Dorm Life

Hello, my name is Brian Mercer, and I’m a 3rd year mechanical engineering student here at UCLA and I recently started working in the Systems Unit (where they process all the transcripts and applications). As many of you are gearing up to start school in the fall, I have a feeling you might also be curious about dorm-life at UCLA.  After all, about 92% of incoming freshmen will be living in dorms.  I’ve lived in the dorms for the past two years here, and it’s been an amazing experience. Even though I’ll be moving out into an apartment this year, I’ll always think about and remember the great times I had living on campus, and all of the lifelong friends that I made there.

Living in the dorms on campus is really a once in a lifetime experience. It’s probably the only time in your life where you’ll be able to live in close proximity with potentially nearly 100 of your peers on the same floor. I made almost all of my close friends from the people who lived on my floor, not from classes or other activities I was involved in. And it’s not just about the close friends you’ll make; you’ll meet many new and interesting types of people on your floor. I can’t tell you how many new TV shows I watch, new foods I eat, and new music I listen to and play on my guitar because of the people I lived with while I was in the dorms.

Aside from the fact that living on campus is simply a great and unique experience, it’s also very convenient. The biggest reason for this is the dining facilities – I’m already missing them now that I no longer have access to them off campus, and it’s only been 2 weeks. Between the four major dining halls available on campus, you can almost always find a menu that they will be happy with.  If the dining halls aren’t appetizing, students can always fall back on the residential restaurants, which have a constant menu every day – depending on where you go, you can have Mexican food, Chinese food, burgers, pizzas, fries, salads, sandwiches, coffee, tea, ice cream, smoothies, shakes, and even more that I can’t think of at the moment. Not to mention that there’s always something open until 2am, perfect for those late weekend nights when you’ll probably be up late with your friends. You might not think that your meals are such a big deal, but when you have class all day, and maybe you’re working at a job for a few hours , and you have a paper you need to write that night or a test to study for, you’ll appreciate the ability to simply walk in somewhere, swipe your card, and eat dinner.  It beats having to worry about what to cook or where to order out from – believe me, I’m already missing it.

Living on campus will also give you the opportunity to participate in a lot of activities, both through your dorm floor and through the school. Your residential assistants (“RAs”) will likely plan a variety of outings for your floor, from simple trips to Westwood for dinner or Diddy Riese (you’ll find out about that soon enough), to day trips to places around LA. My RAs were very active in this area – last year, our floor did a kayaking trip, visited the Santa Monica area and the 3rd Street Promenade, and saw Wicked with the rest of our building (for a discounted price!). Living on campus will also expose you to the many activities that are going on around campus that you wouldn’t normally find out about if you lived off campus.

Basically, living on campus is the way to go, and in my opinion it is a must for at least your first year. I’m sure a lot of you are very nervous and asking yourselves a lot of questions about moving into the dorms.  What are my roommates going to be like? What if I get homesick? What if I don’t make friends? How will I EVER deal with those community bathrooms? Trust me.  It will all work out fine in the long run. Just remember that everyone is in the same boat as you—they don’t know anyone, they’re scared and not sure of how college life will be, and they all want to meet and make new friends as soon as possible. Most people adjust to the changes rather quickly—within a week, I felt very comfortable living on my floor and had already met most of the people that are my good friends now. As a matter of fact, all of the guys I’m living with in my new apartment I met living on my dorm floor my first year of college. So if you’re getting ready to move into the dorms in a few months, don’t be nervous…be excited! You’re about to begin one of the most unique and exciting experiences of your life.

Comments

[Ray Span]

Thanks for the info, I am applying to UCLA next year. Wish me luck.

[buy soma]

Same here I'm applying there too :D

[Juicer]

Great info! I'm helping my cousins with deciding to live on campus or not next year and this was definitely helpful.

[Doug]

I know where I am applying! Iit will be nice to go to school close to a beach!

[Rithea]

Great news for my son. I am trying to put him to UCLA too.

[Anna]

Living in campus is great. I'm not happy that I didn't have that while I was studying.

[Miakela]

WOW that's a pretty exciting experience living in a dorm. I think that will be fun. I'm getting excited. This will be the first time that I'm going to live in a dorm. Thanks for sharing your experience. I'll not worried that much anymore. =)

[chat]

Great info! I'm helping my cousins with deciding.

[Brian's Roommate]

He basically summed up dorm life in this quick blog. I was Brian (the Author's) roommate last year and indeed we did have some good time together. If your having trouble deciding whether or not you want to live in the dorms, just know that this will probably be the only chance in your life where you are on your own and live with about 100 other strangers.

It will definitely help you grow socially and mentally.

A quick tip, the first day you arrive, take the initiative, introduce yourself to everyone on your floor. You will be living with them for a year!! Who knows, you might meet your best friends in your first couple of days at school.

[Marisela]

Great tip, Brian's Roommate! Glad to see you are reading the blog as well.

[oyun]

WOW that's a pretty exciting experience living in a dorm. I think that will be fun. I'm getting excited. This will be the first time that I'm going to live in a dorm. Thanks for sharing your experience. I'm not worried that much anymore. =)

[ShaCK]

Great tips..I am applying to Malaya University in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. I hope living on campus will make me a better human.

[jimmg]

Well, thank you. It reminds me of my dorm life at school, really sweet.

[game]

I think that will be fun. I'm getting excited. This will be the first time that I'm going to live in a dorm. Thanks for sharing.

[Jane Palmer]

According to several really important-sounding studies, first-year students living on campus perform better academically than those who live off campus. Perhaps it’s because students living in dorms are closer to the things they need, like the library and the computer labs. Or maybe it’s because the meal plan that comes with most dorms takes the pressure off having to forage for food, giving students more time to study. And think of all the potential study partners floating around the hallways or energetically highlighting their textbooks in the study lounge. No wonder dorm life for first years is such a good idea.

j

[zrmbilisim2009]

Thank you, poster.

[Roommate]

Nice blog!

[buy soma]

Homesickness is one big problem in living in a dorm. Fight it by gaining friends within the dorm.

[Ruffle Bikini]

I felt this way the first week of school. After that, I vowed to never live at home again! :) Good luck to you and nice blog.

[lindsey]

Wow. I won;t be in college for a few years but that some good advice. I'm only 13.

[christine]

great information. thank you

[christine]

WOW that's a pretty exciting experience living away from home. I think that will be fun. I'm getting excited. This will be the first time that I'm going to live in a dorm. Thanks for sharing your experience. I'll not worried that much anymore.

[Radin Jackson]

Cheers, good luck to all that are applying.