<p>My son is applying to a couple of schools in our metro area, and my first thought was that he could save money by living at home freshman year and then maybe getting an apartment. But as senior year progresses, I dread the thought of him living here one more year! Does it make sense for him to dorm locally freshman year and then move to an apartment or even back home later if the funds don't hold out? It seems now that it would give him more of the "college experience" from the start even if he's still in town.</p>
<p>I’m from Austin but stayed in a dorm at UT. I wouldn’t have dreamed of living at home! I think if possible, it’s good for students to live on or close to campus. For me, it was the best of both worlds - I could avoid my parents when I wanted to, but I was always welcome at home for a hot meal.</p>
<p>Compared to commuting while living at the parents’ home, living in the campus dorm as frosh is associated with higher retention and graduation rates, but also higher alcohol consumption. </p>
<p>Living in the campus dorm is generally more expensive, but living at the parents’ home is not free, considering the cost of food, utilities, and transportation costs (particularly if an additional car must be owned, insured, and maintained).</p>
<p>I know many students who go to a nearby school yet live in the dorms. </p>
<p>Living in the dorms is a nice transition from home. There are many social and emotional reasons to live in the dorms besides the practical ones. Dorms give more independence, yet a (somewhat) structured environment. They have to do their own laundry (sometimes) but their meals are made for them. They learn how to negotiate with a roommate and how to balance studying and social life. They become more integrated into the college when living in a dorm.</p>
<p>Dorm life is an invaluable experience. Living at home during college can be a lonely existence.</p>
<p>I’d agree that staying in a dorm freshman year makes a big difference in engagement in college life and growing independence and maturity, as Calla describes. If money becomes an issue, the student can move into a shared apartment or even home later.</p>
<p>I went to college 7 miles from my home. I never even thought about living at home, and thankfully, my parents were of the same mindset. Living on campus helps the student to completely engage in all that the school has to offer. If one can afford to do so, I strongly recommend it…even if the school is very close to home.</p>
<p>My son is in a similar situation. He is in a dorm but everyone leaves on the weekend or even sometimes during the week. I’d check out what is going on during those times and make sure there is student life on campus. His friend goes home for dinner every day and basically just sleeps in the dorm. His parents feel it was a waste of money.make sure the campus is alive during non school hours or it can be pretty boring. My son goes to a university in downtown st louis</p>
<p>My oldest lives on campus barely 10 minutes from our home. It’s been great for her. She likes home, wouldn’t even mind living there, but knows she’d be far more isolated. Since she tends toward introversion anyway, living on campus has been great. In fact, a lot of the students living on campus are easily within commuting distance. </p>
<p>I don’t think it’s weird at all. You student can move back home later if funds run out. By then, you’ll have a much different relationship and living under one roof should be more pleasant. And after a year on campus as a freshman, your student will be better connected to the campus and the people on it. If you have the funds to provide for X number of semesters on campus, I say do it.</p>
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^^^This^^^. I attended college in the same town in which I grew up and I can’t tell you how many kids I saw who pretty much never mentally graduated from high school - came to campus strictly for class, then bolted for an off-campus job or to hang with their HS friends. Nothing terribly wrong with that, but college is about so much more than just going to class, IMHO. I went Greek (which I realilze is not for everybody) and got involved in campus activities through my sorority. And after commuting for three semesters, I moved into the house for the rest of my college career.</p>
<p>Thanks for your input. The local school may be a financial stretch, and they have upgraded their dorms so they are more expensive than most. But I now see the value in living on-campus to start even if funds don’t stretch to all 4 years.</p>
<p>Living on campus provides two benefits:</p>
<p>1) starting the path to independence. This is a small step from living at home, but often leads to living in an apartment and then to their own place when they graduate.
2) Making bonds with other students. Living with their peers will give them the ability to form relationships that would be more difficult at home.</p>
<p>On the other end of the discussion, my kids have a couple of friends who chose to live at home for financial reasons. However, since both of them are outgoing and make friends easily, they still spend all day on campus (sometimes they come home for meals when money is especially tight).</p>
<p>All they do is sleep at home - and sometimes they even crash on a friend’s dorm room couch. They don’t feel they are missing out on the “college experience” at all. They choose to spend more time on campus over weekends than many dorm residents who go home frequently.</p>
<p>Another vote for live at school, especially initially, if finances allow. My sons first choice is fairly close to home, but it wouldn’t be first choice for either of us if living at home was part of the equation.</p>
<p>Ops, why are you dreading your son living at home ? Are you here to get ammunition to get your husband to send his son away ?</p>
<p>More like my hubs and son need a break from each other! They really push each other’s buttons! He may decide to go away to school but he’s become more interested in a local college.</p>
<p>My son attended a college less than an hour’s drive from home. He could have bought a car and commuted, but he chose to live on campus (and later, in an off-campus apartment).</p>
<p>I’m glad he made that choice. Young men seem to need their space. And parents suffer when they don’t get it.</p>
<p>He still had the convenience of going to school near home. He could shop in the places he had always shopped, see the same doctors and dentist year-round, get together with friends at other nearby schools, and come home for the weekend if he wanted to (which did not happen often). But at the same time, he could be as independent as he wanted to be. </p>
<p>And I no longer had to get him up in the morning.</p>
<p>I think it is the perfect idea. It is a safety valve for emotional, academic, and safety reasons. As long as it’s affordable for you. Choose the lowest cost
meal plan. If they love it, you can add meals and if they hate it or have serious roommate issues, they can bail at any time. If my D wasn’t 4 hours away, she would be doing that right now. Since many students are drunk most weekends and if you have a serious student, it allows a safe way for them to avoid the vomiting, noise and drama. Sleep is very important for academics… Makes perfect sense. It let’s them try it without committing to dorm life forever or leaving or transferring college. I would recommend this to anyone who wants to experience dorm life while going to a local school instead of commuting. The washing situation is always better at home too. And I don’t mean just laundry. The bathrooms can be gross.</p>
<p>We live in a large suburb of a much larger city. There is a large directional state u. in the city about 15 miles from our town. Many, many kids from our h.s. and the other twenty high schools in the city attend the local univ. There are a lot of commuters but many choose to live on campus or in student apartments nearby. I’m positive that those who live on campus or in students apts. are much more assimilated to the univ. and feel they are really a part of the school. </p>
<p>I lived in a dorm for two years and then had to transfer to another college several hours away. I was a commuter for three years and then graduated. Even though I spent more time attending the commuter school, I have always been more attached to the first univ. where I lived in the dorms. It is of the first school where I dormed that I have the fondest memories. The commuter school felt more like going to a job every day.</p>
<p>If your H and S need a break from each other than by all means, send him to the dorm if you can afford it.
We get along fine with our D before but seems like we are closer now that she goes out-of-state. Like people said, they can’t miss you until they are away from you. ;)</p>