{"83741":{"#nid":"83741","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Tech Students Offer Tips on Surviving Dorm Life","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EHuge classes, new city, tons of homework. The first year at college can be tough enough without worrying about how you\u0027re going to get along in your tiny palace with your roommate from some town you\u0027ve never heard of. So, to help make life easier for the throngs of students who will descend on university residence halls this fall, we asked a totally unrepresentative sample of Georgia Tech students to give us their tips on how to survive life in the dorms.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E1.\tBefore you even get to school, call your roommate. Find out what he or she is bringing.  You don\u0027t want to be stuck in a room with two stereos, two TV\u0027s and two refrigerators (or, maybe you do). Most of all, get to know them.  Find out about their like and dislikes and what you have in common. A little courtesy at the beginning can go a long way.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E2.\tSet up some ground rules. Figure out what you can tolerate and what will drive you out of your mind. Work out what\u0027s fair to share and what\u0027s off limits before you get mad about your roomie borrowing your iPod. Talking about the rules before-hand may seem like a downer, but it\u0027ll help you avoid some of the those nasty arguments in the future.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E3.\tLearn each other\u0027s habits and rhythms. Find out if he\u0027s a night or a morning person and develop some ground rules so you can both sleep and party when your body says it\u0027s time.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E4.\tIf a problem does arise, talk to them about it (are you sensing a theme here?)  before complaining to everyone else on your hall. Often, people aren\u0027t always aware that they\u0027re being an inconsiderate jerk.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E5.\tDevise a communication system to avoid those embarrassing walk-ins when you\u0027re with a date. A sock on the door, or an index card in the door jamb can alert your roommate that you\u0027re otherwise engaged.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E6.\tInvest in some earplugs. Residence halls are loud places. And plugging in before bedtime is a lot easier than going upstairs for the sixth time to ask those metal heads to turn down their Ozzfest.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E7.\tKick the snooze alarm habit. There\u0027s nothing more annoying than living with a roommate who sets her alarm for 6 a.m. only to hit snooze every 10 minutes for an hour.  \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E8.       Throw a hall party with your neighbors. Another fast way to make friends, hall parties can be a great way to meet people from other floors. Setting up one room as a disco, another as the bar and another as a game room can turn your hall into a mini club.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E9.      Most of all, lighten up.  College is all about new people and experiences, so if everything\u0027s not exactly the way you want it, c\u0027est la vie. Learning to live with annoyances now will make it easier on you when you get out into the real world.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"Huge classes, new city, tons of homework. The first year at college can be tough enough without worrying about how you\u0027re going to get along in your tiny palace with your roommate from some town you\u0027ve never heard of. So, to help make life easier for the throngs of students who will descend on university residence halls this fall, we asked a totally unrepresentative sample of Georgia Tech students to give us their tips on how to survive life in the dorms.","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":"","uid":"27304","created_gmt":"2003-08-14 00:00:00","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:02:06","author":"Matthew Nagel","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2003-08-08T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2003-08-08T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"83751":{"id":"83751","type":"image","title":"Students Enjoy Life in the Dorms","body":null,"created":"1449178095","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:28:15","changed":"1475894704","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:45:04"}},"media_ids":["83751"],"groups":[{"id":"1214","name":"News Room"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EGeorgia Tech Media Relations\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ELaura Diamond\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:laura.diamond@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Elaura.diamond@comm.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E404-894-6016\u003Cbr \/\u003EJason Maderer\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:maderer@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Emaderer@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E404-660-2926\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["david.terraso@comm.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}