus housing is moderately cheaper than on-campus housing, the real price difference for me was food costs. Our university forced students in many of the residences to buy meal plans for use at absurdly over-priced university cafeterias. It looks like you've already priced it out though.
When it comes to renting with strangers, I've done that several times.
The big thing to look out for is compatibility of programmes. I'm not sure what your programme is, but my experiences was that you should never blindly mix people from "hard" subjects such as engineering or computer science with "easy" programmes unless you know the person already. It doesn't really work out for anyone. It sounds a bit elitist, but its really the case that you want to live with people with similar schedules, sleeping routines, and work ethics. Their faculty is the single best determiner of these traits (for strangers at least). (I recognize that it kind of sucks because it is discriminating by stereotype)
Also, take a quick look at how the people live (if possible, its hard when you're looking "ahead" a term). You should quickly see if the "mess" level is ok.
Lastly, stay away from basement apartments if you're a light sleeper.
Feel free to ask if you have any more specific questions, I've lived in entirely way too many places during/after university.
Posts: 7593 | Registered: Sep 2006
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quote: It was my experience that while off-campus housing is moderately cheaper than on-campus housing, the real price difference for me was food costs. Our university forced students in many of the residences to buy meal plans for use at absurdly over-priced university cafeterias
Disgusting, really, how they leech $$ out of you.
Posts: 3060 | Registered: Nov 2003
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quote: It was my experience that while off-campus housing is moderately cheaper than on-campus housing, the real price difference for me was food costs. Our university forced students in many of the residences to buy meal plans for use at absurdly over-priced university cafeterias
Disgusting, really, how they leech $$ out of you.
Yeah, it is. Most of the dorms up there are running around $4000. They claim its a great deal because of the 10 or 7 meal a week meal-plan. But...it isn't. Its overpriced, and the food isn't all that great. Quite frankly, I don't exactly want to be forced to eat at their cafeterias 10 times a week, since the meals do not carry over.
Anyway, thanks guys. It helps just to be able to hear other people's experiences. Posts: 290 | Registered: Sep 2002
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posted
It might depend on the apartment. We had some apartment housing right off-camps called "The Frogponds." It was a common room and kitchen with four private rooms. Each had their own bathroom and the doors came with nice dead-bolt locks. Many of my friends kept mini-fridges in their rooms incase they had food-stealing roommates.
I never lived there because it was more expensive than renting a duplex with my college roommate, but if you don't have any friends right off, it seemed like a good way to go.
Posts: 1733 | Registered: Apr 2005
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I got placed with a random roomate who was a smoker. My landlords were supposed to take this into accout, or so I assumed, because they asked us "Do you smoke?" and "Do you mind if you live with a smoker?" to which I answered 'no' and 'yes', respectively. I don't know. Maybe the were dyslexic or something. Anyway, here my friend and I are, both reactive (not quite allergic) to cigarette smoke, and we have a roomie who was a heavy smoker and didn't give a rat's patootie about it.
To make things worse, he thought that copious amounts of cologne would cover up the smoke...
Posts: 1099 | Registered: Apr 2005
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posted
I'd recommend campus housing for your first year. Sure, it is expensive...but many times the dorms have activities and such that go on that make it worth it. When I started at UF, I had no idea what to expect...but my first night I met a ton of people in the dorm because there was a ice cream social in the lobby. You also are more protected against things like people smoking in the room...since that is not allowed in campus housing.
When you do move out of campus housing and into an apartment...most likely you will do it with people that you met when you were living in campus housing. While I was glad to finally move out of the dorms and into an apartment my Jr year, I wouldn't trade the experience I had those first two years in the dorms for anything.
When you do move out, finding a furnished apartment is a good idea...simply because many times college students move around quite a bit, and lugging that furniture with you can be a pain. The utilities and cable packages can be a mixed bag. It is easier to deal with when it is part of your rent, but you don't have much flexibility.
Posts: 1901 | Registered: May 2004
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I agree with Lupus on the living on campus for a year. Based on my friends and my experiences, the dorms have a better support network. If this is the first time you are on your own, the food might be nicer than you think. After a year, you'll know more people.
Posts: 1001 | Registered: Mar 2006
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In my experience, the most crucial factor is finding people that you can easily get along with. It's possible (if still somewhat difficult) to live with someone(s) who has completely different living, sleeping, studying, and/or eating habits than you, if you're all friendly enough with one another to work problems out in a civil manner, without letting them fester.
