My dorm room is secretly awesome

Before I arrived to Northeastern, I had been trying forever to see what my dorm looked like. I’m living in International Village (IV), a building that’s been open since 2009. Pretty new.

In order to know what to bring to college, I wanted to know what my dorm room looked like. No such thing. Photos are impossible to come by online. When I went on a campus tour of Northeastern, we didn’t visit IV– it had a tour of its own.

Dorm rooms are notorious for being small. I’ve seen some of the dorms at other universities. The dorms are petite. Rather cramped. Storage space is hard to come by. Knowing this, I packed to maximize storage space for my dorm.

IV rendered many of these things useless:

Adjustable bed frame.

Drawers under the bed.

Closet with shelves.

Desk with drawers.

I’m in what’s called a “semi-private double.” Meaning, I’m in a double– I have a roommate– but we don’t have to share a communal bathroom with the whole floor. Instead, we share a toilet and shower with the room adjacent to us. Each room has its own sink. All the rooms in International Village are like this– you won’t find a communal bathroom anywhere here.

Desk with drawers.

So that’s the deal with my dorm! A dorm this nice isn’t the norm– IV only houses upperclassmen and honors freshmen. Visiting freshmen have commented on the cleanliness, size, and modernity of IV. Man, I lucked out again, didn’t I?

And for the incoming honors freshman– here is what the dorm looks like.

The area at the door.

Our microfridge and microwave. These can be rented, for the low, low price of $207.19 a year. In IV, you can bring your own fridge, but not a microwave. Oh, and the TV? Definitely not included in the dorm.

My side of the room!

The shared portion of the bathroom. Bathroom carpets, toilet paper, toilet cleaner, and toilet plunger not included. Also, a shower curtain is provided, but my roommate provided this nicer one.

Hopefully, with this, future freshmen will be less confused! It’s a common problem for freshmen everywhere to not know what your dorm looks like. So…

I’m so excited to live here! More on IV to come!

97 thoughts on “My dorm room is secretly awesome

  1. Lol. Dorm room decoration–or, as my family calls it, “IKEA sizing.” Too bad your dorm already has a lot of space. πŸ˜›

  2. Pingback: My dorm building is also secretly awesome | I think in comics.

  3. if you raised the bed all the way up would one of those plastic drawer towers fit in the spaces between the built in drawers? also, is there a mirror or counter space in the bathroom? this is really helpful πŸ™‚

    • Even if you raised the bed all the way the way up, I don’t think one of those plastic drawer things would be able to fit. It might get pretty close, though.
      As far as the mirror and counter space, you have to get lucky. Our bathroom does not have either, but our friend’s bathroom has both. :/
      I’m glad I could help! I remember the frustration of trying to figure out what was in IV. Let me know if you have any other questions!

  4. This is so helpful! I can’t wait to move in, I’ll be on the third floor next year:) just a couple questions…are there two closets? How do you go about renting the minifridge? Are you allowed to have a carpet/rug in the dorm room? Is it really annoying to walk through Ruggles to get to IV?
    Thank you again for your blog, its so so so helpful!! πŸ™‚ Alix

    • Not a problem! I’m glad I could help.
      There are indeed two closets, one for each person. I have to say I’m not exactly sure how to go about renting the minifridge. I was in Germany at the time, so my roommate took care of it and I paid her back. You are allowed to having carpets and rugs– my roommate and I had one for each of our beds, one for the sink, and two in the bathroom. Walking through Ruggles really isn’t a problem. The maximum walk across campus takes 20 minutes. We’re a city campus, after all, so we can’t be too big. (Though NU’s campus, in my opinion, is totally gorgeous.)
      Let me know if you have any other questions! I’ll do my best to answer them.

  5. Hi I’m an incoming honors freshman and my mom was wondering what size the beds are in international village.

    • I used twin XL sheets, which fit my bed just fine. I’d recommend getting twin XL for whatever dorm you live in the future, too– it’s a common bed size in college. Good luck!

  6. Thank you SOO much for the pictures. I’ve been following your blog for a while now and I actually found it while hunting for pictures of IV when I found out I got accepted to the honors program… and yeah, they’re impossible to find 😦 This post has been so helpful though!

