How bad will a freshman dorm be?

Question

I'm moving into a freshman dorm. I'm 24, I'm not a freshman (it's just where I got placed). I have two service dogs. I'm not really social at all.
I'm afraid that the students will mess with my dogs, or with me. I'm a little weirded out that I'm going to be years older than everyone around me.
Are freshman dorms usually bad? I've heard horror stories...

Answer 1

It depends on the school you're going to. As for cleanliness, this is totally dependent on your school. Mine has the bathrooms cleaned everyday (thank God, lol), and the rooms are spacious enough for two desks. The beds are pretty uncomfortable, but that can be remedied with a mattress pad.



As for the kids, well, it depends. You may get jerks who will mess with you, but you may also get some really nice people who will try to befriend you. I'd like to believe that people aren't so horrible as to go around messing with someone's service dogs, but people can be cruel. If anyone does anything to hurt you or your dogs, just report them to your RA. Maybe you can put in a request to transfer, too.



Don't worry too much about the age difference. I doubt anyone will even notice. Anyway, not all college kids are immature jerks. I'm a college freshman, and I think I'm pretty mature for my age. One of my high school teachers actually depended on me to keep his life in order. Well, not really his life. He was the advisor of this club I was president of, so I just took care of everything, and maybe graded some papers for his classes from time to time. Still, he said I was the most responsible of everyone and would usually come to me if he needed something done.



But back to answering your question. There are jerks everywhere, even my school where everyone I met at orientation seemed really nice. Kids will party and drink and be so annoying that you want to punch them in the face a few times, and maybe even throw a chair at them, lol. But there are also really nice kids who are quiet and studious and friendly.



If worse comes to worse, report the little brats to your RA and request a transfer, or even a private room. Schools sometimes grant private rooms to people for medical reasons. Since you have service dogs, you might get a room to yourself.



Good luck!

Answer 2

Why are you moving in the dorms? You sound like you really need to be in an off-campus apartment. Especially with service dogs. Students will act immaturely and mess with you and your dogs, making your life there a nightmare. You will probably feel socially isolated and miserable because of the age difference and disability. Talk to the school because living in a dorm really sounds like it would be a bad situation for you.

Answer 3

Your dorm should have an orientation meeting and then floor meetings every once in a while. At the first meeting, talk to them about why you have dogs. You live with these people so give them some information about your disability. You don't have to give them all the particulars but give them enough to understand and make them sympathetic. Explain what your dogs to do mitigate your disability. This way, they won't be as likely to be jealous and will be willing to help if you need human assistance. Then talk to them about service dog etiquette and make a flier about dos and don't around service dogs. Set very specific rules about petting, such as no petting while in vest. Chances are greater than not that they won't know anything about this and to expect them to behave properly without being educated really isn't fair. There will always be a few jerks, but you want peer pressure on your side. If you get the majority on your side, it won't be cool to aggravate your dogs.



I assume you have already, but in case you haven't, make sure you have talked to the disability services on campus and have provided necessary documentation to have your dogs on campus. Colleges and especially dorms are not normal places of public accommodation, so medical documentation is required stating what your disability is and why you need the service dogs (this is especially true with 2 as while its not unheard of, it is rare).

Answer 4

i was just in a freshman dorm, it did not allow any pets so I'm not sure how that will go for you, but I mean in my opinion, the freshman are the loudest, and the most immature with alcohol. I never really had too much of a problem, but I think it's college, so not too many people will even notice that you're that much older, or even really care.