Freshman Housing Question

<p>I'm in a bit of a conundrum. I've gotten accepted into UNC (yay) as a freshman, and am looking forward to going. However, I really don't want to live in the dorms, (they're expensive and noisy) and I have family within a 10 minutes of Chapel Hill that would be willing to let me stay with them. I know that supposedly freshman have to live on campus, but I've found information on UNC site that says as long as you have 30 hours of college credit that you don't have to live on campus, and because I went to a accelerated program high school I do in fact have about 60 hours of college credit (not ap either, the credits are from real college classes I took at wake tech). I've already asked my counselor about this, but he didn't know and directed me to an email address. I've sent an email asking this same question, but I've yet to get a response. So I'm wondering if anyone knows if I'll have to live on campus or not.</p>

<p>I am not able to give you an answer, but it seems like you should call the admissions office and ask them.</p>

<p>If that is UNC’s housing policy and your Wake Tech credits do count as real credits, then it seems to me that you would be able to live off-campus. But, as MarcoP suggested, perhaps you could be a bit more direct in trying to contact UNC’s administration, as they could surely give you the answer you’re looking for.</p>

<p>I assume you read this:</p>

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<p>from [First</a> Year Students: Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) | UNC Chapel Hill Housing and Residential Education](<a href=“http://housing.unc.edu/future-residents/first-year-students/faq]First”>http://housing.unc.edu/future-residents/first-year-students/faq)</p>

<p>Its pretty clear that you won’t have to live on campus, but email <a href=“mailto:housing@unc.edu”>housing@unc.edu</a> anyway.</p>

<p>Sorry for the slow response, I forgot I posted this. </p>

<p>I heard back from the housing poeple, and I do apparently have to live on campus. So If any high schooler is transferring in with college credit, don’t think it will get you out of the dorms, because it won’t sadly. I guess they have to get money out of us somehow.</p>

<p>That just doesn’t seem fair at all.</p>

<p>I understand your frustration, but it’s got little to do with money. They’ve done multiple research studies and found that students who live on campus their first year are more connected to their peers, more likely to join clubs, and more likely to have higher GPAs (of course there are exceptions). Things like quick access to professors, the library, dining hall, and clubs/study groups are important for first-years to succeed. Of course, that’s just one opinion. I completely understand that it varies from situation to situation.</p>

<p>I do know of a small number of people who lived at home and commuted their first year…not sure how, but I think the reason was overbearing religious parents. There might be some way for you to stay home if you declare your permanent address is their house, but I would hugely advise against it.</p>

<p>I completely agree with the studies luke8ball talked about. You will miss out on SO MUCH if you live off campus your first year. It would be next to impossible to park on campus, so commuting would likely involve driving and then getting a bus to campus. Although the transportation system is great for getting around campus and the local area, it will limit you so much in your ability to get involved in organizations and make friends. Most people make their first friends in their dorms. From people I know at State who stayed home and commuted, they either ended up hanging with their friends who were still in high school or were just at home all the time and didn’t make friends or get involved on campus. It’s completely worth the money for the experience. To me, it’s a crucial step for you to live on your own as well.</p>

<p>I can’t help you with the expensive part, but you can request to live in a dorm that’s not totally freshman. My son got assigned to a dorm on north campus. There are a couple of floors of freshman in the dorm, but it’s really quiet. He also lives so close to the academic area he can pretty much stumble out of bed and be in class in 5 minutes. He still made friends, and it was win-win for him.</p>

<p>To edit helpfulmommy’s post a little, they’re changing the structure of that for next year. It used to be that 15% of rooms in every dorm on north campus were reserved for first years, but I guess they did studies that showed that putting first years together is the best thing to do. So there is one dorm on north campus that will be all first years but otherwise they will all be on south campus. </p>

<p>You can also apply to Living Learning Communities to get on north campus as that supersedes freshman status. [Living-Learning</a> Communities | UNC Chapel Hill Housing and Residential Education](<a href=“http://housing.unc.edu/residence-life/living-learning-communities]Living-Learning”>http://housing.unc.edu/residence-life/living-learning-communities) I think that WELL and Substance-Free are the only two that are definitely on north campus as they tend to move around a little, but if one of those interests you it’s worth a shot.</p>