When Jessica Hulings finally took a look around in the middle of moving in back in August, all of a sudden it looked like her new apartment had shrunk.

"When we saw the apartment for the first time it was huge, but when we moved in all the furniture it wasn't as big as we expected," Hulings (sophomore-mechanical engineering) said. "We definitely overestimated the space."

Hulings' roommate, Lyndsay Marks (sophomore-communication sciences and disorders) suddenly realized that there was only one bathroom.

"We had five girls ... and there was only one bathroom," Marks said. "I thought it wasn't going to work out."

Schuyler Merritt (sophomore-hotel, restaurant and institutional management) remembers when more than 150 people were walking in and out of her apartment during a party the first weekend of the semester.

"It was crazy," Merritt said. "Our apartment isn't even that big and we didn't have enough toilet paper."

These are just a couple of the situations that Hulings, Marks and Merritt, also known as the "Sisterhood of Keller St," have experienced after they made the decision to move into an apartment for the first time this fall.

While there are many housing options in State College, the push to move out of first-year dorm rooms and into a multi-person apartment has been described by the "sisterhood" as a important decision that requires total dedication.

"You better make sure that it's what you want to do," Merritt said.

After living in East and Pollock Halls during their freshman year and during summer sessions, the "sisterhood" decided dorm life wasn't for them and began looking into apartments.

The roommates said their experience living in dorms was difficult because it was hard for them to meet new people.

"We saw people on our floor, like once every two months during those mandatory RA meetings," Marks said. "Here we have much more consistent friends, because we see our neighbors more."

At that moment, two male neighbors walked into the apartment and requested to borrow some cups.

"Don't pay attention to them," Hulings said jokingly. "They're just jerks."

When the decision was made to move in together, the challenges were finding a place to live, locating roommates to help defray the costs and having to convince their parents.

Merritt said she heard about the opening of the apartment that they currently live in from her brother, who also attended Penn State.

"We were scrambling to find places and we were lucky that this one opened up," Merritt said.

However, the process isn't always this smooth. Doreen Strauss, president of the Off-Campus Student Union (OCSU), said the No. 1 issue it has is helping students find a place to live in a way that provides them with the best possible living situation.

"A lot of students don't realize that they have rights and that they don't have to settle for the conditions that they are in," Strauss said. "OSCU helps with finding a place to live and our advisers have a wealth of experience."

Marks said that next step was to convince her parents how important it was to apply for an apartment early.

"I knew some people who didn't get dorms, and I didn't want to get stuck without a place to live," she said. Trying to beat the rush, Marks, Merritt and Hulings signed their lease without the two other roommate spots filled.

Once the parents were convinced, the next task became finding two more roommates. Some early options fell through, and the girls began posting on bulletin boards, telling friends and even posting on Facebook.com.

"We were determined," Merritt said. "We told ourselves that we will find roommates."

Eventually, they found two more girls. Upon moving in this fall, Marks, Merritt and Hulings noticed several differences in living immediately. For example, Merritt was happy about not having a bed that doubled as a table.

Marks was glad not to have to wear shoes to shower and Hulings was excited her wardrobe quadrupled because all of the girls wore the same size.

"I was nervous at first about getting along, but so far, so good," Merritt said.

Even though making stylistic choices between five girls would appear a difficult process, the Keller Street sisters said it was easy to dec-

orate and split the costs of maintaining an apartment.

"We all brought stuff that we just had back home for our apartment," Hulings said. "It worked out really well."

When it came time to divide up the utility costs, Marks said there was no quibbling over how much each roommate had to pay.

"We just split everything by five," Marks said. "We also have a board that people can write how much they owe someone." Currently, one of the roommates is in debt by about $20.

However, if a person is having trouble with their roommates, Strauss says it's not as easy to get the conflict resolved off-campus as it is in the dorms.

"If a person is really struggling we can help them find another place to live, but we don't deal with personal issues," Strauss said.

"We want students to know that we are here for them and that we want to help them."

The roommates said that having different schedules has helped to keep the living situation in balance so far. Everyone has different times to use the bathroom. On weeknights, however, the roommates have club meetings at roughly the same time and come together to watch the same TV shows.

"I know it sounds like we are lying about getting along all the time. But we really do, and I am glad we made this decision," Merritt said. "Come

back in the next couple of months and that may change."