<p>Hey there, so im looking for a bit of advice. Recently I was admitted into McCombs for the Fall semester 2012. I will be attending UT, without a doubt. I have an older brother who transferred to UT his sophomore year (now a junior) and he lives in an apartment off campus. Assuming I do not receive much help through scholarships or financial aid they urge me to live off campus as well as it would be about 4,000 dollars less a year. My brother, however, says that it is better for me to live on campus because of all the resources available and to familiarize myself with everything. The off campus apartment I would be otherwise renting is 12 minutes from campus. So I guess my question is, are the advantages of living on campus worth 4,000 a year? Thanks for any input.</p>
<p>I don’t see how it would be $4000 less per year unless you’re sharing a bedroom and not eating proper food, or you’re living far away from campus.</p>
<p>Either way, yes, living on campus is worth the money.</p>
<p>anyone else? bump</p>
<p>If money is not an issue, I think it is beneficial to live on campus first year in order to meet new people, get involved in clubs, make sure you go to TA office hours, and other things that come with living on campus. It is also an integral part of the college experience in my opinion. After the first year, many students move off-campus, so you moving to your off-campus housing at that point is fine. I think the $4,000 is worth it for the first year, but it is your decision at the end of the day.</p>
<p>12 minute walk or bus ride? Either way, that’s far enough to make midday naps between class feel impractical and force you to stay on campus until your day is over. Even Freshmen in Duren feel disconnected from the hub around Jester/Gregory. Unless you make good friends with your roommates/neighbors, you will probably also feel disconnected from “UT”. The first couple months in the cafeteria are packed with strangers sitting together and making new friends. If you do not live on campus, these Freshmen-dense areas will be less accessible and more expensive. </p>
<p>What you’ll miss out on is immersion, being surrounded with potential life-long friends almost every second of the day. Off campus, you’ll be separated and disadvantaged in that department. However, $4000 is a crap-ton of money. That’s honestly massive. And if you’re planning on attending a professional school after UT, money is an even a bigger deal. But I’m with soadquake on questioning your figure. Keep in mind that the housing payment automatically includes $1600 food budget stored on your university ID/debit card. I doubt that the true difference is too close to 4k. </p>
<p>So what decision should you make? I would pretend that living on campus was mandatory for freshmen and that you would have to go out of your way to prove to the university that your circumstances are exceptionally dire to live off campus. If you feel like you could make such a strong case that they would bend the rules for you, then perhaps you might be better off living off campus. Otherwise, on-campus is the way to go.</p>
<p>I would like to accentuate the point that frever made about meeting people in freshman-dence areas. I hang out a lot with the very first people I met at UT and my closest UT friend is my dorm roommate. This in itself is justification for my decision to live on campus my first year because I see my very first friends at UT and my roommate as being my friends for well into the future.</p>