New roommate?! - Yes you will more than likely be sharing a room or an apartment with a total stranger. How will you adapt? Will you be friends? Many roommates become the best of friends while others just will never be friends.

Living in the dorm means entering a new home, away from the home that you have known for years. The female dormitory usually becomes like one over grown over sized extension of your family.

Learning to live in the same room or apartment can be exciting and frightening for those of us who have never lived away from home before. Each college girl has her own routines, daily life habits and particular 'ways' about them. Therefore, having to share space, telephone, television, bathroom in the residence will seem strange and difficult at first.

Nevertheless, you can adjust easily to this type of situation because of the many classes, studying hours and extra curricular activities that will be on your schedule, if you're a full timer. Fitting your personal lifestyle into these routines will not be so much of a challenge as one might think.

To get the most out of your roommate experience, START OUT ON A GOOD BASE . You and your roommate will need to sit down, decide who will do what and when. Therefore, the sooner the two of you agree on a schedule that will include you both, working together, the easier this transition will be.

BE FLEXIBLE in your room. Every one has friends, visitors and study time - BE CONSIDERATE of your roommates and they in return will be considerate of your time, friends, and space.

Are you a Female University Student Living in the Dorm, and Feeling Home Sick?!

You haven't been away from home much and now you are heading off to college and to live in a female housing facility.

The following are some ideas, tricks, and tips just in case you are feeling home sick and ways to combat it.

Use the Email:
Fast and effective mean of communicating with anyone back home. You can write letters everyday to someone different and have email coming to you everyday, keeping you up to date on all the happenings. If you do not have a computer in your room, check out the library, use a free email account.

Call Home :
calling and talking to whomever you miss the most will make you feel good inside. Hearing actual words and realizing that you are missed as well, does make you feel more confident about your self while you have to be away from home.

Sending Post Cards - allowing yourself to express your need to let someone know you care releases stress within you. Or, have your local newspaper delivered to your hostel or college mailbox. You will be able to read about all the happenings in your hometown, and keep up on current events.

Go Home Once a Month for the First Five/Six Months:
just over night on the weekend. You will slowly notice that nothing much will change while you are away at school, and you may even notice that you feel more at home 'away' at your dorm as you make friends and new acquaintances. 

Write Your Feelings Down in a Journal:
expressing emotions that you are going through at the time. Go back once every two weeks or so and reread what you have written. You will notice your life getting better and you will feel better deep inside.

Visit Your Hometown Page on the Web:
looking through pictuniversityres and reading local news stories will keep you in touch with your feelings for home.

Students that get homesick will generally feel better as time goes on; and as your schedule gets more hectic, you will concentrate more on your current academic and social improvement.