2008 Woodie Awards
The roommate is a fickle thing, especially your first year. Chances are, you'll be put into a small room with a complete stranger and expected to live there for almost to a year. You may find yourself rooming with someone destined to be a lifelong best friend, or you may find that you're bunking with your arch nemesis.
There's only one certainty in the roommate situation, and that is: unless you live within 60 miles of campus, you have to spend your first year living in a dorm.
The good news is you're close to classes and you get a meal plan on your Sycamore ID that feeds you. If this is your first time away from home, you get to practice living on your own in relative comfort before you decide to move off campus and face the harsh realities of life and bills. Mostly the harsh realities of bills.
A good thing about moving on campus is that if you know someone who is coming to ISU, you can request that that person be your roommate. You will want to do this in advance, and you might want to call the Residential Life office to make sure your request has been filed.
My freshman year, I requested a roommate too late, but we both ended up in the same dorm and on the same floor.
There are pros and cons to living with someone you know. The main pro is that you don't have to become quickly acquainted with a complete stranger. The main con is that you or your new roommates' living habits may end up stressing and even ruining the friendship.
Only a small percentage of freshmen actually start the year with a friend as a roommate, so let's move beyond that to what is probably the reality of your situation: you will soon be living with someone you've never met.
The good thing is that ISU sends you a letter that tells you your new roommate's name, and living in the age of Facebook and Myspace, it shouldn't be hard to find out the basics about your new roommate. You'll be able to discover their likes, activities, favorite music and movies, and everything else those Web sites contain.
There's only one certainty in the roommate situation, and that is: unless you live within 60 miles of campus, you have to spend your first year living in a dorm.
The good news is you're close to classes and you get a meal plan on your Sycamore ID that feeds you. If this is your first time away from home, you get to practice living on your own in relative comfort before you decide to move off campus and face the harsh realities of life and bills. Mostly the harsh realities of bills.
A good thing about moving on campus is that if you know someone who is coming to ISU, you can request that that person be your roommate. You will want to do this in advance, and you might want to call the Residential Life office to make sure your request has been filed.
My freshman year, I requested a roommate too late, but we both ended up in the same dorm and on the same floor.
There are pros and cons to living with someone you know. The main pro is that you don't have to become quickly acquainted with a complete stranger. The main con is that you or your new roommates' living habits may end up stressing and even ruining the friendship.
Only a small percentage of freshmen actually start the year with a friend as a roommate, so let's move beyond that to what is probably the reality of your situation: you will soon be living with someone you've never met.
The good thing is that ISU sends you a letter that tells you your new roommate's name, and living in the age of Facebook and Myspace, it shouldn't be hard to find out the basics about your new roommate. You'll be able to discover their likes, activities, favorite music and movies, and everything else those Web sites contain.
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