    I have a weird question and then a normal question hahaha… the weird question is are all the walls in IV regular walls? I don’t know how to describe this but I mean do any of the rooms have cinderblock walls? xD And my normal question is, what do you use to hang stuff up? I got this awesome magnet board for my room but it’s kid of heavy :/ any suggestions?

    One last thing hahahaha. Do all of the IV rooms have 2 closets? I’m really concerned about this LOL.

    Thanks!!!

    • Haha, no worries– I know exactly what you mean! In all of my encounters, all of the IV walls are “normal”– wooden walls painted white, that is. The general standard for hanging things up is that you can do anything that doesn’t leave a lasting mark on the wall. I used scotch tape for posters, though poster gum is also an option. I’ve seen people get away with a thumbtack or two, as long as they go unnoticed during room inspection. A popular option are command strips, because they’re very strong and great for hanging things up– just be careful when taking them down; they can rip off paint.

      One thing I’d stay away from in IV, though is mounting tape. My suitemates used it for their marker boards, but it left huge marks on their wall at the end of the year that they had to pay for. Heavier stuff is definitely hard to hang, especially because IV has wooden walls.

      Finally, as far as I’ve seen, all of the rooms have a closet per person. Doubles have two closets, singles have one. In other words, you’ll have a closet to yourself! πŸ˜€

      I hope this helped! Let me know if you have any other questions, and thanks for reading!

      • Thank you!! This definitely helped! For some reason I was so worried about the walls being cinderblocks because the room I was in for orientation was partially cinderblock walls and I was at a loss for how I would hang stuff up xD And I’m super happy about having my own closet too hahaha.

        Thanks again! πŸ˜€

  7. Thanks for the info! What’s your experience with printing? I think you said IV has unlimited printing in the lab downstairs? Is that true? haha Is it just b/w or color too? Or should I buy a printer to keep in my dorm room?

    Also, I’m in a semi-private single…do me and my “roommate” have our own access to each room? Should we share a refridgerator or is that silly because it’s two rooms?

    Thanks so much!!!

    • Ahhh I forgot I mentioned unlimited printing. That was what I was told upon moving in, but it turns out it wasn’t true. Thanks for reminding me!– I need to take that one out.
      Here’s how printing works at NU: Kids get 400 pages of free printing each semester in black and white. (which is plenty.) You’re able to send print jobs from your own computer to any of the printers on campus, most of which are located in our library. Halfway through my freshman year, IV installed a b/w printer in our building, which was nice– but since the whole building was using it, it would often run out of ink/paper.
      My take on it? You can definitely get by without a printer. Having a printer in your dorm is nice for when you want to print in color/the IV printer is broken and you don’t feel like going to the library, but it isn’t necessary. It’s more convenient to have your own, though.

      You and your “roommate” will, indeed, be able to access each other’s rooms by walking through your shared bathroom. (You can only open the door to your own room, though.) You can share a fridge if you want, as long as you don’t mind running into each other’s rooms all the time. I’d recommend getting your own, though, depending on how much food you plan to store and how comfortable you are with your roomie.

      Sorry for the long reply! I hope this helped!

    • A plastic desk chair is provided with the room. We rested our TV on a set of low black shelves that my roommate brought with her– it was not provided with the room.

  8. Thanks for all the info on your blog! It has been extremely helpful..

    I just wanted to ask you whether they strictly implement their no furniture policy. My son will have his TV on a TV console with an integrated mount, I just feel that the TV shouldn’t be just carried away when he is attending lectures and also that a certain height would be nice since the beds are also tall.
    and about the micro fridge, He wants to get a 3-4 cu.ft tall fridge because he does keep a good amount of stuff in the fridge, what do you think about the size? can I get 4 cu.ft one for him from micro fridge itself?

    Thank you so much!

    • Hi!
      The no-furniture policy, at least in my dorm, was not strictly implemented at all. My roommate brought a standing lamp and extra set of shelves to put her TV on. Kids bring all sorts of little bookcases and shelves. My suitemates did get scolded for bringing a large folding chair, but as long as they put it away during room inspection, it was fine. The TV should be allowed. (And, if anything, it would never be just carried away while your son is out. The residential staff would let you know if anything is prohibited during room inspection, then give you at least two weeks to get it out of there.)

