mrscseal

[mrscseal]

Searching for the Right Residence (Part 1)

*Disclaimer: Everything that I express in this post is based off of my personal opinion and preference on certain things. This post is mainly just for fun (on my part) and to show how I am dealing with things for my university journey! *

As a senior in high school, university is definitely a subject that has been on my mind for a while. Thankfully, before our school switched to online learning, I managed to get accepted into my top program! Talk about good timing~~

Although my offer was conditional, a perk about it was that I was guaranteed residence! This is great because the city where my university would be is a 45 minute drive away from my home, and I would need to live there due to the distance.

Since I have some extra time during this extended break, I decided to do a bit of research into the dorm types I could possibly live in as well as calculating the approximate costs.

Estimating the Cost

Since tuition is expensive by itself, I wanted to make sure that the dorm I will live in is set at a reasonable price for the space and amenities that are provided. For this cost section alone, I was only looking at the overall price of the dorm and meal plan combined. The question of, “is it worth it?” will be discussed later!

Using the university’s website, I found all the costs for each room type as well as the price for every meal plan. Since I mainly cook for myself and I don’t eat that much on a daily basis, I opted for the minimum meal plan. For my school, people who live on campus MUST purchase a meal plan as well. That is why the prices I will be comparing will be the cost of both the meal plan and the residence.

I colour-coded the different room types with their corresponding meal plan. For the majority of the residence styles, they include meal plan A, which is around $4335 at it’s minimum price. Crazy. I know. But for the residence styles that include a kitchen, it includes the option of a reduce meal plan B, which is around $2995. I added the minimum meal plan cost and residence cost together, and boom. I got my totals~ I also colour-coded them for price range as a better visual representation.

My budget for residence is maxed out at $12 000. Even though it’s expensive, I am grateful that my family is financially stable enough to pay for it. Although off-campus housing is cheaper, my parents felt it would be safer for me to live on campus for my first year so that I could get used to the city. Based on this budget, I chose 5 dorm styles that I would be interested in living in.

Apartment — 2 Person (Double Room)

Cost: $11 320

So this is my FIRST CHOICE for residence. Not only is this the 5th cheapest style + meal plan option for me, but it is quite spacious and provides great amenities! It includes a kitchen, private bathroom, double bedroom and a living/study space!

Since I am opting for the reduced meal plan (and I just LOVE to cook in general), the kitchen will be really useful for my roommate and I. On top of that, we get a huge fridge. The reason why this is so awesome is that it is included in our residence fee. Unless you live in a residence that includes a kitchen, you would need to rent a mini fridge as an additional fee.

Another aspect that I enjoy about this dorm style is how the bedroom space and study space is separated. Although this sort of design isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, I personally love it because I tend to be more focused on my work if my private sleeping space was not present. But this doesn’t mean I can’t relax in the study area! That’s right — there’s a couch. It’s honestly quite hard for me to find anything bad about this place, so hopefully I will be able to live here! Best. Place. Ever.

Apartment — 4/6 Person (Single Room)

Cost: $11 470

This room style also gives me the option of choosing a reduced meal plan, which brings down this overall price. This type of room would also be a number one choice (if I had enough roommates to request that is) because it includes a kitchen, fridge, private washroom, living room and single rooms!

The perks of a private washroom and kitchen are the same with the double room apartment, but the reason why this stands out for me is that I can get a single room for myself. I am able to get some privacy whenever I want it and I have enough space to do my own things.

Double Room with Ensuite Washroom

Cost: $11 910

Can you believe that this costs more than the other two for less space? Well that’s mainly because of the meal plan. Downsides is that this room style is quite cramped based off of past students and that you need to rent a fridge.

What I do like about this room is that the closets act as a divider between the two sides. I find that quite nice since it allows both of us to get some form a privacy.

Despite the small space for this room design, I think it wouldn’t be bad at all to live here because there are many libraries and other spaces available for students to study in! This will definitely force me to explore the university rather than stay cooped up in my room all day!

Suite — 4 Person (Single Room)

Cost: $11 995

My thoughts are the same as the apartment 4/5 person, but the only difference I’d say is that the price for this is a tad bit more expensive. I would personally consider the apartment style over the suite style for financial reasons only.

