What is dorm Life like?

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Well I'm going through a similar transition so I can't really say anything. Though I think I'll put locks on everything and keep a personal fridge (with a lock on it).

I have to agree here.

The first dorm I was in was hot, smelly, and no one respected the quiet hours. The walls were so thin I could hear people in the next room talking (which often went past 1am...and being the light sleeper I am, talk about being unable to sleep!). Had a roommate who was a nice guy but had an unfortunate habit of liking late night movies on his laptop and having his girlfriends over (he rotated between his ex-gf, a mutual friend at the time, and one time brought in some girl from another floor). One friend of his helped himself to food I brought. The roommate himself made a mess out of my mini-fridge to the point I had to get rid of it. Plus he was a real slob (and a druggie).

Second dorm was a lot nicer in terms of cleanliness, but my second roommate was a big jerk. The first half of the year he was a real decent, swell guy, always asking before turning the television and lights on/off, but the second half he turned a 180. Bringing friends in while I was sleeping, he got a girlfriend that was loud, trashy and ghetto, she wouldn't hesitate to vocalize her pleasure while getting with him (knowing I was in the room and trying to sleep), a real loudmouth when talking to him and in general, and just overall wasn't a respectful visitor. Plus he dropped any mutual roommate-style respect and started playing the TV on all night, turning his video games on whenever convenient, and was just overall very disrespectful. He was nice when he felt like it. On a positive note nothing of mine was ever tampered with or stolen.

-Little privacy or at least unpredictable (you never know when the roomie decides to show up...and who they decide to show up with)
-If you have food...it will be stolen. People in college for some reason think because food is front of them that it's a community kitchen
-I don't know about other universities, but the dorm beds at my school were hard like prison cots...and tiny
-At least in my experience our dorms had no AC

Yeah I can't say I was too fond of the whole dorm thing. :/

Dorms....blech!! ! I'd try to get an apartment either on or off campus if at all possible. At least where I went, dorms were actually more expensive than some of the nicer apartments in town, and the dorms were total holes in the wall. Hardly enough room for one person, much less 2 in a room.

I found dorm life very stressful, even though I was pretty lucky in terms of my roommate and location. My dorm was supposed to be a 24 hour quiet dorm (though if that was considered quiet I'd really hate to see what a loud dorm is). I got along well with my roommate, who had as little interest in partying and such as I did, but we had difficulty with our suite mates who messed up our mutual space and brought noisy friends over at all hours of the night.

If it's available I'd request to be placed in a "quiet" dorm (or one with the most quiet hours) and if you can afford it get a single. I'd bring ear plugs and an eye mask for sleeping, if you're sensitive to light bring your own lamp the dorm lights on my campus were blindingly bright.

Wow...I never realized how much people hated the dorms. I've lived in them all my undergraduate degree, freshman to senior, and I really enjoy it. I live in a special arts community so if you can find a dorm community that shares your interest then that's the best. Kids in learning communities tend engage more in community events and be more respectful of each other.

Far as roommates go, the only one I had random was a gem and the others were friends so my year was fine. I've never had anything stolen, not even out of the laundry rooms, and generally my roommates would ask before taking food/drinks I had bought. People can be noisy sometimes but there are quiet hours and generally if you knock on someone's door and ask them to be quieter they will usually do it without making a fuss.

The biggest thing I can say about transitioning is don't go home until at least a few months in and make sure Disability Services on campus knows who you are and where you're staying.

I lived in a university dorm for 6 years.

Disclosure is big. If your room mates know that you're on the spectrum it should help them understand -your RA too. Mostly I kept to myself in my own room.

Some survival tips I found helpful

1. do not talk behind your roommate's backs, if you have a problem tell them right away -be polite and ready to negotiate
2. Keep noise cancelling headphones or music headphones in case your neighbors/ roommates like their music loud
3. I kept a shoe box of calm down stuff -movies, candy, video games est. for when I needed to calm down after a melt down or panic attack est.
4. To help me sleep in a new environment I turned on Disney movies really low and that helped me feel less homesick/lonely
5. If you don't mind mess and clutter keep it to your own room, not the common areas -also clean your dishes promptly so no one can complain about it
6. There should be walk safe programs for if you don't feel safe walking after dark
7. Lock your bedroom door when you sleep at night -especially if you're female
8.There will be at least one random fire drill -ask your RA if sound sensitivity is something you deal with
9. If you're at a dorm party on campus or at a pub event watch your drink -do not leave it unattended, take it to the bathroom with you or throw it out. Do not leave it with a friend. Trust no one with your drink. Date rape drugs are real.
10. Know when quiet hours are so if your roommates/neighbours are playing music/having a loud party you know when you can ask them to stop. Do not be afraid to call campus police for help shutting down too loud parties after quiet hours. You don't have to knock on doors yourself.
11. Make an agreement with your roommates early about having friends over, parties, noise or tv times est.

Sorry it was long. Hope this helps -good luck with your move.

I never understood why they put two people in one room in some countries. I've never heard of something like that here in the Netherlands. How can people have privacy that way?

Since it seems like most are speaking against dorm life, I'll chime in with this one bit of advice.

IF YOU CAN GET ONE, GET A SINGLE ROOM!! !! !!

It will be a bit more expensive than a shared room, but how I see it, it is worth every cent for having my own space whenever I want, and the closest thing I have to a roomate is my Betta fish simi . Like the OP, I am a new transfer Junior to a University from Community College. I figured that the transition from community college to university would be big and hard enough as it is (which it was and had been), and that sharing a room with a complete stranger would make it too much to handle. So when I had the opportunity to snag a single room, I jumped on it. I am happily typing this message in my first floor room with 12ft high ceilings in a beautiful 1880's era building with our own private parking lot where I get to keep my car.

Some of the residence on my floor can be a bit loud, don't wash their hands, and are very dirty (found globs of toothpaste and a seriously decayed banana in the hallways once, took it upon myself to clean up), and one resident has his stereo that every so often he likes to crank up loud to the point the walls shake (I think this is a norm in any college dorm or 'residence hall' which they call them nowadays ). But even with all of this, I am still very happy with my living arraignments.

Assuming you completed community college and didn't just take a few classes for a semester then transfer (i.e. you are at least a Jr), you should be able to get one of these rooms. One of the perks to being a transfer Junior is that you can bypass those godawful freshman dorms and required first year experience things. I highly recommend a single, you won't have most if not all of the problems mentioned by previous posters.

Hope this has helped.