FEATURE
COLLEGE TRANSITION | MAY 18, 2018
dorm sweet dorm
Graduating seniors prepare for transition into life in college dorms ASHWIN PRASAD | STORY
Senior
sophia tragesser’s high school days are running out fast. In just six months, she will move out of her childhood home and into her college dorm at the University of St. Thomas for the foreseeable future. Tragesser said she knows this transition is coming soon, and she knows the significance of changing her address. Tragesser is amongst many other college freshmen who are moving into a dorm. According to the College Board, about 40 percent of students in public colleges live in dorms and 64 percent do in private colleges. When Tragesser selected St. Thomas as her college, she said her dorm situation was a key factor in which college she chose.
Senior Hayden White said when that dorm situation was a key part in selecting Purdue as his college. “I have never actually lived in a dorm before, or any space that small,” White said. “My room at my house is definitely a much larger space and it is a totally different setting; it will take some time to get used to.” The transition to living in a dorm also involves one other variable: a new roommate. “The most common fear among freshmen is the fear of a roommate they can’t get along with,” Barbara Frazee, executive director of residences at Purdue, said via email. Tragesser said she is enthusiastic about searching for her roommates.
MUSIC IN MANDOLINS: Senior Sophia Tragesser practices her mandolin on her couch while she is at her house. Tragesser said she will bring her mandolin to college to play for school or just recreationally because it helps her keep in touch with her life at home while she is living in college.
SOPHIA TRAGESSER | SUBMITTED PHOTO
“I feel comfortable about it because I am a very outgoing, social person, and I am not afraid of finding friends or people,” she said. White also said he welcomes this new challenge of meeting new people. “If you don’t like your roommate, you can switch to someone who is living alone. Most of the time, that doesn’t happen though, and I doubt it will with me, because I’m a people person,” he said. According to the Purdue website, to find a roommate there, freshmen first had to accept admission into the school and sign a housing contract by early May, 2018. Students then needed to fill out preference forms for their roommates which will allow university