Double Room with Access to Single-User Washroom

Cost: $11 560

My friend’s brother lived in this style, and they said that it was generally a very awkward set up. The shelves that are shown in the presentation floor plan were actually right above his headboard on his bed. As a result, he would constantly hit his head on the shelf whenever he woke up! This story was quite funny to hear, but it’s quite sad if you think about it!

As I mentioned before, this cramped space shouldn’t be only seen as a setback, but rather as motivation to allow you to seek out the other parts of campus. That’s why I wouldn’t mind living here either, as long as I keep things clean for my roommate’s benefit as well.

Out of all of these options, this room is the only one that requires you to share a washroom with people who are not limited to your roommate. While I’m comfortable with sharing washrooms, I would just feel bad if I ate something unlucky one day and occupied the space for half an hour!

Closing Thoughts & Next Time

After researching a bit into these dorm styles and their costs, I am opting towards the apartment styled rooms! I believe that in relation to the other residence costs at this particular university, they’re worth the price they are set at.

Residence/roommate applications haven’t opened yet and some programs still haven’t given out their decisions yet! That is why I will continue this bit until the day I move in!

Stay safe, and I’ll see you in my next post ❤️

#residence #dorm life #university #planning #bujo #planner #student #high school

[mrscseal]

Changing My Study Methods

Ever since my classmates and I received the news that our March break would be extended by an extra 2 weeks, we were all ecstatic! Not only will we have a whole month off of school, but it would also give us a lot of time to study for any midterms that would come our way once we come back. Realistically though, none of us even opened our book until the start of this week.

When I started to study for my biology midterm, I felt such a great deal of dread to simply even open up my binder. Since all the material I was reviewing was from the beginning of September (I go to a non-semestered school), I had forgotten most of the content and it was quite difficult for me to grasp main concepts

However, this setback proved to be quite beneficial for me because it made me realize that the study method I had adopted over the past few years was NOT always effective for me. That is why I tried to review the rest of the content through different methods I have used in the past, and here are the ones that I find to be quite useful to implement into your study routine!

1. Writing out notes

This is one of the most common methods that people use, and it has helped me quite a lot. The reason why this works for me is because this allows me to put in more detail about the content I am reviewing and organize them accordingly. This is also great because once I make my notes, I will have them with me for as long as I need without the need to rewrite them. This is especially effective when I need to review for midterms and exams. I have used this method since junior high, and writing everything out really helps me memorize.

The reason why I will NOT do this as often as I used to anymore is because it takes a lot of time and it isn’t the most active way to help me understand and memorize concepts. This usually just helps me regurgitate information.

2. Flashcards

One of the fastest and most effective ways to memorize information for me is to use flashcards. They’re simple, fun and compact! In the past, I would usually have a set of cards on me whenever I would go on the TTC, because it helps me study and pass the time.

Just like notes, you can personalize flash cards however you want to. I use them to help me remember terms, formulas, processes, diagrams and major concepts. On one side, I like to draw the diagram/term/title of the concept, and on the other side I like to write out the formula, steps of the process or deeper information.

I organize it this way because it helps my brain become more active when I learn these concepts. Also, because I don’t have all of the information readily available in front of my eyes, it allows me to focus more on the main points rather than every little detail.

3. Reviewing with your peers

Before the outbreak happened, my classmates and I would normally meet up over the weekend before a big assessment and test each other face-to-face with the content. Once we were all ordered to quarantine inside our homes, we moved these review sessions online through several different platforms, such as Discord (pictured).

You can test your deeper understanding through many different ways when you study with peers. This is because everyone remembers different things, at different rates, using different methods. When testing each other, you guys can build the knowledge by adding in different bits and pieces of information. In a way, you’re creating a verbal concept map.

If testing each other seems too boring, then you can try “interviewing” each other with the content. This sounds a bit silly, but last year my friend and I pretended to be *body system professionals* that was getting interviewed by reporters for a new discovery. One person would be the reporter, asking questions about the system and the other would try their best to explain it in simple terms as concisely as possible.

Don’t be afraid to make studying fun! Hopefully this post helps anyone in the slightest bit~~

#studyblr #study motivation #study methods #flashcards #school notes #student #high school