Since you'll be in separate bedrooms, different sleeping hours isn't really too much of an issue. In my last apartment, the guy who lived directly next door to me woke up at 7 am and went to bed before midnight, every single day. I, on the other hand, am a total night owl. But since we had private rooms, it didn't matter in the slightest- indeed, it was actually convenient, in that we never had to fight over the bathroom or the shower, since he was always done in the morning long before I even woke up.
All that being sad, I actually agree with Lupus and scholar... even if it's expensive, it's worth it to live in the dorms your first year for the social scene. This goes double if the dorms are significantly closer to the academic buildings than off-campus housing... you'd be surprised how much an additional ten minute commute will end up affecting your daily routine.
Posts: 1321 | Registered: Sep 1999
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I agree with Tarrsk that the most crucial factor is roommates you get along with. I had many roommates during my college career who I'd never met before they moved in (and sometimes into the other bed in my room) and I got along with most of them just fine. But my last semester as an undergrad, I moved into a new complex and got stuck with a horrible roommate. He had the nasty habit of throwing parties on Wednesday nights because he didn't have classes Thursday morning. That was the least of it. Needless to say, we didn't get along at all, had totally different styles, and were barely even speaking to each other after a couple of months. I couldn't wait to leave.
BTW, he had his own room, which was a good thing because we would have killed each other if we'd had to share a room. But having his own room didn't help. He still made it almost impossible to live in that apartment with all the crap he pulled (imagine walking in and seeing him and his friends making fake porno movies in the living room. Or having total strangers coming in at all times of the day to use the tanning bed he had in his room.)
Anyway, living in the dorms the first year does have its merits. I found some friends to rent an apartment with initially that way. I didn't have to deal with quite as much "on my own" responsibilities my first year at school. But getting out of those dorms sure was a relief.
Posts: 5957 | Registered: Oct 2001
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I did this - at Utah State, in fact. I roomed with strangers, and out of it came friends that I still have (I'm 31). My friend Molly was an assigned roommate my sophomore year of college. Anthonie and Jason and Monica were all roommates or neighbors from freshman year that I didn't know before, and I love them dearly and we still talk, despite being scattered across the country.
Also, some of the worst experiences of my life were from stranger roommates. "The Beast," also from sophomore year, was the most memorable, but several were just generally dead-ends, friendshipwise.
Rooming with someone I already knew was MUCH worse, however. I roomed with someone I knew immediately after I graduated, and we had been friends since kindergarten. It was a disaster - she turned out to be an awful roommate, and we don't even speak now. I much prefer rooming with strangers. They are a mixed bag, but as long as there is a little bit of flexibility (if things are completely horrible, you can switch rooms), it's a great experience.
Posts: 1753 | Registered: Aug 2002
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I have to echo what Javert said. Be very, very careful about rooming with someone you already know. It's so easy to lose a friendship like that. Sometimes it works: it worked for me in a cuple cases, but that had a lot to do with already knowing her living style and hashing a lot of things out in advance.
No matter who you get, right off, draw up a chores/responsibilities list. Who's responsible for cleaning the toilet, and who's going to figure out the phone bill, etc. When are quiet hours and when are parties okay. Put it all in writing. It may not have any legal force, but it's something solid you can refer to, and when it's written, people are more likely to take it seriously. Don't just hope for the best - talk about your individual hopes and expectations. The second time I lived with someone I already knew, we did this even before we moved in, and it was pretty effective. We ended up having a great year, and I was really sad when she left.
Posts: 2849 | Registered: Feb 2002
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I think you've already done the most important thing, and that was making sure everyone has a private room. I moved into a house where I didn't know anyone at first, and lucky for me they all turned out to be good people. But, I had a private room, so I could just go there and shut the door if I didn't feel like being social with the roommies. Have that, and you'll be fine.
Oh, and EL...I'm Javert! ;P
Posts: 3852 | Registered: Feb 2002
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It really could go either way. Hopefully you will get paired with solid room mates.
Honestly, all you can really do is seriously evaluate yourself and ask, "Would I enjoy rooming with me?"
It's in Logan, I live in Provo, but if things get intolerable and you just need a break, you are welcome to come over and visit.