      The micro fridge size sounds good to me! It’s definitely handy to have in the dorm. In my experience at IV, you are able to bring your own microfridge, but not your own microwave due to power issues. My roommate and I rented the microfridge/microwave combo through MicroFridge. The benefits of bringing your own microfridge is that you’ll be able to use it in years to come– but still, you won’t have a microwave. It depends on what your son’s preferences are.

      Hope this helped! Good luck this fall πŸ˜€

  9. Thanks for your reply.. As a parent I do tend to think a lot.. You put me at ease.. I plan to get the fridge/microwave from microfidge itself they do give individual units too.. So I plan to order from microfridge itself..

    Thank you so much..

  10. What about Resmail? when does one get his resmail locker no./address.. He is an international student at NEU, so I plan to ship most of the stuff, including the TV,bedding other Walmart/Apple stuff (in all a a lot!) I hope they handle the items well.. your thoughts?

    • I’m assuming he’s going to live in IV. At some point before the school year begins, he should receive an e-mail through his NU student account detailing his address and locker number. However, packages are sent to 716 Columbus Avenue (right down the street from IV) to be picked up. A lot of kids ship things from across the country or buy everything while in Boston. I can’t say I have much experience with large packages, but everything I’ve sent and received has worked out okay.

      • I just spoke to a Northeastern Resmail representative and she was like that I do not need the mailbox number just my sons name and 1155 Tremont Street, Boston MA, 02120 below that on the label. Glad about that!

  11. do all of the desks come with a hutch? i’ve seen some pictures online (supposedly from IV, but there was no way of guaranteeing) of just plain desks…

  12. Okay, so if you can answer this question for me it would be a huge help. What size TV’s will fit in the IV dorms? I already have a flatscreen TV but it’s pretty large and I’m not sure we can fit it.

    • Nothing too big, I’d say, or it will be difficult to find a good place to put the TV. My roomie brought a 26” TV, which I thought was perfect. 40-50 inch TVs are a bit of a stretch, unless you’re lucky and get one of the huge handicapped rooms, or somehow manage to spin it so your TV can fit conveniently. I’d keep it small to be safe. Hope that helped!

  13. Hi again!!
    Could you please tell me the approximate dimensions of the room? is there a big difference than the semi private singles? I did mail to the housing but have not yet received a reply..

    Best,

    • To be honest, I have no idea what the dimensions of my room were– if I were still living there, I would be able to measure for you, but I have since moved out. Semi private singles are indeed smaller than the double that I lived in, though. Rooms in IV also vary a bit in size, depending on how lucky you are.

  14. Hi, I have two questions, one’s related to IV and the other is just about Honors lol. Do you have control over the air conditioning in the rooms? I stayed in a dorm at Bentley one time for a sports camp and each room had its own thermostat. And also, for the honors induction ceremony, what do people typically wear??

    Thanks!!

    • Hi! Each room in IV does indeed have its own thermostat! It’s really just a little box that you can slide up and down between “hot” or “cold,” but yeah. You can control the temperature in your own room! The temperature in IV is usually comfortable, anyway.
      For the induction ceremony, people just wear, well, “nice” clothes. For girls, this can mean anything from dress pants and a nice shirt, or a nice dress, with nice flats or heels. It’s not strict. Just don’t wear scrubby clothes. No ripped jeans and sneakers!
      I hoped this helped! Let me know if you have any more questions. And– I’m assuming– welcome to Northeastern!

      • Thanks!!! This helped a lot. I bought a dress and I wasn’t sure if it too casual but now I’m thinking it’s perfect hahaha.

        And your assumption is correct lol. I move in on the 29th and I’m SO pumped haha.

        Thanks again!

  15. Do you remember how big the closets were? Like 3 feet across?? And how much clothing did you bring? I’m having such a hard time packing (since I’m flying) and I really don’t know what I’ll need.

    • I’m afraid I don’t exactly recall how large the closets were. 3 feet sounds about right! As for how much clothing, I brought 2 large suitcases full of clothes, and that fit well! Good luck moving in!

  16. This is TOTALLY helpful…like everyone’s been saying, thank you SO much!! Now, I don’t know if I’m overtired and looking at this wrong or what, but you say you share a shower and toilet with the room adjacent to you….in your picture, it looks like the shower is actually in the same room as your beds…yes? Or is that turquoise curtain something completely different?

