Design Your Dorm

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Figuring it out
First off you need to figure out why you are joining a fraternity. This helps because it gives you an idea of what kind of fraternity you want to join. Some fraternities may put a greater emphasis on social life while others may put a greater emphasis on GPA, although most have a balance between the two. There are also fraternities that oriented towards certain religions or ethnicities. So think long and hard and try to figure out exactly what you are looking to get out of fraternity life.

Ask around
Now that you know what kind of fraternity you want to join, you should get opinions from people you meet about which fraternities may suit you best. Beware of people that slander certain fraternities, as they may either be incredibly uninformed or a member of a rival fraternity. Do not make your decisions based entirely off of what you hear about a fraternity, but do take what you’ve heard into consideration.

Rush
During rush go to all the houses that you would consider joining, and then go to a few that you don’t think you’d join (because you might end up changing your mind). Make sure that you meet as many of the brothers in the house, these people want to meet you and you want to meet them (after all, they are your potential future brothers). Also make sure that you ask questions: ask about membership dues, ask how long the chapter has been around, ask about alumni relationships, etc… These factors should come into play into your decision.

Making your decision
At this point you should have all of the pieces of the puzzle, but its time to put them together. Questions to ask yourself: Where did you feel most comfortable? Where do you feel you could see yourself being life long friends with the brothers of the house? Which house do you feel would best meet the needs of your college experience? Most importantly, you need to understand that nobody can make the decision for you. Ultimately it comes down to you and where you think you’ll be happiest.

So…. Good Luck!

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Sure, you got to eat right, watch the beer intake (especially if you are under 21) and avoid late night snacks, but here are some easy work outs to do in your dorm room to keep you in shape. Now drop down and give me 20!

1	Stretches	Use what you have. Most stretches can be done while sitting or standing. Use your dorm furniture to increase your stretching capacity. Prop up foot up onto your chair, desk, or bed to stretch the hamstrings more deeply; use the walls for stretching your arms, chest, and calves.
2	Jumping Jacks	A couple hundred of jumping jacks will definitely make your heart and lungs work. Try them for a warm-up, or they can be done as sets between other exercises.
3	Standing Rows	These are done from a standing position. Loop a towel around a vertical pole or column or another fixed object that can hold your weight. Have your feet close up to the pole and lean back gripping on the ends of the towel, keeping your body stiff and straight. Row yourself up with both arms. Keep your back arched and row with your back.
4	Squats	First, stand with your arms raised above your head like you’re signaling a touchdown. Squat as deeply as you can with your back straight, and then return to the starting position.
5	Push Ups	Easy and effective. For side-to-side pushups, use a desk in your room and lean your hands against the edge of the desk with your feet placed firmly on the floor and repeating side-to-side movements.
6	Crunches	All you need is a matt and you’re all good to do crunches. Just make sure not to force it if you can’t do more crunches…and don’t strain your neck.
7	Presses	MUse something around the house for weight, e.g. soup cans or milk jugs with water in them. From a seated or standing position, hold the weights just above your shoulders. Push them up overhead slowly.
8	Curls	Stand with your knees slightly bent, arms at your sides, holding your resistance bags or two dumbbells in your hands. With your upper arm pinned at your side and bending only at the elbow, lift the weight up to shoulder level. Do the same with the other arm, alternating back and forth.
9	Lunges	This exercise is even more effective with dung bells. Start with 10 lunges a day, keeping the weights at your sides. If you feel that you can do more, do it, just make sure to stretch before and after to avoid soreness.
10	Calf Raises	This is done by standing behind the chair with both hands on the back of the chair. Keep your legs straight and body upright. Slowly move onto your toes lifting your heels off the ground until you are on tiptoes. Hold yourself up on your toes for 3-4 seconds. Then go back to your position.

Be careful when you work out, in your dorm or the gym. Asking for advice from a trainer at your school is always a good way to start. Next post will feature more tips for avoiding the Freshman 15.

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Update: 5/13/2010: Pimp Dorm is no longer running and now contains adult content. We have removed the link from the post.

Here at Design Your Dorm we like things that are new (even if they are only new to us).  Today’s new thing is Pimp Dorm, a dorm oriented website whose name says it all.  Pimp Dorm offers visitors advice on how to Pimp your dorm (a.k.a. make your dorm room way cooler).

They also have a contest section in which visitors can submit pictures of their dorm room and the owner of the coolest dorm wins the $500 cash prize.  So, after you’ve designed your dorm using DYD, and put everything up on the walls and whatnot, you can take pictures and send them to Pimp Dorm.

However my personal favorite section of their website is the Dorm Pranks section, but that’s only because I’m a prankster at heart and I never get sick of a good prank.

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Today we have a guest blog post by B. Rose Huber:

Nearly seven years ago, I made the trek to my new college and walked into Room 268. This was the room I’d share for the first time in my life. A tiny closet of a thing. My roommate Cat (who I didn’t know – but had spoken to on the phone) was already unpacking her things, surrounded by what seemed like 10-million family members. I remember walking into the party, looking around and seeing that she’d already picked a side for her things, a bed and a closet. First come, first serve. I’d missed the boat. The only good part was that I somehow snagged the desk by the window. A small victory that brought some joy – but not much. I missed my endless amount of space at home.

