Life after dorms

I no longer live in a dorm, but rather in an off-campus apartment. I live nearly three miles away from campus, with the bus as the only reasonable option. (Biking is a hassle.)

There are four of us guys sharing this gorgeous two-bedroom apartment, and we get along extremely well. But I miss the convenience of being on campus, which is why freshmen shouldn’t have to deal with off-campus living. But if you do, consider these tips:

Non-university housing means that you have to take care of everything. Few things were ready when I arrived at my apartment. I had to arrange nearly everything that first week. This could have been alleviated if there had been better communication between the four of us, and those responsible for certain things actually did them. You will be living, breathing and eating with your roommates. Living with one person can be difficult enough...try living with three.

The people that you live with will have a greater impact on your college experience than even your hardest semester of classes. Choose your roommates wisely.

My final word of advice is to expect the unexpected. You would not enjoy your year if you weren’t prepared. I had packed a large box with miscellaneous amenities to be shipped overnight to me in Los Angeles. But because of a series of delivery problems, my box took a week to reach me. It was well traveled by that time: four times to Kentucky, twice to Maryland, twice to Pennsylvania, once to Virginia and once to Connecticut. Not once was the package returned to the sender. Luckily, I had only packed things I was certain I could live without. However, these are the types of situations you, as a college student and self-sufficient adult, must be prepared for.

Mike Maturo is a sophomore at USC.

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