    • Nah, the toilet and shower are in a separate room. That turquoise curtain near the beds is actually covering my roommate’s closet. She didn’t like the idea of everyone being able to see her stuff, so she stuck a bar with a curtain over her closet. Not a bad idea!

      • Ah, okay, I’ll keep that in mind…didn’t realize the closets were open, and I’ll probably definitely do that! Thanks!! And one other thing, if you COULD choose one thing to bring, and one thing to leave behind that you didn’t mention in this post, what would those things be?

        • Hmm… good question! Let’s see…
          I think a good thing to do before moving in is to contact your future roommates and coordinate what you’re going to bring. I got lucky because my roommate was super-prepared and had all the things I hadn’t thought of: a vacuum, a toilet brush and plunger, and all sorts of bathroom cleaners, to name a few. I didn’t have any of this stuff, so I was glad she did! Also, bring some nice, weather-resistant boots and an umbrella. Boston’s weather is pretty volatile and it catches a lot of our Californian students off-guard. (Okay, that was more than one. My bad :P)

          And in terms of things I brought that I didn’t need? I was about to bring a fan, but IV is air-conditioned. Bringing your own printer is convenient, but unnecessary– NU gives you $120 of free B+W printing each year (which is 1,200 pages) and IV has a printer in one of its lobbies (though it tends to break down or run out of paper from heavy usage).

          I hope this helped! Let me know if you have any more questions!

          • It definitely helped! Thank you so much! I have so many more questions, but of course, I can’t think of them at the moment. One I do remember, though – how high can the beds be adjusted? It’s not possible to loft them and fit the desk underneath, is it?

            • I don’t believe you’re able to loft beds in IV, though you are able to boost them up pretty high! My 5-foot roommate literally ninja’d her way onto her bed every night by jumping off my bed (which i kept lower) onto hers. So you get some storage space, but not enough for a desk.
              I could be wrong, though. If you contact facilities, you can ask! Other dorms have lofts available.

            • some rooms in iv (like mine) are forced to have the beds lofted because they’ve made a room that’s essentially the size of a single but put two closets in so they can claim it’s a double. if you’re unfortunate enough to get one of these rooms, bunk the beds instead – you get tons more floor space!

              for normal rooms, you could ask the RA office if they have extra bed frames that you could use to loft a bed (lofting = 2 stacked frames), but sometimes there’s a bulkhead sticking down from the ceiling that prevents one of you from sitting up in bed (again, like in my current room).

            • Arghhh, I’ve seen those rooms. One bad thing about IV– most rooms are created pretty equally, except for those times when a person gets the giant handicapped room as a single and across the hall is a single-turned-double room like yours. I apologize on behalf of Northeastern 😦

  17. This page is really helpful, thank you! A few questions – I am moving in this fall as an honors freshman and was lucky enough to score a single. They gave me the information of one “roommate”, does this mean I will be sharing a bathroom with only that one person? Are the rooms along long hallways like traditional dorms, or are they grouped into pods with little common rooms? Also, are there any other odd things that they don’t allow you to have in the dorms? It just seems weird that you can’t bring your own microwave. Is honors all on one floor, or spread out between a couple floors? Thanks!

    • Hi Amy! First off, congrats on getting accepted to Northeastern and the Honors program! Now, to answer your questions:

      You’ll be sharing a toilet and a shower with your suitemate, but both of you will have individual bedrooms and sinks. The rooms are along long hallways, just like traditional dorms. Each floor has a common room with a TV and also a study room with either a pool table or a normal table. (And a whiteboard, too!)

      The Honors rooms are distributed over the first 9 floors. Half of each floor is devoted to only Honors kids, while the other half is for upperclassman. Floors 10 and up are upperclassmen as well.

      Northeastern prohibits any items they consider to be a fire hazard. That’s why you can’t bring your own furniture, technically, since all the furniture in the dorms are
      fire-resistant. That’s also why things like candles, hot plates, or heat lamps aren’t allowed. You can find the full policy here. In IV, you’re able to rent a microfridge and microwave if you wish. (I think they’re specially designed to prevent power outages or something? I don’t quite recall.) Keep in mind that during room inspection (which you receive a few week’s notice for) the RAs are not allowed to root through any of your things. My roomies freshman year had this huge fold-up chair that they just buried in the closet during inspection– it was no problem!