The first 24 hours of my life in the dorm were the hardest. Cat and I unpacked our things somewhat quietly and tried getting to know each another. She was nice enough but different than my friends from home. I worried that she wasn’t going to be as organized as I was – but she had brought along some cool dorm equipment. She showed me her hand-sized tool box and her bed risers, and I marveled at the magic of the small things. Before I knew it, we had organized the room according to our own preferences – but also as a team. It took a while to get used to, but down the road it felt right.

However, living in a small (and happy) space goes beyond just the cool furniture and space savers. Below is my list of tips on how to share a small space and get along in the process.

How to Live in a Small (and Happy!) Space
1. When you’re visiting college for the first time, take careful note of the room sizes. You don’t need a clipboard or anything like that – just get a feel for the space. Think of potential designs and layouts. This is something my roommate and I did every year we lived together. Not only did it give us extra space, it also saved us money as we only bought furniture and things we could fit.

2. Before you can live in a small space with another person, you need to get to know them. If you can, try to meet up with your roommate before you move in together or at least talk to him/her on the phone. If you don’t live near one another, give them a call on the phone or email them. Try to make that initial connection and get a feel for one another.

3. Pick sides but have a communal space. What worked best for Cat and I was a clear division. Essentially, I had one wall of the room and she had the other. That’s where I housed my pictures, posters, things like that. I used the left closet, the left set of drawers and the left desk. In the middle of the room, we had a couch that faced a TV (that she brought) stacked upon a refrigerator (that I brought).

4. Don’t stick with your original layout. Halfway through the year, my roommate and I decided to bunk our beds. You wouldn’t believe the space we saved, and it made for a great living-room-like feel. Our room quickly became the hangout of our wing. Changing it up midyear was the best decision we could’ve made.

5. Figure out each other’s schedules from the beginning. For example, Cat stayed up extremely late and napped in the afternoon. I went to bed early, got up early and didn’t nap. In the beginning, it was very trying. But after some time, I figured out a plan. I would work out and study while she was napping. Then she’d wake up – and we’d go to dinner together. By avoiding our small space at certain times of the day, we were able to better keep the peace. She, in turn, was respectful of my bedtime and entered and exited the room quietly.

6. Make time for each other. It sounds cheesy, but talk to your roommate. Even if she/he seems a bit odd or not your type, give it a chance. When Cat first started playing her punk CDs, I wasn’t exactly excited. But then she told me why she listened to the music she did – and I started listening to. Because I gave it a chance, I completely changed the way I think about music. If you don’t communicate with your roommate, you’ll never be able to tell whether you actually like him/her. Talk to them, and then make the call.

Whatever you do – try your best to plan and don’t be afraid to change your habits or old ways of doing things. What started off as an awkward first meeting between Cat and I turned into a seven-year friendship. We ended up living together three years and used similar planning throughout all of it. To this day, she remains one of my best friends.

And, one last note: whatever you learn while living in your small (and happy) space, hang on to it. Because you never know when another 500-square foot apartment awaits you.
You can find B. Rose Huber here

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Say hi

It sounds simple, and it is. Introduce yourself to: people during the first week of classes, people in your hall, people in the cafeteria. It might seem weird at first, but you have to realize that everybody else there is just as lost as you are and they want to meet people as well. Give it a try.

Study groups

Joining study groups has two advantages. First of all you get to meet people, and second of all you can knock out some much needed studying at the same time. If you are adventurous and would like to set yourself up as a leader then you can always start your own study group.

Fraternity/Sorority

Look at the dates for Fraternity/Sorority rush. Even if you don’t think you’re interested in joining the Greek system you still might want to rush. This way you can see for yourself if it is something that might be fore you.

Student Groups

If you join a student group that interests you then you will obviously find people with similar interests. Some Student Groups host social outings and events. You can also start your own group.

Intramural Sports

Aside from being immensely fun, intramural sports teams allow you to meet tons of people. Most schools also have a lot of unconventional sports for intramurals, so if you are feeling adventurous you can always play innertube water-polo or broomball.

Leave your door open

Simple, easy, and very effective. Leave your door open and during the first week you will notice that a lot of people pass by, and some will stick their head in your room and say hello. This is a really good way to get to know the people who live in your hall.

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Here is the text from the Seventeen Magazine article:

Planning for college can be tough, especially when it comes to buying gear for your dorm room. But the new Web site DesignYourDorm.com can help! The site, which was created by two recent college grads, allows you to see an online version of your college’s dorm room. Various features let you virtually drag furniute (desks, chairs, beds) and electronics (iPod speakers, alarm clocks, lamps, etc.) to figure out the best and most effective use of your space. You’ll save tons of frustration (and energy!) on move-in day, when everyone else is rearranging their rooms for hours.

DesignYourDorm.com also lets you collaborate with your future roomie (or roomies). By arranging things ahead of time, you can split up who’s buying what. One of you can be in charge of buying the fridge, while the other takes care of the microwave. You can even buy some of those items right on DesignYourDorm.com – including funky blankets, comfy chairs, bookcases, even shower shoes – and it can all be shipped directly to your school!

17 Tip: Keep your door propped open during move-in week. It’s super-welcoming, and people will be much more likely to stop by and introduce themselves!

See the article directly at Seventeen