Everything Dorm and Roommates

Not sure what you’ll need for your dorm room or how to find a roommate? We asked current Bradley students to share tips and stories from their dorm experiences so that you know what to expect. #BradleyBound

What is the easiest way to get in touch with possible roommates before the summer orientation?

“So I went random with my roommate. I didn’t know them until I showed up at my room that day for moving in, but I know that every year we start an incoming freshman Facebook page. That’s a really good place to meet someone who might be a prospective roommate match. You’re able to post a little blurb about yourself and if people are interested in talking to you and getting to know you better, then you guys can communicate from there on out and decide if you wanna be roommates or not.” – Megan M.

Will you be more likely to get the dorm you ranked 1st on your list if you submit your housing form early?

“Yes, the sooner you submit your housing form the better. There is no guarantee that you’ll get your first choice, but Bradley does a really good job of trying to get either your first or second choice.” – Olivia A.

What does your dorm already come with when you get there?

“It comes with a lot of things! Most important is that you have a desk to do your homework on. Most of the dorms will have the same layout where you have beds on opposite sides and they’re lofted so you have the room to put whatever you want under them. They also come with built-in storage. I personally like Geisert’s and Wyckoff’s storage system. You have big pullout drawers and you can fit pretty much anything you want. I’m from out of state and I haven’t even used all of the drawers that I have.” – Emilio G.

What are some essentials for your dorm room? Also, how did you figure out who was going to bring what?

“Something that you do have to keep in mind when moving into your room is that we do not

provide you with a desk chair so you will have to bring your own. My roommate either brought one or went to Target to get one. I am from out of state and I wanted to save as much space as possible in my car so I brought an exercise ball that was deflated. I blew it up when I got here and then ended up not using it at all because I realized I was using an exercise ball as a desk chair.” – Megan M.

“Another thing that I brought was a mattress pad, so it’s kind of like a topper for your bed here at school. It just makes it a little more comfortable.” – Olivia A.

“My roommate and I freshman year to keep track of who is bringing what, we made a Google Doc. On the Google Doc we put things that we found to be dorm essentials like a futon, TV, or just random things. We just put our names next to it once we bought the items. Usually, we would text each other so we knew, but the Google Doc really helped.” – Joanna T.

As an out of state student, what if we can’t go home for breaks?

“This happened to me last year! Bradley does work with you, you just have to submit a form to let them know that you can’t go home for break. I personally found a friend that took me in for the week because they really wanted me to meet their family. So you can either stay on campus or go back with a friend.” – Emilio G.