Hey, I’m a freshman in college and I recently got the opportunity to dorm(dorm opened up through waiting list). However, I’ll have to take up a $3,000 loan to dorm. I have very little loans so that’s not the big of a problem but my meal plan already activated so I’m not sure if I can “un-activate” it. Also, I have an hour and a half long commute which is really getting rigorous and impacting my grades negatively seeing as though I have 8 am class. I want to dorm next year but I might not be able to get a dorm next year as a Sophomore, dorming now gives me a better chance of dorming again next year. Also, I’m really getting annoyed of commutting. I want to experience dorm life but it might be a too late as college ends May 6th. I feel like most people will have already made friends on the floor and I would be that “new guy.” What would be the best option for me, dorming or commutting?
I’m always a fan of living on campus as a first year student if it isn’t cost prohibitive. It will never be easier to meet new people. It’s true that friendship groups have formed during the first semester but it is also true that the reality of the personalities in some groups start to wear thin and people are looking to branch out more. You may have to work a little harder to meet and connect than you would at the beginning of the year. But most first year dorms offer programming throughout the year. The dorms for non-frosh tend to offer fewer events. Being on or closer to campus also makes it easier to create and participate in study groups. That’s another way to get to network.
Do you plan on taking out 3k per semester every semester to live in the dorms or is this more of a one time thing? Because 3k each semester doesn’t seem like a lot in isolation, but it adds up quickly.
I’m not starting college until fall, so take what I say with a grain of salt. That being said, I would personally choose to live on campus.
As far as cost goes, $3000 one time or $3000 per semester is quite a big difference, but even if it’s every semester, it might not really be as bad as it seems. Take your 1.5 hour commute, for instance. That probably eats up a lot of gas money, which you won’t have to worry about if you live on-campus.
Even if it does cost quite a bit more, you don’t have a lot of loans, like you said, and commuting seems to be impacting your grades. If you think that living on-campus would help your grades, I would absolutely do it. You’ll have more study time and will probably be able to be more involved in just about everything. (As far as academics, think about being just a walk away from office hours, tutoring, clubs that have to do with your major, etc…) Better grades plus more involvement could definitely help down the road when it comes to getting an internship or your first (professional) job.
You’d have to ask someone at your school about the meal plan. I’m assuming the change would be adding more meals instead of decreasing. If this is indeed the case, there’s a pretty good chance that your college would allow it. At my (future) school, you’re allowed to switch your meal plan once per semester within the first six weeks of the start of classes. Even if it’s not normally allowed at your school, they might make an exception since you’d be moving from off-campus to on-campus.
Since you want to dorm next year too, I think switching now is a good idea. It’ll help you get a dorm next year, and yes, you’d be the “new” guy, but if you wait, you’ll be the new guy next year too. You might experience a few rough weeks trying to fit in and make new friends, but I bet you’ll be right at home by the end of the year. (Which means you’ll be in your comfort zone for the start of your sophomore year.)
So yeah, basically I’d say that I would without a doubt choose to start staying in the dorms.
Commuting presents academic challenges that students in dormitories do not have to deal with – however, that isn’t to say that commuting means that your grades will have to suffer. I have a friend who commutes from another state (yes, another state) – and he has a 4.0 in Computer Science; so its certainly not impossible to do well in classes without living right near your professors’ offices or the library. I’m interested in what your total debt load would prospectively be after your college career – 3k in loans per semester for 6 semesters is 18k in debt (plus interest), which is no small sum of change.
If you can financially make it work I think living in the dorms would be a wise choice. Is there any chance that you can get a part-time job on campus? Do you work over the summer? Either of these can easily offset the cost of living on campus for a year. Plus, some schools’ on-campus jobs are lax enough that you can study while you work.