Housing & Roomates
Living in a residence hall is a huge adjustment for college students. It’s most likely your child’s first exposure to being independent and living with people outside of your family. As your child prepares to move into their residence hall, assure them that it’s going to be a life-changing experience (in a good way!) and that they will make memories that last forever. Living in a residence hall can teach college students about diversity and tolerance.
They’ll encounter students of different backgrounds, and each will have a different expectation of what his or her college experience should be like.
A commonly held belief is that college is a place for drinking, but many other students will not share that expectation and realize that college is a huge investment. Roughly 1 out of 4 college students report that they have experienced academic consequences as a result of their drinking including missing class, falling behind in classes, doing poorly on exams or assignments, and receiving lower grades.1 Talk to your child about what he/she might encounter in the residence halls and with roommates. Remind them that drinking can get in the way of what they want to achieve during college.
Many students DO realize that drinking can interfere with the investment they’ve made to get into college.
Resident Assistants or Resident Advisors (RAs) are student peer leaders that help supervise the students living on campus. They promote healthy and safe environments in residence halls by planning events, helping out distressed students, solving disputes, and enforcing policies. If you have questions concerning housing, you should reach out to your child’s Office of Residence Life. Most residence life websites have information about policies and procedures, safety measures, and services offered to students. There is often a specific section of the website for family members where relevant information can be found. If you are curious about the policies in the residence halls, check out the residence hall website. This resource typically provides information about your child’s living arrangements, often including a handbook or guide for students living in the residence halls. Often these include policies that you can talk to your child about when discussing living arrangements.
Read the Rest of the ArticleHousing & Roomates
Living in a residence hall is a huge adjustment for college students. It’s most likely your child’s first exposure to being independent and living with people outside of your family. As your child prepares to move into their residence hall, assure them that it’s going to be a life-changing experience (in a good way!) and that they will make memories that last forever. Living in a residence hall can teach college students about diversity and tolerance.
They’ll encounter students of different backgrounds, and each will have a different expectation of what his or her college experience should be like.
A commonly held belief is that college is a place for drinking, but many other students will not share that expectation and realize that college is a huge investment. Roughly 1 out of 4 college students report that they have experienced academic consequences as a result of their drinking including missing class, falling behind in classes, doing poorly on exams or assignments, and receiving lower grades.1 Talk to your child about what he/she might encounter in the residence halls and with roommates. Remind them that drinking can get in the way of what they want to achieve during college.
Many students DO realize that drinking can interfere with the investment they’ve made to get into college.
Resident Assistants or Resident Advisors (RAs) are student peer leaders that help supervise the students living on campus. They promote healthy and safe environments in residence halls by planning events, helping out distressed students, solving disputes, and enforcing policies. If you have questions concerning housing, you should reach out to your child’s Office of Residence Life. Most residence life websites have information about policies and procedures, safety measures, and services offered to students. There is often a specific section of the website for family members where relevant information can be found. If you are curious about the policies in the residence halls, check out the residence hall website. This resource typically provides information about your child’s living arrangements, often including a handbook or guide for students living in the residence halls. Often these include policies that you can talk to your child about when discussing living arrangements.
Read the Rest of the Article