College Safety Tips: Your Guide to Staying Safe In College

College is a new chapter of your life and, truth be told, it’s not always the safest one. I’m not a security guard or a safety expert, but I am a college girl who has learned a few things and has done a bit of research. Here are some college safety tips to help you safely survive college. Essentially, here’s the guide to keeping you, your privacy and your belongings safe.

For Life

1. Lock your door when you’re not in the room.

On my campus it’s fairly normal for someone to leave the door to their townhouse or dorm unlocked to make it easy for them and their roommates to get inside, but this is a bad idea. Don’t blindly trust your neighbors and people on your campus. There have been a few robberies that were results of trusting people leaving their doors unlocked. Don’t let yourself get robbed; it’s not that hard to carry a key with you but it’s much harder to tell your parent’s your Macbook was stolen. If it’s an issue with your roommate who loves leaving the door unlocked, this helpful post about common roommate conflicts and solutions might help you deal.

2. Hide your cash.

If you have a trunk with a lock, that’s perfect. Don’t keep your money somewhere obvious in the room. Even if you trust your roomie, you never know who they could bring back into your room. I sound like a paranoid parent, but it really is better to be safe than to be sorry you lost $500. Hide your cash somewhere unexpected or somewhere that’s under lock and key. Also, don’t forget where you hid it. If anything put a reminder on your phone.

3. Lock your door while you’re sleeping.

I’ve heard the occasional horror story of people going into other people’s rooms while they were sleeping and it’s creepy. Whether it’s someone with a malicious intent or just a confused drunk colleague, someone can enter your room if you don’t lock it. Lock your door before you go to sleep.

4. Don’t leave your drink unattended.

I know, everyone and their mother hammers this into your brain but it’s true. Also, don’t accept any drink that you don’t know where it came from (ie: a cup of something handed to you by the kid from your math class). You don’t even need to cause a fuss or make a scene. Just comment that you want to drink something else or put the drink down and “forget” about it.

5. Your phone, ID and keys are your lifeline in college.

Treat them as such. The amount of times I see people post about trying to find their phone and ID is horrifying. All of these things are expensive to replace and whoever finds them now knows a hell of a lot about you. Get a phone wristlet (more about that in 10 Bags Every College Girl Needs) where you can keep all of these things in one place. It’s easier to be responsible and to keep track of one thing instead of three.

6. Don’t be afraid to call campus security or a friend.

If it’s dark and you’re walking back alone, one call to campus security could get you an escort or a ride back to your dorm. Since the majority of people won’t use this because it seems a little weird or unnecessary to them, I suggest calling a friend. Talking on the phone makes it less likely that someone will bother you, even if only by a small percent. Also, if you’re on the phone you could also easily tell the person where you are and if you need help.

7. Use the buddy system.

Just like back in elementary school. There’s sort of a reason you always observe girls going to the bathroom in groups. If you’re at a bar or a party or somewhere unfamiliar, avoid splitting from your group. If you do, make sure you tell someone where you’re going. Also, make sure that someone isn’t totally inebriated because then it doesn’t really help, does it?

For Online

1. If you’re meeting someone online, get all of their information.

And my online I basically mean an app like “Tinder.” Make sure you have this person’s first name and last name and you can even look them up on Facebook to confirm. Meet them in a public place and tell a close friend his name, phone number and where you’re meeting him. Assign some sort of code word that if you don’t text her in an hour she should be concerned. It sounds excessive, but you can never be too careful.

2. Turn off your location. 

If it posts where you are each time you send out a Tweet or post an Instagram, disable it. Does everyone really need to know that you tweeted about your professor from the west side of campus or that you Instagrammed your dog from home? Nope. It just makes it easier for people to know where you are.

3. Don’t share your passwords. 

All over my campus there are signs like, “Your password is like a toothbrush. You wouldn’t share that, would you?” and while they’re kind of silly, they’re true. No matter how much you love someone, they don’t need your password for anything. This sounds like another “Duh” point, but do you really need any person, whether it be your BFF or your boyfriend, accessing all of your social media accounts? Definitely not.

 What are some of your favorite college safety tips?