      I hope this answers your questions! Let me know if you have anything else you’d like to know. πŸ™‚

  18. Sorry if this is a stupid question…but you really aren’t allowed to bring microwaves? Do you know the reason for this? Also, what will they do if you bring one? Like do they inspect your room/stuff?

    • Just kidding; I’m now reading the previous comments and see that you already answered my question! Is this the policy for every dorm building, or just IV?

      • Room inspections are standard across all the dorms. I think the microwave policy varies from dorm to dorm, however, depending on the wiring of that specific building. Your RA or RD should know more about that than I do, though!

  19. Thank you so much for posting this! So incredibly helpful. Sorry if this has already been asked and I know you won’t be able to give me a precise answer but approximately how big are the drawers under the bed?

    • I’m afraid I don’t exactly recall how big the drawers were– I lived there two years ago. If I had to give an estimate, though… each dresser (two drawers each, and there were two) could fit a plastic tote bin’s worth of clothing? Sorry I can’t be more precise πŸ˜›

  20. Would you be able to tell me the width of the closet? I got a curtain to cover it, and I need to buy a curtain rod for it. At the store I was at, they had two adjustable sizes: under 41′ and 41′-77′ or something like that. Which one should I get?

    • I’m really sorry– I really don’t have a clue for this one. It’s been 1 and a half years since I’ve lived in IV, and I never measured the exact dimensions of everything in the room. You could always buy one, try it, and if it doesn’t work, return it?

      Sorry I couldn’t be of much help 😦

  21. Sorry for asking you so many specific questions!
    But anyways, what is the situation with trash cans? Do you recommend that I get one for my room? Is there a place to empty them in the dorm (like on every floor)?
    Also, I can somewhat tell by your pictures, but do the drawers under the bed take up all of the space under there, or is there room to stash a couple of drawers or bins?
    Next, sorry if this was asked already, but did you ever have issues with the number of outlets in the room? Between the micro fridge, laptop and phone chargers, desk lamp and alarm clock, will I need to get some sort of extension cord?
    And finally, is there some sort of shelf or flat surface right near the head of the bed to put an alarm clock, and other bedside necessities? (Weirdly worded haha but you know what I mean)

    • No worries, I’ll answer as best I can:
      You have to bring your own trash cans, and I recommend that you bring one. There is a room for you to dispose your trash on the first floor only.
      The drawers under the bed take up most of the space, but I easily fit in one more tote bin. (That’s about the limit, though!)
      I highly recommend you bring an extension cord and a power strip. With all those electronics, you’ll probably need it, and the extension cord gives you a little more flexibility in where you place your lamps and such.
      And finally, yup! The bed comes with a little shelf at the head of the bed, handy for alarm clocks and other bedside things!
      I hope this helps!

  22. Thank you so much for all the great info! Can you tell me if the baskets by the side of the sink shown in the picture are features of the room or did you bring them and put them up?

  23. Hi I’m moving in as a freshman in a few weeks and I have an interesting room situation; I’m in a double but we don’t have suitemates (in other words, we have a bathroom to ourselves). I found a floor map and deduced that I’m in the inner corner room. I believe it’s a spare handicapped room, so it will be a little bigger, but I was wondering if you knew what this room was like.

    Also can you move the beds around at all?

    • You know, that’s a good question. I was in a normal room. I -think- the corner rooms are typically a bit bigger, and the handicapped rooms even more so.

      And you can definitely move the beds! It might take a bit of muscle, but it can be done.

    • Hi so on the off chance that you see this, Sophie, what did that room end up being like? I think Im in the same type of room and trying to figure out how big it will be and if we will be able to rearrange much.

  24. Hello, thank you for all of this awesome information! Just one question for now: what would you say the pros and cons of a semi-private single are as opposed to a double? I don’t want to be completely isolated, but I love the idea of having some space to recharge on my own in a single. Thanks!

    • Hmm, I think it depends on your personality. If you’re particularly introverted, it’s nice having a single to recharge. However, it’s also possible to get alone time somewhere else: in an IV common room (a lot of them are often unused) in the library, or in an empty classroom on campus. All of those places are great for studying, too!

      On the other hand, IV is not a typical freshmen dorm. In a typical freshmen dorm, everyone is trying to get to know each other. They encounter each other every day in the common bathrooms. I found that IV can be much more isolating. If you’re good at getting out there, meeting people, and making friends, then a single is totally great. But I am really glad I had my roommate and suitemates– they were my first friends in college and were the seeds of the friend group I have now.

