Living On Or Off Campus: Finding The Best Fit For You

By Francine Fluetsch on February 23, 2014

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It’s that stressful time of year again where you have to figure out your housing situation for next year. Not only do you have to decide which people you want to live with, but you also have to decide if you want to live on campus or off. To help make the decision easier for you, here are some points to consider–both good and bad–about living on and off campus.

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On Campus: Good

Convenience: You know what they say: sometimes it is worth it to pay for convenience. Living on campus means you are in the midst of everything. It definitely makes it easier to get to class, go to the library, get food at the dining halls and cafes, meet up with someone for a study date, hang out with your friends, enjoy campus activities, etc.

Mary Medeiros, a second year MCD biology student at UC Santa Cruz, said “if you live on campus you can wake up late and still make it to class on time because you don’t have to drive/take a bus to get on campus.”

I’m always running late so this is definitely a huge pro in my opinion. If you are running late and live off campus, you are going to be less motivated to actually go to class since you will be missing so much more than if you could just throw some clothes on and scurry over.

Meal plan: Though the dining hall may not offer the best food in the world, it allows you to fill your belly without any effort on your part. You don’t have to buy groceries, you don’t have to cook, and most importantly, you don’t have to clean up.

Zach Beckman, a third year theater student at UC Santa Cruz who lives off campus, said “I actually miss the dining halls because sometimes when I get home from work, the last thing I want to do is cook for like an hour, so I end up just not eating.”

My roommate and I thought we would be cooking all the time, but it is actually really time consuming and sometimes the prep and the clean up just aren’t worth it (dishes really suck when you don’t have a dish washer). Having the dining hall at your disposal helps you save time and not skip meals.

Friends: Living on campus gives you more of an opportunity to meet people and make new friends. Spencer Dant, a second year student at Pacific Health Educational Center–CNA School in San Diego, said that living on campus is like social networking, but in person.

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“You all live right by one another so it helps you ease into college life way quicker than living by yourself somewhere,” he said.

Living in a building full of diverse people means you will always have someone to hang out with and it will give you the opportunity to try new things and be part of a community. A lot of dorms do activities together, like hikes or pizza parties that will allow you to get to know each other better. This is perfect for you shy people! Having friends around is an essential part of enjoying your time at college, and will help you feel less homesick.

Safety: Living on campus can provide you with peace of mind when it comes to safety. Universities usually have programs where you can call someone to escort you at night if you are scared to walk back to your dorm by yourself. You also know that most of the people you see around are students, and the people who aren’t had to show identification to get on campus. To get into dorm buildings, you either have keys or people who let you in, adding another safety barrier to ensure that the people in your building are supposed to be there.

When my roommate goes home for the weekend, it can be kind of creepy when I have to stay at the place by myself, but knowing that there are still other people in my hall makes me feel more at ease.

Of course this doesn’t mean that crimes don’t happen on campus, but there are many measures to prevent them and if something does happen, the university staff will help you out, instead of you having to call your parents in a panic and figure out how an adult is supposed to deal with the situation.

Ease into responsibility: Living on campus is the perfect medium for having a bit more responsibility than living at home, but still not too much. You have to learn how to live with someone, keep your place clean, go to class and do your work without having someone remind you, but you don’t have to cook, or worry about bills, so it’s like you’re a half grownup. It is a great transition point, especially for freshman year.

On CampusBad

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Rules: Of course all those benefits don’t come without a price. If you are living on campus, you have to follow the campus rules, or risk being written up and thrown out of housing. All colleges are different, but here are some general rules that usually have to be followed:

-No drinking under 21

-No illegal substances

-Don’t damage property

-Can’t have too many people in your room (so no parties)

-Don’t be loud during quiet hours

-Can’t decorate the walls

-No pets

If you think you’re going to be written up a lot, off campus might be the better option.

Pricey: For what they offer, the dorms are way overpriced! When living on campus, your bill consists of a room and board fee and a meal plan fee. The room and board is through the roof considering you are renting a room that is more expensive than a decent sized apartment.

Sure, wifi, cable, and maintenance are included, but we all know those are a joke most of the time anyway. The wifi pretty much chooses when it wants to work, and the cable is only basic channels that may circuit out during your show. Meal plans are pricey as well, and living on campus means you have to have one, even if you are living in an apartment.

