<p>I live in Chicago and I was wondering if it would be dumb for me to live on campus at a school that's not far away from my house. I feel like without living on campus you're missing some of the college experience. Therefore, I am not sure as if I should apply to schools in my city. I don't want to feel as if I'm missing out on something. But then again, living at home would save me a lot of money in the long run. Any advice?</p>
<p>Definitely live on campus. It’s the best justification for not going away to college.</p>
<p>There is data that shows that there is an educational advantage to living on campus.</p>
<p>
Ernest T. Pascarella and Patrick T. Terenzini, “How College Affects Students, Volume 2: A Third Decade of Research.” San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2005, 89-90 (quoted text above is verbatim, unquoted is my summary)</p>
<p>Another concern I have is still potentially being under the strict control of my parents if I stay in the city (whether it be on campus or off campus)</p>
<p>If that’s a concern, then maybe Chicago’s not the spot for you.</p>
<p>Thank you for all your help</p>
<p>A lot of students live on campus even if their home is local to the school. You should not feel strange about that.</p>
<p>This is what’s putting me off UC Riverside for next year’s apps. I don’t live in the city but I do less than 15 minutes away. I wouldn’t feel right if I lived there when I know for ~$15k less a year I could just commute there.</p>
<p>I lived on campus at a college that was 20 minutes away from my home. If I didn’t have a scholarship, I probably would’ve lived at home.</p>
<p>Living on campus is nice - it is a different experience, although I don’t think that by not living there you’re “missing” anything. It’s just different.</p>
<p>But you have to be realistic too. Can your parents afford to pay for you to live on campus? Is there a perfect fit for you in Chicago where it just makes sense to go there and commute rather than go to a less-perfect fit and live on campus? Remember that the vast majority of college students across the country commute to a campus not far from home, and that it is a luxury for parents to be able to afford to pay for their kid to stay somewhere else while they attend college.</p>
<p>Not to mention that there are plenty of ways to enjoy your college years if you are commuting. My sister commutes to her state college about 30 minutes away and she has lots of friends, stays over their houses, parties on the weekends…honestly, her life sounds a bit crazier than mine and I actually lived on campus. It depends on how outgoing you are.</p>
<p>How long have you lived in Chicago? Are there specific schools that you’re really interested in attending there?</p>
<p>I have live here my ENTIRE life and though it is a big city I feel as if I’ve seen and done everything here already. Possible schools in Chicago would either be UIC or Depaul but both of these aren’t the best schools and thus they would only be just-in-case schools</p>
<p>I lived (basically) on campus my first year (~1/2 mile), and commuted my second. Both offer different experiences and different advantages. One advantage of living on campus if you get a closer feel with people that are also living on or near campus. Many of the people who commute, at least in my experience, try to leave immediately after their classes to avoid traffic. You still run into people that commute, but it isn’t the same. But when you’re living on campus, you can meet up with a friend in the middle of the night, participate in some of the late-night events that are happening on campus, randomly go out for a drink at the local bar with friends, etc. These would be much more difficult if you commuted.</p>
<p>The reason I commuted my first year because i lacked a drivers license and there was no way i was commuting on the bus to school (due to time mostly.) The next year, getting my drivers license, i commuted and having a car afforded many advantages that lacking one would have prevented. I was able to drive anywhere i wanted in the city on a whim, at whatever time, which was pretty awesome. I went to a restaurant i wanted or the beach when i felt like it. While having a car is possible in westwood, getting it organized with your roommates is fairly difficult. (since they likely have cars as well, and street parking in westwood is extremely annoying.) and parking around campus is extremely selective and your unlikely to get it if you don’t live far enough away.</p>
<p>So both offer advantages and disadvantages. I understand that you want something new, and you feel that you’ve experienced all your city has to offer. But think of things this way, even if you go to the same places again and again, you’ll likely be going to them with new people, who probably haven’t been there before, or at least haven’t been there before with you. You will get new experiences one way or another.</p>
<p>My daughter was in the same boat as you. She has lived in the same city her entire life. There is a good university here that is very strong in her major, but she really wants the “on campus college experience”. We told her we would pay for her to live in the dorms here for a year, so she could experience that part of college life. She thought long and hard about it, and was worried about feeling “weird” living in the dorms when the house she grew up in is only a 20 minute drive away. She feels the same way you do - that she’s already done and seen everything in her hometown and is ready for something new.</p>
<p>I would absolutely encourage you to go to a school outside Chicago, as long as it’s affordable for you and your family. College is the perfect time to try something really different.</p>
<p>As for paying for college my parents have nothing saved up. I’m basically going to be paying for it myself through student loans. Hopefully I will get a good amount of financial aid.</p>
<p>A friend of mine went to went to Wake Forest, which was barely 5 minutes away from her house, and lived at home first semester. She couldn’t stand it, she had the same room, had to do the same ‘chores,’ and was sitting at the same desk to do homework she always did except with college textbooks. It was to the point where she was considering making up a reason she didn’t like Wake so she could transfer, but she just came right out and said she didn’t like living at home, and her parents were actually okay with that even though it meant paying from room and board too. </p>
<p>So second semester she was able to get housing and she said it changed everything. She has a lot more fun and has made more friends, and even feels more encouraged to study. It really does make a difference living on campus, I’m fairly certain you’ll have a much better time.</p>
<p>I’d encourage you to live on campus.</p>
<p>I lived on campus even though it was 20 minutes away from my house. It didn’t feel like the same town, though, since it was so different. The strangest part was that my dad was a prof in my department, so I was known as “Dr. X’s daughter.” I don’t THINK he knew about my partying, lol…</p>
<p>Thanks for all the help guys! :)</p>
<p>Some schools require you to live on campus, at least as a freshman. A few years ago, some Othodox Jews sued Yale to allow them to live off campus because of what they considered the immoral-- or differently moral–atmosphere in the dorms. They lost.</p>
<p>^ caltech does too i believe.</p>