<p>Are there any universities that foster a strong link between undergrad and grad life? For example, are there any schools that allow grad students to live in on-campus housing, have meal plans, join undergrad clubs, etc? If so, which ones?</p>
<p>Graduate students usually wouldn’t have the same interests and needs as undergraduates. Their lives usually revolve around their departments and their research. However…</p>
<p>Some graduate students do live in dorms as RAs, and I think they often get meal plans as part of their compensation. And I know some theater events have auditions and everyone is eligible to try out. If someone wants to join a recreational sports team, I can’t imagine that anyone would object. Graduate students end up on university committees with undergrads, faculty, and administrators.</p>
<p>At my kids’ undergrad, the grad students have meal plans. </p>
<p>They have their own grad dorms/apts. </p>
<p>Grad students often need their own housing because they are old enough for alcohol, some are married, some even have kids. </p>
<p>Wordworker is right…grad students generally revolve around their depts. They often don’t spend much time in other parts of campus. </p>
<p>That said, since my kids’ undergrad does allow undergrads to start grad school early, technically some of those students are living in both worlds.</p>
<p>In terms of academics, undergraduate interaction with graduate students mainly comes in the form of:</p>
<ul>
<li>Having graduate student TAs for discussions or labs.</li>
<li>When taking senior or graduate level courses where graduate students are also enrolled.</li>
<li>When doing undergraduate research on a part of a big project that also has graduate students working on it.</li>
</ul>
<p>The social and academic life of grad students usually revolves around their departments. At some universities, one area in which undergrad and grad students often do interact is in the various international student organizations, e.g., Indian Student Association, etc. At some universities, there are good opportunities for American students to get involved with the various international student organizations.</p>
<p>At larger Us where most departments have their own building. library, and lounge and advanced undergrads often take grad level classes there is more mixing.</p>
<p>There aren’t going to be “strong” links because undergraduate and graduate students are there for different reasons. Graduate school is like a job. It’s not a lifestyle experience or a rite of passage.</p>
<p>ok, but can grad students get meal plans or live on campus if they wanted to?</p>
<p>In most places, yes they can. However, the vast, vast majority choose not to. College dining hall food is awful and you can generally rent an apartment (or share) very near campus for about the same cost - or even less - than what you’d be charged by the university housing program. Not to mention you actually get your own place.</p>
<p>I pay $600 per month (with a graduate student discount) for a 1-bedroom apartment across the street from the university football stadium, about 1 mile from the campus core or downtown. Never even began to think about paying campus housing rates.</p>
<p>Outside “married student housing” very few grad students choose to live on campus.</p>
<p>^ As a current undergrad this surprises me. I dislike going off campus and I don’t mind sharing a bathroom with 15 people. We’ll see what happens after 4 years :)</p>
<p>I think you’ll find that things will change very significantly between being a freshman and a grad student. :)</p>
<p>Something to remember is that most graduate students are not 23-year-old just-graduated-seniors. A lot of students are returning to school after spending time in the working world, while doctoral programs can take 5-7 years. Myself, I’m 29 and working on an MS. At this stage, priorities are different, interests are different… the lifestyle is largely different.</p>
<p>It is very common that grad students are <em>permitted</em> to join clubs and so forth. They just tend not to even when they are allowed to. I was involved with choirs and undergrad theater while I was in law school. I always had a handful of fellow grad students in choir with me. Cultural and religious organizations are likely to be particularly welcoming. However, some groups will choose to be undergrad only, especially if they are small. This might include Greek groups, a cappella groups, etc. Sometimes grad students are allowed to join the group, but not allowed to hold office (this was the case for me).</p>
<p>At Harvard, grad and professional school students fight for the RA jobs where they can live in undergrad housing and eat the meal plan. Those are extremely competitive positions. There’s quite a bit of interaction between undergrads and THOSE grad students. With the bulk of grad students, social interaction is minimal. Undergrads who are over 21 and go to bars are a lot more likely to mix with grad students.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Even then, grad students tend to go to different bars than undergrads. At least, that’s very noticeable here in Bloomington. The “go crazy drunk party” thing of the undergrad bars just isn’t nearly as much of a thing when you’re older.</p>
<p>rbouwens–towns like Madison, Ann Arbor, Cambridge, Austin are a world away from Beloit. You want to live in real neighborhoods where you can walk to shops and bars and not be subject to campus rules, etc.</p>
<p>When I was a grad student, I lived in an apartment just off the UT campus in Austin. I was actually a rare student in that I lived in a dorm all four undergrad years. Even so, I wouldn’t have dreamed of continuing to live in a dorm for grad school.</p>
<p>In Cambridge, the over-21 undergrads are largely going to the same bars as grad students. There aren’t a lot of crazy-party bars, and back in the day, the one that existed was known for accepting fake IDs written in crayon, so everyone was tired of going there by senior year. But obviously, this is not a party town – I’m sure that in Athens, Austin, Tuscaloosa, State College, etc. there are tons of “undergrad” bars.</p>
<p>Yeah, IU isn’t as crazy as some but it’s definitely somewhat of a “party school.”</p>
<p>I don’t drink or go to bars, so I’m not worried about that. I would like to be an RA next year, though. I don’t really like being an authority figure but I would like to be a sort of mentor.</p>
<p>Yes, Beloit isn’t the most hopping city, but for now it’s perfect. I wish I had wheels to get to the local Walmart at will, but for now I’ll have to take the weekly shuttle. I don’t cook, but I just buy staples, like oatmeal, granola bars, peanut butter, etc. Will I really want to cook my own food as the years go by? I’m totally fine with swiping a card at the dining hall. The food is better than anything I can whip up. There is a kitchen in my dorm but it’s 3 flights down it’s hard to cook without a car anyway. They save the suite-style dorms for upperclassmen…I can see why.</p>
<p>I don’t know, maybe in 4 years from now I’ll think undergrads are arrogant and immature and I won’t want to hang out with them, but as for right now I love undergrad life. The simplicity of it. I love being independent and I love going to the dining hall and eating with my friends. I love staying up late on the weekends and watching LOTR in the lounges. I love leaving messages on my neighbors’ whiteboards and walking to the bathroom in my slippers and saying hi to others on my floor. I feel very comfortable in this environment and I don’t want that to turn into being exiled to an off-campus apartment that has no connection to campus life. Catch my drift?</p>
<p>It’s not that graduate students “think undergrads are arrogant and immature.” It’s that most graduate students have different priorities and are at a different stage in life. Heck, many of us have spouses and are starting families. (Not me, but a number of doc students in my department.) It’s a different culture.</p>
<p>You’ll understand when you’re a senior. :)</p>