How Is It Like Staying In A Double Room?
Sharing my experiences and reflections at the National University of Singapore (NUS) as a Communications and New Media major for prospective students to have a glimpse of student life at NUS!
I have been there, and have gone through how chaotic or panicky one can be with regard to academic and non-academic life at NUS. Thus, I hope that this school-related content could give you some insights and clarity!
Particularly for this article, I will share my semester 1 experience in a double room at Ridge View Residential College (RVRC). First off, let me introduce a little more about RVRC especially if you’re new to housing types in NUS!
About Ridge View Residential College (RVRC)
RVRC is one of the residential colleges in NUS, except that it is situated outside of University Town. The other Residential Colleges (RC)s, namely College of Alice and Peter Tan (CAPT), Tembusu College, and RC4 are within University Town. While other RCs have their focus such as community engagement and liberal arts, RVRC’s focus is on Environment and Sustainability.
Within RVRC, there are many blocks with 4 room types.
#1: Single Room with Aircon
#2: Double Room with Aircon
#3: Single Room WITHOUT Aircon
#4: Double Room WITHOUT Aircon
It may come as a surprise for some of you, but most rooms in Residential Colleges have NO AIRCON. “hUHHH??!??!?” — I can already hear you sigh through the screen. That’s not really a bad thing though, most of us eventually get used to sleeping without aircon. Plus, the ceiling fan is super POWERFUL.
Why Double Room?
I initially opted for option #3: Single WITHOUT Aircon — because the cost is a concern! Look at the prices between a room with aircon and without aircon, you could save up to nearly $1k. Of course, that is because I don’t come from a very privileged family background, so saving every dollar means to me.
Of course, the different variations gave me some ideas as to how I wanted my room to look and have made my process into a video which you can view here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eilQE6OsbaY
Things I Appreciate Staying In A Double Room
Besides the cheaper housing rates of staying in a non-airconditioned double room, I do appreciate sharing a room with my roommate and here’s why:
1. Studying together
- While our timetables and lecture slots are different, it’s an encouraging environment to do revisions side by side. I think it helps me to be motivated and stop procrastinating!
2. Borrowing things easily
- There were a few occasions when I had an exam over the weekends but have forgotten to bring my stationeries from home. It was very helpful when I could just reach out to her pencil case and borrow it for a day or two. That is, with her permission of course. Taking things without permission is stealing!
3. Running errands
- Arguably any close friend could help with this too, but it was nice to have my roommate helping me to fetch my parcels or takeaway food when it was convenient for her.
Things That I Don’t Appreciate As Much
Of course, not every moment is like sunshine and rainbows. There are a few differences that I personally didn’t quite like.
1. Different sleep schedules
- This can differ depending on you and your roommate’s sleeping patterns. I would think that my roommate’s pretty much a light sleeper — so every action I take has to be extremely careful.
- On top of that, on days that she is planning to sleep earlier, I would have to either continue my activities in the dark or choose to stop. It gets a little frustrating, especially at rare moments when I finally had the adrenaline to do some work at night and had no other choice but to resume the next day.
2. Airing the room
- Don’t get me wrong, not that I like our room to smell bad. While I understand that there’s occasionally some need to air the room for ventilation. But I don’t quite like airing our room through the windows or by opening the door because of the uncertainty that unknown scary flying bugs may get in somehow.
What Others Say
In trying to stay objective on this topic, I have also gotten some friends staying in double rooms at RVRC to share some thoughts too!
“I appreciate the late-night talks with my roommate — having someone to talk to when I need advice. Be it related to assignments, career or friendship advice. We kind of have quite different sleep schedules, so that’s something that I have to sacrifice guess. Oh, and cleaning schedules as well. Because unlike in a single room where you have all the room to yourself, you’re now sharing a space with someone. It’s important to have alignment in that expectations and take turns. But overall I think it’s a great experience, especially when I can’t finish my large fries from supper — I can always share it with my roommate!” — *Jennifer, 19
“You might have expected double rooms to be extra spacious for two. However, it’s not any bigger than a single room, to be honest. Since I was going to room with a stranger, I thought that it might be awkward and was worried about it. But it turned out okay. I am really glad RVRC is implementing 60% aircon rooms next year. Well, because sometimes I enjoy blasting my own music out loud, I couldn’t quite do that as it will disturb my roommate. So that’s like a minus point for me.” — Jackson, 18
Still considering staying in a double room? Here are some advice!
Important Rule of All Time #1: Communicate
- It’s important to express your feelings rather than keep them in. Such confrontations can be scary at first, but it helps to acknowledge that no one is here to make anyone’s life difficult. Express your thoughts, share about your discomforts and respect your roommate’s point of view too!
1. On dealbreakers — more like pet peeves
- Set ground rules if you need them. Create a list of things that you will feel annoyed by and make it clear that neither party’s boundaries are crossed inappropriately.
- For example: My roommate’s pet peeve: Do not shout at her in the morning when she just wakes up. My pet peeve: Do not sit on my bed with outside clothes on.
2. Expectations
- Setting boundaries is one thing, expecting others to exceed your expectations is another. In other words, don’t expect too much. It’s not your roommate’s job to help you refill your water bottle or takeaway food! It may work for us, but make sure you don’t give with the intention to take from the other party!
3. House Keeping Schedules:
- I know it can feel like only one person has been doing the cleaning and tidying at one time. It could be that the housekeeping routine was already done by your roommate without you around. So communicate and delegate! It’s a shared space after all.
4. Exam Dates:
- This is so that both parties are aware of each other’s schedules and could keep the studying area a conducive environment for revision.
Rule #2: Be Considerate!
1. Sharing of resources and snacks
- While it is not compulsory, taking care of the other parties’ welfare makes you likeable. Surely, you don’t want to come off as that stingy roommate right?
Disclaimer: The author has not personally stayed in a single room or has an experience with hall life from other housing types, hence there this article only focuses on her experiences staying in a double room and reflections that she thinks might be helpful for you to decide whether staying in a double room is something that you wish to go for =)
*Not real names
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