I've moved around a lot since starting my undergrad at Toronto's Ryerson University in 2004. Including stints in various towns in B.C. during summer breaks, I've had seven addresses in the past five years. Last month, when I began the Master of Information program at the University of Toronto, I moved into address number eight.

Carla Wintersgill, doing a Master of Information program at the University of Toronto.

Carla Wintersgill, doing a Master of Information program at the University of Toronto.

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Through each residence, I've learned that the foibles and fun of living away from home are nearly as important to the university experience as the classes. Everything I needed to know about living on my own, I learned during my first year in residence. I shared an apartment-style suite with three other girls in Ryerson's Pitman Hall dorm and we each had our own bedrooms but split a kitchen, living room and bathroom. During that year, I realized that there are three inevitabilities of university life:

PARTYING HAPPENS

At some point you will get caught up in the endless festivities that are certain when a large group of teenagers live away from home for the first time. Some of my best memories from first year are of spending time with my fellow floormates who had a knack for coming up with creative entertainment—from playing croquet on the front lawn of Pitman to dressing up like superheroes and running all over residence. And of course there was the drinking.

Parents would like to think otherwise, but first-year university students who want to imbibe will always find some way to get their hands on alcohol. While I had some great times at residence parties, I also witnessed the scary side of drinking. Ambulances were frequently called to Pitman to deal with severe cases of alcohol poisoning. One friend went from buoyant to blacked-out while in a bar. Her frightened companions took her to the hospital where a blood test revealed that she had been slipped GHB, commonly known as the date-rape drug. I learned to take precautionary measures when partying. I avoided mixed punches because the fruity flavour made it impossible to gauge the amount of alcohol in them. I stopped accepting drinks that I hadn't witnessed being made. I never left a drink unattended while at a bar. I made sure to have a "party buddy" to go out with so we could look out for each other and I also always kept a $20 bill tucked away in case I needed to catch a cab home.

There's another downside to all that revelry: It can severely interfere with studying. It's hard to say no to hanging out when it seems like everyone else is having a good time. But as fun as parties can be, it's important to remember the reason why you're living in residence in the first place: to get an education.

SCHOOLWORK HAPPENS

Yes, in between all of the drinking and debauchery, there actually are assignments and midterms. At some point you'll be forced to hit the books. Unfortunately, when you live in residence, even if you're ready for quiet time, everyone else may not have the same idea. Because our corner suite was in an ideal location (tucked far away from the quiet-hours-enforcing residence advisers), our living room became the favourite hangout for my roommates' friends. While they were courteous of my requests for quiet, even the normally innocuous sound of television-watching is amplified by a group of squealing girls.

To deal with the constant stream of noise, I became familiar with the library hours. Most residences have study areas built in, and I also found quite a few nooks tucked away in different places of Pitman. My residence advisers were really helpful for pointing me in the right direction so that when I felt like I just couldn't concentrate in my room, I could sneak off to one of those corners to get some work done. Being surrounded by people in housing can also be an advantage when it comes to schoolwork. You're bound to have classes with some of your fellow dorm-dwellers. Having a classmate who lives in the same building means that you aren't all alone, trying to get through your first university courses. It's easy to swap notes, brainstorm for assignments and study with someone who's just the next floor up. Sometimes it's the people that you meet in residence that can make all the difference. Which brings us to…

ROOMMATES HAPPEN

Living in residence means that you will probably have a roommate. How much privacy you have depends on your residence situation. Some housing setups offer students individual suites complete with kitchen and bathroom. Many, however, require that first-year students share a room. Either way, it's important to know what you're getting into ahead of time. I didn't mesh well with my roommates in Pitman. I had spent a year living abroad before coming to university and unlike my suitemates who were on their own for the first time, I was used to being self-sufficient. I found them noisy and messy. They thought I was a bossy killjoy.

The situation was partly my fault. Ryerson, like most other universities, attempts to match potential roommates before placing them together by distributing a lifestyle survey. Wanting to seem easygoing, I softened my responses to questions like: "How important is cleanliness to you?" If I could do it again, I would have been brutally honest about my preferences. All roommate clashes seem to spring from four areas: bills, food, cleaning and noise. The key to heading off most of the disagreements is to communicate openly and respectfully as soon as possible about your expectations.

If it seems like you and your roommate are facing insurmountable conflict, see your residence adviser. Many of them have been trained to mediate these types of situations. If you honestly feel like no amount of therapy will set you right, ask the housing office about switching rooms. There's always a possibility that a room somewhere else will open up.