For many incoming students, college means living in a dorm — and possibly with another person — for the first time in their lives. While figuring out dorm life can be a bit tricky, here are some practical tips for navigating the change here at IU.
1. Communicate with your roommates
To start, go to your housing assignment in the IU Bloomington Housing Applications section of One.IU and find your roommates’ contact information. Your roommate assignment will probably be available sometime during the summer and reaching out to them as soon as you can is important for a couple of reasons.
First, you and your roommates probably do not want to bring duplicate items. You don’t need two microwaves, two fridges or multiple rugs. To prevent these duplicates, communicate beforehand.
Second, I recommend establishing ground rules for your shared space. It’s important to ask questions such as “What time do you go to sleep? Do you mind if people stay over late? When do you wake up?” Although it may feel awkward, setting these boundaries will greatly help you avoid unnecessary conflicts.
2. Find the closest dining location
You’ll soon realize that food is one of your most crucial necessities and knowing where the best and closest place to eat on campus is very important. Whether it is in one of the dining halls, campus restaurants or cafes, there are many options to choose from.
If you go to the IU Mobile app and hit the “Campus” icon at the bottom of the page, there is a “Food” section that shows all of the campus food locations. From there, you and your friends can explore the locations closest to you and find your favorites.
If you need something even more convenient, IU students get a free Grubhub+ account to save on costs for ordering food.
3. Laundry
Every dorm will have a laundry space. For most freshmen dorms, the laundry room is most likely located on the ground floor. Laundry costs are included in the price of your housing, and you will need to scan your Crimson Card in order to use the washers and dryers.
Finding a time where the laundry room isn’t busy can be stressful. Try different times each week until you find a time that works for your schedule and is usually empty.
Additionally, you can find the Bloomington Laundry Alert on One.IU. This can be used to set notifications for when your washing and drying cycles are finished.
Living on your own for the first time is a big deal, so you probably won’t get everything situated immediately. Just breathe and enjoy independence, then take what you’ve learned from your first semester and improve your dorm experience going forward.
This story was originally published in the Indiana Daily Student's 2026 Orienter.
