5 things no one told you about college apartment life

Along with the keys to your first college apartment comes excitement, trepidation, and a whole bunch of question marks. Whether the unknowns about how things are going to go in your first off-campus place are scary or thrilling is up to you.

Thinking back to our own college living experience, there were so many great things about that first apartment – but also a lot of hidden land mines to negotiate along the way. Here’s a few lessons we recall from the archives that might help you out.

1. Whatever your vision of the living situation may be, it isn’t going to be like that. Having expectations about your lifestyle – whether that means parties every night or studying all the time, or maybe just playing ping pong and joking around with your roommates – is the wrong way to start out. Go into the experience ready for an adventure, and you’ll do just fine. But anticipating a certain lifestyle is likely to land you only in the disappointment dungeon.
2. You’re going to have to clean up after yourself. No maids, unless you’ve got some kind of 1 percent situation going on and have one coming in once a week, and no mother. That means you are responsible for picking up your own mess. Don’t expect your roommates to help. Every man or woman should fend for themselves.
3. When you fight with your roommate, remember that you still have to live together. There’s no “breaking up,” unless someone wants to move out. Which is probably going to be a big pain in the middle of the school year. So don’t do that. Pick your battles, try to compromise, and never, ever, bring up the thing that’s been bugging you when you’re both drunk. Do it when you’re rested and in a right frame of mind, and everything will go much more smoothly.
4. Don’t forget to sleep. Yes, hanging out with your friends all the time is tons of fun. You know what’s better? Not going to class with a hangover, or sleeping through your alarm and being late every day.
5. Enjoy this. It goes by fast. Before you know it, you’ll be graduating, getting your first job, and heading off into the wild world at large. You’ll miss those days when all you had to do was study and hang out in your first ever apartment. Don’t let them fly by without a little appreciation!