Living With Strangers | Teen Ink

Living With Strangers

February 12, 2015
By kassidy.tarala PLATINUM, Hartland, Wisconsin
kassidy.tarala PLATINUM, Hartland, Wisconsin
23 articles 0 photos 0 comments

Now that college acceptance letters have started to roll in and seniors have begun committing to their schools for the following fall, the next chronological step to take is to fill out housing information. Among the general housing information forms is the questionnaire to find a compatible roommate.

May 1st, 2015, is the deadline for committing to a school, but the housing requirements extend throughout the summer depending on the school. However, students who fill the housing forms out first are more likely to receive their first choice of housing.

Elizabeth Leslie, an Arrowhead senior, says she is attending Iowa State University, which was her first choice school.

She says the roommate assignments for ISU are going to be posted in June, and she is excited to find out who she will be living with for a year.

“For freshman year, they put you with a random person unless you request a certain one, which I didn’t do, so I’m a little nervous,” she says.

Leslie says she wouldn’t be able to tolerate a roommate who is always blasting music and has a dirty room.

“I want an organized room to ease studying in the dorm,” Leslie says.

She says ISU’s oldest dorm, Friley Hall, is the largest dorm in the United States, housing 1,043 students.

“Friley has its own area code. It’s huge,” she says.

Leslie says she hopes to get a newer hall with suite style rooms, so she can have a bathroom that is only shared with three other girls rather than the entire floor.

Suzzy Kowalski, an Arrowhead senior, is also currently playing the waiting game to find out who her roommate for next year at University of Minnesota-Duluth will be.

“I want to have suite style dorm with three others and a private bathroom shared among us,” she says.

Kowalski says she wouldn’t mind having a single room and not having a roommate because she likes to have her own space to study and be alone.

“I wouldn’t want a roommate who smokes, is obnoxiously loud, or has a very dirty room,” Kowalski says.

She says she also wouldn’t be able to tolerate a roommate who is in a relationship where they display PDA in their dorm a lot.

“It’s just weird and violating my personal space,” she says.

Kowalski says her first choice of housing is Heaney Hall, which is one of the on-campus apartment complexes.

“Heaney is the closest to the buildings I would take classes in my freshman year, and it’s right by the wellness center, which is good because I always get sick,” she says.

Kowalski says she is unable to study in places where there is any noise, so she will probably use her desk to do makeup instead of for studying.

“I’m going to go to the library to study so it’s quiet, which helps me study better,” Kowalski says.

She says the process of finding a roommate is overwhelming, yet exciting at the same time.

“I can’t believe I’m already filling out my housing application for UMN-Duluth. It’s all happening so fast, and I can’t wait for what’s to come next,” Kowalski says.



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