      That’s what I experienced during my year in IV, anyway. I hope that helps a bit!

  25. Would it be difficult to hide a small rice cooker during inspections? It’s a necessity lol. Are inspections random?
    Thanks πŸ™‚

    • Hi Crystal,

      Rice cookers aren’t allowed. However, the RA inspecting your room is not allowed to look through your dresser or drawers or snoop around. People hid all sorts of cooking appliances when I lived in IV. Rice = life!

      Room inspections work like this: you’ll be informed that inspections are happening during a certain week or two. During that time period, your room can be randomly inspected at any time. Keep your room tidy during that week and you’ll be all good!

      • Thanks!! Also, what kind of benefits do honors college students get besides living in IV? Are there any cons to being an honors student?

        • Hmm… well, honors students not only get to live in IV, but can also elect to live in West Village F the next year– a very nice upperclassman dorm. Honors students also get access to the honors office, which has its own study area and counselors for honors kids. There are a lot of scholarships, grants, and research/travel opportunities that are either only available to honors students, or honors students have an advantage in. I’d check out the website for more information: http://www.northeastern.edu/honors/

          The cons? You have to take 6 honors courses (available in many subjects, so that they fit into your degree) that are often more challenging than the normal-level course. You also have to take an honors seminar, which is a whole other class in itself. (A lot of them are about pretty neat interdisciplinary topics, though.)

          Otherwise, being an honors student is pretty similar to being any other kind of student. There’s just a little more work, more opportunities you can take advantage of, and at the end of the day you get that little “honors” distinction on your diploma.

          • Thank you so much! Final question. I’m assuming your bed is the one with orange-ish bedding. If so, did your roommate use bed risers to get it up so high? Thanks πŸ™‚

            • The IV beds can actually be adjusted to different heights. If you look at the bed posts of my bed, you can see that black strip running down the post; this allows you to adjust the bed to whatever height you’d like. My bed was not at the highest it could be.

              If I recall correctly, then, my roomie used a combination of boosting her bed to its highest natural height and some low bed risers to get her bed to that crazy tallness. She would often use her desk or my bed to jump onto her own bed!

  26. Hi! I’m an honors freshman moving in this year and i was wondering about decorating? I have friends who already live at other colleges and they’re only allowed to cover a certain percentage of their walls with posters/art & they can’t have any christmas lights/lanterns. how is it at iv?

    • Wow, really? That’s rough! As far as I know, we can put up however many posters we want. It’s true that you can’t have Christmas lights in the dorms– but honestly, if you really want them, just take them down during room inspection week and then put them back up when it’s over. I’ve known kids keep miniature stoves and water boilers in IV. Totally not allowed, but easy to just stick in a drawer when the RA’s come knocking.

      You can find the dorm policies here: http://www.northeastern.edu/reslife/policies/policies.html

  27. Hi! I’m an incoming honors freshman and was wondering: is there any way to rent just a microwave? I was going to bring my own micro fridge but wasn’t sure about the microwave situation. Also: how crazy is move in? Are all of the stores in the city really busy/ cleaned out? I’m flying up from Florida and was planning to buy a lot of the stuff I need when I get up there. Thanks!

    • Hi Victoria! As far as I know, microwave ovens are not allowed in normal freshman dorms unless you rent their microfridge/microwave package. You can find the entire Northeastern dorm policy here: http://www.northeastern.edu/reslife/policies/policies.html

      As for the craziness of move in? I don’t remember it ever being too bad! Northeastern often assigns different move-in dates to everyone in order to stagger the kids coming in. I think all the honors freshman move in at the same time, though, so it might get crowded. No worries, though, International Village has two entrances and two sets of elevators.

      As for the stores: Depends on what store you’re looking for. There is a Target a little bit outside of Boston, but it’s difficult to access without a car. When I was a freshman, Target had a “college night” where they bused kids from NU to Target– and yes, as you’d expect, everything was cleaned out by all the college kids! So it might be sparse during move-in week.

      There’s also a Bed Bath & Beyond and a Staples at the Boston Landmark Center, about a 15-minute walk from NU. I’ve never bought things from there during move-in week, but they’re also worth a shot.

