Dorms
Dorm life could be different depending on the university. So, we thought that it will be helpful to talk about what you can and can't do in the dorm and what you can expect or shouldn't expect from the dorm.
First of all, the first thing that I surprised the most when I was in the exchange was that some universities do not provide pillow and blanket for students. Because of that, I ended up with buying comforter set for 50 Dollars. Life is tough in SF for students. Never mind, but we have good news about that part. Our dorms provide pillow and blanket. The only thing that you need is to bring is the cover. In addition to that, our dorms are quite warm compare to many other dorms. You can simply set the central heating depends on how cold you feel. Our heating system is central heating and it starts work less that 17 degrees which is 62.6 Fahrenheit. Our dorms were much bigger in the past but now the university's dorm capacity is not enough for all students who wanna live in the dorms, so new beds were added and now rooms are smaller than before. However, no worries it is still livable.
What is available in the dorm?
There is a lamb, bed, table and wardrobe for every student in the room but you may not find any hangers in the wardrobe. You can buy them in campus store but it is quite expensive compare to Sariyer. A small refrigerator for the room. It is not extremely small but you can not put so much in it. However, it is not a huge problem generally.
Kitchen
If you wanna cook something on your own, each building has it is own kitchen with all machines in it but you need to have your own plates, knives and forks with glasses. There is also a TV in the kitchen,table and sofa. You can watch and eat you meal at the same time. It is not using only for eating, sometime we celebrate our friends' birthday, or simply watch TV series on TV.
The one thing about the kitchen, many students think that no one can see them while they are smoking on the roof (because there is also balcony next to kitchen if the kitchen on the top floor depending on the building. Maybe in your building it is at the lowest floor.) but we can and it is forbidden. So, for the sake of other's safety, do not try to smoke on the balcony. Additionally, it is also forbidden to drink any alcohol anywhere in the campus. We also would like to kindly inform you about that. There is no alcohol or cigarette is selling in the campus grocery store. It is also forbidden to party in the dorms.We have amazing restaurants for student who wanna party such as Koc Balik, S.O.S etc.
Main Campus vs. West Campus Dorms
Another information about the dorms is that our dorms named with letters in main campus. In the West Campus they are named with letter and the number. There are only dorms in the West Campus. Many people like Main Campus more. However, my personal opinion would be living int he West Campus because you are exchange students and you would not hang out in the campus as much as permanent students any way and dorms in the West Campus are newer than Main Campus but they also started to renovate the dorms in the Main Campus. In case you have 8.30 am courses or you have huge break between classes, of course living in the main campus would make your job much easier because you can sleep more and if you need a nap during the day it is much easier to do that if you live in the main campus.
The picture above is the new version of the dorms.
How Often are Dorms Cleaned?
It depends on how many people are you staying with.
If you stay with two roommates which means if there are 3 or 4 people in the dorm room, then the room cleans twice a week. Otherwise (for rooms with 1 or 2 people), it is cleaning once in a week. Each room has different days for cleaning. So, you need to check when you check in to your dorm. I think it is really great that your dorm is cleaned each week at least once. In every dorm I stayed during the study abroad, I always had to clean the whole room on my own and it was difficult when you need to just focus on studying.
What could I have in my Room?
According to Dorms Regulations, it is forbidden to bring coffee machine and any kind of oven because there is a huge risk of safety. I heard so many stupid stories about it. I think it is reasonable because we also have kitchen and if you wanna cook something over there, you can do that. However, it is allowed to have hair dryer and kettle.
How can I wash my clothes?
The only two things you need are dirty clothes and detergent. You do not have to pay anything if you wanna clean your clothes. Believe it or not but it is really annoying if you need to pay $4 to wash and dry your clothes. So, we are lucky. There should also be dryer in the building and each floor has one machine of each. So, you do not have to wait people to wash your clothes but to make everyone job easier please get your clothes right after it is cleaned because you may cause a problem for another student you may wanna clean their dirty clothes as well.
How can I apply for the dorms?
I think you will receive email about that or you can contact with your mentor as well.
What is the application process for dorms?
You first apply to dorms via KUSIS, we may have a video about that as well stay tuned! then in a certain day, you receive an email whether you approved or rejected but since you are exchange students, I do not hink you would have problem about that. Then you will have a certain period to send the money. In this case, you will receive e-mail for sure. Then you will get into your dorm when you arrive Turkey. It is a long process but not hard. Be brave.
I guess this would be the things I would like to learn about dorms but if you have any further questions related to dorms, you can ask them to your buddies/mentors or you can send us a question as well. We will be more than happy to help you!
Btw, if you wanna live out of campus it is also possible as well but you need to contact and learn the process on your own. Unfortunately, I have never stayed outside of the campus and I do not know much about it but you need to contact with each landlord individually, so there is no site for that basically.
Enjoy staying in the dorm.