Posts: 14316 | Registered: Jul 2005
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When it comes to getting along with roommates, remember that these are people you live with, not your bestest best friends. I've had three roommates, and the one that worked out the best was one who didn't have too many friends in common with me and who had a fairly separate social life. We still hung out at the house and watched movies some days, but she had her friends and went out, and I had mine, and on very rare occasions we went out together. We also did the food shopping together. But I really think my biggest mistake with my first two roomies was trying to make them into close friends.
posted
I had mixed luck with random roommates, too. Several became close lifelong friends. Others were less felicitous. I lived one summer with a girl who would bring her boyfriends home to sleep with her on the top bunk. I woke up once to some random man's hairy foot stepping on the mattress beside my face when he was climbing up.
I was a bad roommate in that I was messy, and a big pile of books, clothes, musical instruments, etc. tended to collect beside my bed during the term. My roommates and I instituted a practice of straightening up every Saturday, though, which worked fine. We would then have a gathering every Saturday night, and get it all messy again.
You figure out ways to work things out, which is a great learning experience. One roommate was an accountant and would figure out the phone bills, including tax and everything, to the penny. (We all had long distance charges, some in-state and some out-of-state, with different tax rates, etc.) I found this was an excellent idea as it prevented anyone from feeling like they were treated unfairly. Doing things with good accounting practice to the penny is a good idea, then, not because we're so grasping that we haggle over every cent, but just because that's how you do it right, and that way everyone knows it's fair and they got charged the right amount. I keep exact and detailed books for the HPMF, for instance, because of learning that lesson in college.
Deciding rules in advance, by all together (not unilaterally imposed) is a great idea, as well as having regular house meetings where issues can be discussed before they're allowed to fester. For instance "Tatiana spilled orange juice and she cleaned up what got on her stuff, but it got on my stuff too and she didn't seem to care about that, and didn't clean it up." Really good thing to be brought up because Tatiana didn't realize there was more orange juice spilled, and thought she got it all. =) So this way she could apologize, explain that it wasn't deliberate, and that she would be more careful in the future, and there were no hard feelings going forward. Otherwise things like this just grow and grow until you're glaring in silence at each other. "Tatiana leaves toothpaste globs in the sink when she brushes her teeth. That's gross." Ah, Tatiana never thought of that before because her mom always cleaned stuff like that up for her, and so she just didn't notice it. Indeed it's gross and she will rinse it out from now on. "Corinne shaves her legs once a month and leaves the inside of the tub coated in hair." Ditto. Things like that will revolt you about each other, and will soon have you loathing each other's sight if communications aren't kept open continually, and they aren't told in a way that means "here's something you can do that will help me a lot", and not "you are a loathsome person because..." =)
Posts: 6246 | Registered: Aug 2004
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As for campus versus off campus, it sounds like you've found the right cost-benefit analysis for you. I did both at various times. On-campus was great because of proximity to classes, and no commute time. I could wake up at the bell at the top of the hour, and be in class by 10 after when class began. The food is usually gross on campus, and people who pay for those expensive plans end up eating out many meals anyway. We had a debit card thing that you prepaid, but you didn't have to pay for any meals you didn't eat. Sometimes on-campus food was decent. They had a pizza and deli sandwich place we could go to at night.
Posts: 6246 | Registered: Aug 2004
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quote:Originally posted by pH: When it comes to getting along with roommates, remember that these are people you live with, not your bestest best friends. I've had three roommates, and the one that worked out the best was one who didn't have too many friends in common with me and who had a fairly separate social life. We still hung out at the house and watched movies some days, but she had her friends and went out, and I had mine, and on very rare occasions we went out together. We also did the food shopping together. But I really think my biggest mistake with my first two roomies was trying to make them into close friends.
-pH
Also really, really good advice. One of my roommates became one of my dearest friends, but that has been the exception. With the most recent roommate, people would ask me "Is she a good roommate? Are you guys good friends?" I would answer "Sometimes we hang out, but when we don't want to we just close our doors, and we get along fine. We feel equally responsible for keeping the place clean, and neither of us party. She's a pretty good roommate, yep, even if we aren't best friends." That's basically my gold standard for roommates. Anything else is just bonus.
Posts: 2849 | Registered: Feb 2002
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