      I hope that helps! Let me know if you have any other questions!

  28. Thanks a million for posting this! It’s so hard to find information about dorms. I’m in the NUin program and got placed in International Village. Do you know what the room numbers mean? example PAE-1525-1. I know PAE is the IV East, but that’s it.

    • 1525 is your room number, if I recall correctly. So I think you’re going to be on the 15th floor, and the number on your door will be 1525. You’ll have a pretty nice view!
      The final “1” indicates your bedspace. It’s really only relevant if you have a roommate. For example, if you shared a bedroom, you and your roommate’s numbers would be PAE-1525-1 and PAE-1525-2 and represent different sides of the bedroom. Even then, people switch bedspaces all the time.

      Hope that helps!

      • Thank you so much! I can’t wait to get there in the spring, it sounds amazing! I also really enjoy your comics. πŸ™‚

  29. Hello! Wow, I’m typing this comment 4 years after you posted this up. Not sure if you’ll see it but i’ll just give it a shot anyway! I’m an exchange student coming to NEU and just found out that I’m gonna be staying in IV! I’d like to ask if we have to bring our own hangers (or do the closets come with them?) also how easy is it to switch rooms? Because I got assigned a single and it’s way too expensive for me 😦

    • Hi! You do have to bring your own hangers, unfortunately. As for switching rooms, I’m not sure– I would email or call the Northeastern housing department to ask. Hope that helps, and welcome to Northeastern! πŸ™‚

  30. How do you use the phones in the rooms in IV to call other rooms in IV? For example, if i wanted to call room 508 (not my room btw, just a random #), what would I dial on the phone that’s provided in the room?

  31. Hi! I’m not sure if you’ll see this since it has been many years since you posted this, but can you choose whether or not you get a single or double room? How exactly do you score a single semi-private? Also, do you know if people are allowed to stay the night? I have a friend that goes to a different school, and she wants to sleep over a few times. Thanks πŸ™‚

    • Hi! I know this is way too late, and you likely already found your answers. But for anyone who’d like to know:

      Back when I was a freshman (this was 5 years ago, mind you) you could request a single. I imagine you could just contact housing (find their contact info here: http://www.northeastern.edu/housing/rates/ ) and ask for a single. They’ll help you from there.

      People are, indeed, allowed to stay the night up to a point! I think the limit is three guests per resident, for a max of three nights per week. I’ve had people sleep over without any trouble.

      More on room regulations here:
      http://www.northeastern.edu/housing/room-regulations/

      Sorry for the late reply, hopefully that helps! And I hope you’re enjoying your first semester at NU. πŸ™‚

  32. Hi! Your website is so helpful so thank you! a couple of questions
    -who cleans the shared bathrooms? is it the students responsibility?
    -can you leave your soap/shampoo in the shower?
    Thank you so much!

    • Hi Ellen,

      Sorry for the late reply! I’m currently in a master’s program which has made me neglect my blog.

      I’m sure you know all this already, but for any future NU dorm residents:

      In IV specifically, two bedrooms share one bathroom. The students are responsible for cleaning it themselves. On the other hand, since the bathroom is private, you’re free to leave all your soap/shampoo/anything you need in the shower.

      That’s not the case in a traditional dorm, though, where the students from the entire floor share one bathroom. That bathroom will be cleaned by university staff. However, you can’t leave your shampoo and stuff in the showers. I recommend a bathroom caddy to help you carry all your things back and forth!

      Hope you’re enjoying NU so far! πŸ™‚

  33. Hi!! I see this blog post is from about 5 years ago now BUT I just wanted to say thank you now for this blog post!! I’ve read some other blogs and all the northeastern regulations trying to figure out what I will really be able to do in my dorm and decorate with and stuff and this blog managed to somehow answer all the things that were still unanswered for me (the question about posters/lights in the comments is exactly what I needed.) but cool blog and I love the drawings!! This just makes me more excited to start but I’m hoping I’ll be able to make some friends (I’m in a single) πŸ˜›

    • Hi! So sorry for the late response– I have long graduated Northeastern and now live in Seattle. I’m glad this blog could help you out! I remember being a freshman and worrying about what I could and couldn’t bring, but not being able to find any information. I hope you’re enjoying your first semester at NU πŸ™‚

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