<p>I want to dorm really bad but I will have to take out loans and will lose the opportunity to have a car. My tuition + dorm is 23,722. If I dorm I will have to pay the $23,722 later. If I dont dorm I get a car and I don't have to pay anything. I WANT THE DORM EXPERIENCE</p>
<p>If you really want to, I would. It’s an experience that some people really cherish. I personally would take out the loans and do it, but that’s just me.</p>
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Are those your parents’ terms? I think it would be financially irresponsible to choose the dorms under these conditions.</p>
<p>I’m confused. Do you have to take out loans regardless? You said tuition + dorm is 23K, and if you dorm you have to pay it all. Are your parents only gonna pay if you commute?</p>
<p>It’s nice that you have the option of moving back home if you need to. I would tell my parents “It’s a one year thing. I want to have the college experience for one year.” Tell them you plan on moving back home for your sophomore and etc. years. See if they’ll help you out for the first year onlyg. This way you’ll make friends and have that experience, and then you can always move back home and save money later.</p>
<p>I would save the money and commute. If you have a job, use the money for a dorm next year.</p>
<p>do you really want to look back and regret not dorming?</p>
<p>No one can tell you the best choice for you. I personally would never even dream of commuting, no matter the cost. I would never live at home. For some it’s a better option. You have to think about what’s important to you, there is no “best” choice.</p>
<p>Can’t put a price on living life, man!</p>
<p>I would live at the dorm. I am MISERABLE commuting every day and I do a 20 min drive to school – depending on traffic of course. If you do decide to commute make sure to schedule your classes so that you could avoid rush hour.</p>
<p>Commute, costs less. 'nuff said.</p>
<p>For me the dorm experience was fun for a couple of days, and then I started to see how annoying it would be. My roommate was fine, but I can’t say the same for the people around us. Looking back, I can’t believe I paid so much money to live in such a tiny space that I shared with another person. Living in the dorm didn’t even help me meet a lot of friends, I met plenty just own my own. It was also annoying to never have any privacy. </p>
<p>I would commute. $23K is a LOT of money, especially if you’re only talking about one year! You’ll love getting to have a car. I know a lot of friends that lived without cars in dorms and they hated it. </p>
<p>20 minutes isn’t bad at all, unless you live in an area that has just nightmarish traffic. You could commute from home for a year or two, and then when you’re eligible to live off campus (without living at home) find an apartment or rent a house with roommates.</p>
<p>I think your parents are being so strict because it’s asking to pay thousands of dollars more to live in a place that’s just 20 minutes away. I agree with their rule because I wouldn’t like that either.</p>
<p>Bro, if the difference is 20 grand, then just take the 20 grand and save it for something down the future. The whole dorm experience is overrated as hell. You make 4-5 good friends, and then you basically shut yourself in and don’t talk to anybody else in your hall. </p>
<p>Do not confuse the movies with real life.</p>
<p>Are you entering college this fall or are you still in high school? Do you have a job?</p>
<p>I’m entering college this fall. </p>
<p>“Tell them you plan on moving back home for your sophomore and etc. years. See if they’ll help you out for the first year only.”</p>
<p>I told them this and they said they won’t pay a dime. I can commute the first year though and dorm the next three years and graduate school. Will I miss out a lot on not dorming my freshman year?</p>
<p>Like onhcetum and October47 said, the whole dorm experience was overrated for me. It was fun for a few days, then the novelty wore off - very quickly. I often had this horrible “trapped” feeling (it’s hard to describe), and my roommates/neighbors were not exactly the best-behaved people either.</p>
<p>On the other hand, some people really enjoy dorm life. Good for them…</p>
<p>I may be able to get a private room now, which makes it a LOT better.</p>
<p>I’m not trying to scare anyone. I’m just saying that there is no clear “best” choice for everyone.</p>
<ul>
<li>Soarer</li>
</ul>
<p>Does anyone dorm in graduate school? </p>
<p>You might miss out a little, but you can make up for it by being really social.</p>
<p>Yeah I’ve seen dorms for graduate students. They’re always singles. </p>
<p>Just commute freshman year, and dorm the rest of the time. You won’t be missing out on that much.</p>
<p>We had some older students in our dorm, so I assume they were graduate students or maybe non-traditional students. A lot of graduate students I know stayed at on or off-campus apartments. Personally I would hate it. Just being a junior around a bunch of new freshmen made me feel old, lol. They all got annoying really quick.</p>
<p>That said, I would rather turn the deal around and dorm my first year and commute the rest of the time. College is really exciting and new when you first enter so dorms will probably be more exciting then than later. After that you get used to school, and you’ll want to have a more comfortable place to live- and more privacy. I say if you want to dorm, try to dorm the first year and then maybe look into an affordable off-campus place when you’re eligible to do that.</p>
<p>I really like and agree with what CPDIII said:</p>
<p>You can’t put a price on living.</p>