To put it in perspective, here is an example of how on campus is much more expensive than off.

Living conditions: Living on campus means dealing with all the living conditions that usually aren’t so pleasant.

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-Living in a cramped room with one to three people

-Bad wifi

-Nasty bathrooms

-Thin walls

-Drunken people being loud at three in the morning when you have class the next day

-Bad laundry rooms with machines that are either in use or broken

-No air conditioning

-Random assigned roommates

-Old buildings that are in dire need of maintenance

The list can go on and on, but those are some general complaints.

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Off Campus: Good

Freedom: Living off campus definitely gives you more freedom. The only rules might be the ones your landlord sets, but they will be much more lenient than all the ones provided by the dorms.

You can have pets (most of the time), have people over, choose who you live with, decorate how you want, and choose your own furniture. Of course, this means you actually need to buy your furniture, so the initial bill is going to be a bit expensive.

Get ready for the real world: Living off campus will prepare you for when you graduate and live on your own.

“Off campus allows the student to slowly blend into ‘real life’ with lease payments and house/apartment maintenance,” said Chad Hazen, a fourth year English student at University of Dayton. “It also creates a separation, however small, from campus life.”

Living off campus will definitely make you feel more grown-up and mature, since you will have to cook, clean, pay bills, and other fun adult stuff. They are good lessons to learn, and since you are still not fully out there all on your own, it is a perfect transitional step to prepare you for what is coming.

This does mean a lot more responsibility on your part, so you need to be sure that you are ready to handle it. Your lease will be a year-long commitment, and you will have to be able to deal with things on your own (don’t be afraid to ask for help though).

Can live at home: If your school is close enough to your actual house, you can live at home and save a lot of money. Emily Pontanares, a second year arts and technology major at CSU San Marcos, said “I live at home off campus and I like that I don’t have to worry about paying for room and board or any kind of roommate drama that comes with it.”

Having your own room is definitely a great incentive to live at home, because roommates can really be a pain in the butt.

Is living at home right for you? Check out this article by Brian Gabriel about the pros and cons of living at home through college.

Can have a car: When you live on campus, you either can’t have a car or the parking permit is so high that it is not even worth it. Living off campus means you can have your wheels so you can take a spontaneous trip to San Francisco or take your friends to the beach. This is also great for getting groceries and visiting home.

image via www.carinsurancecomparison.com

You will still have to have a permit for campus, so make sure you know what the prices are. Also consider all the costs that come with a car, like gas, insurance, maintenance, and so on.

Cost: If you play it right, living off campus can be cheaper than living on campus, but you need to factor in all the costs. A lot of people just look at the rent when they are figuring out the cost, and though that is a big portion of it, there are other costs that go along with having your own place. Some of these include:

-Gas

-Electric

-Water

-Cable

-Internet

-Trash pickup

-Groceries

-Laundry

-Yard upkeep

Some are included in the rent, so make sure that you figure out what will be extra that you didn’t have to think about when living in the dorms. Here are some Yahoo Answers that add to the list.

Off Campus: Bad

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Commute: Depending on the setup of your campus, you are going to have to do a lot of commuting to and from class. This means you are going to have to wake up much earlier than if you lived on campus, and bring all your supplies for the day since going home is a bigger deal and it might be a waste of gas if the gap between your classes isn’t big enough. I personally like taking naps in between classes, so I would really hate the commuting part and having to go to the library instead of going home.

If you and your roommate are sharing a car, you may have to go to school earlier or stay later depending on how your schedules match up. Office hours, clubs, and sports will become more of a hassle as well since everything will be on campus. You will be spending a lot of your time away from home.

More isolated: Though having your quiet time will be nice, being off campus means you aren’t surrounded by the college atmosphere. If your roommates are gone for the weekend you won’t have people in the halls to keep you company. If you are walking home late, you won’t have the escorting services, so you’ll have to make sure that a friend can walk with you if you are afraid.

The verdict: No matter what you choose, there are going to be good and bad parts to each living situation. Hopefully this list helped give you an idea about the things you need to consider. Happy house hunting!

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