1. There is more space than what is needed for everyone, literally
There are few dorms on campus, and if you go to a smaller school like I did, you with either be in a dorm with no neighbors, or everyone will be packed in like sardines!!
2. Social media savior
If you are moving out of state, to a location with no family or friends, find people at your school through instagram or facebook before you get there. Most of the friends I made, I made through instagram accounts ran by Saint Mary's students. This is also a good way to meet your new roommates and see if you will work with them.
3. Roommates
One of the biggest mistakes I made was not meeting people on Instagram sooner to find a roommate that I got along with. I was placed into a triple with only one other person who I had never met. We ended up having totally different personalities and living situations and I had to switch to a single in October.
So, what I'm telling you is: MEET YOUR ROOMMATE AND REQUEST THEM!!!
4. Housing portals
Please, by all means, be truthful on the housing profile you set up. If you are messy, be honest. I was placed with a completely messy person when I got to college and I am very clean. She told me she was clean and it messed up the whole dynamic.
5. Dining Hall(s)
If you can afford it, buy some food and drinks before and during the school year. Dining halls at private schools are so tiny, and they serve the same things year round. Also, you will not use 19 meal swipes if you have any food in your dorm. Do yourself a favor, do the 14 or 15 plan. You can always switch up, but its really hard to switch down.
6. On campus jobs
Do it! Especially if you don't have a car, or you have a packed schedule, get an on campus job. This was actually a good thing that I did. I was a residence hall desk worker. The shifts were two hours a piece, and all you do is give people their packages. There was 100s of times where I had a two hour shift and had no one asking me for a package. Most of the time, I got my homework done, studied, or created these Buzzfeed quizzes for some extra side cash. However, as much as it was easy work, I got paid $9/hour with half going to my tuition. So I only got $4.50/hr. Just be wary of the wages.
7. Off Campus Jobs
Off campus jobs can mean a lot of things. Even though our dining hall was on campus, it was considered off campus work, so no money could get put into tuition, and you worked longer hours. Because most of the businesses around your college will know there is a college there, businesses will be super flexible with you, whether you only work weekends, or certain hours of the day.
8. Campus Class times
My classes at Saint Mary's were usually 50 minutes long, compared to my sister's public universities 2 hour long classes. But, because the campus will be smaller, you don't have to plan 30 minutes to walk to class. KI got across campus in 5 minutes, when Notre Dame's campus could take 20 minutes.
Furthermore, if you are on a small campus, please don't bring a bike or scooter, just walk. It's really annoying to others if you bike for a three minute walk. Larger campuses, yes. Bikes and scooters are a good idea, just watch out for people.
9. Small schools= more resources
Saint Mary's has a food pantry, free period products, and free writing and tutoring. Take advantage of it. I got free snacks, free utensils and drinks, cleaning supplies, an A on a paper, and a good understanding of Italian because of this.
10. Classes and Interests
Yes, smaller, private schools have a bigger variety of classes to choose from, especially in foreign languages. You can explore classes like greek mythology, Italian, and Arabic that you could not explore at a larger school, but there are some downsides. Because I was already a nursing student, I got put in Anatomy and Physiology. I love anatomy, but I wouldn't have been allowed to take it if I was in another major. Classes are designed for certain majors usually at smaller schools. The only way you could take that class outside of the major is if you audited it, but you would get no credit for it unfortunately.
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