Design your dorm to be as unique as you are!
There are so many dorm hack blogs around but I've discovered a few original ideas that blogs don't usually mention. Need some ideas for how to make your dorm room more fun and entertaining while remaining practical? Here are a few tricks that my friends and I used to to help us survive college:
Projectors Instead of TVs
One question in many college students' minds is whether or not they should buy a television for their dorm room. Though TVs are great additions to the college lifestyle, I have discovered a better alternative: projectors. The first advantage of projectors is that there small size and lightweight makes them easy to pack away or travel. Though projectors can get expensive, there are projectors that are just $100 (cheaper than an average television) and are reasonable in quality. Also, you can make the screen take up an entire wall or ceiling for movie nights with friends! Projectors allow advanced multitasking so you can watch TV while using the projector as a second monitor.
Multiple Whiteboards to Fill the White Spaces in Your Life
The first whiteboard I used was for the front door of my freshman year dorm. This board helped me facilitate friendships with my dorm-neighbors and communicate with my friends. This facilitated surprise meetups that fostered friendships that have remained beyond college. The large whiteboard in the common room of my dorm room was shared between my suitemates and me. We had quotes of the day, random drawings, a chore chart for the suite, and schedules of the roommates/friends. I also recommend a whiteboard calendar to keep track of your schedule to help plan out life events, assignments, and club meetings.
Mini Extra Table and Small Lamps
This final one is less obvious but surprisingly helpful: buying your own small desk and lamp. Most dorm rooms come with a free light and desk, but they may not fulfill one's individual needs. The lights are often very dim and desks are far from the bed. Where do you put your late-night snack as you squint at the textbook under the light of your cell phone, your computer after watching just one more youtube video? How can you concentrate on the cheap light in the ceiling glaring at you to get back to work? Buying a small, portable table and a small lamp can help solve some of these problems!
WRITTEN BY
Nalini Rajan
New York University
Hello! My name is Nalini, but most people call me Lena. I graduated from New York University's College of Arts and Sciences in May of 2018 with a Bachelor's degree in Psychology, as well as Minors in both Computer Science and in Web Programming and Applications (an absurdly long title). I was an intern at Macmillan Learning as the Learning Solutions Intern within the Customer Experience department (also an absurdly long title). I am now a Junior Product Support Analyst for Macmillan Learning (a slightly shorter title).
