<p>I've read a lot of things on the internet and elsewhere that says it is best to live on campus while in college. They say it helps you in school, with friends, etc. I'll be living in the dorms, as I'll be too far away from home to commute.</p>
<p>But for those of you who have lived on and off campus, or even those of you who haven't, what are your opinions? Is the difference really all that big? Or is it more a matter of willpower?</p>
<p>I lived at home last year and I am living on campus this year, and I can tell that you no matter how much I want to go home sometimes, living on campus is MUCH better. I can study at the library as long as I need to, I know more people and have more friends, I live right across the street from the gym, and I am free of family tensions. The difference is huge for me... definitely wouldn't go back to living at home.</p>
<p>Living at home is different than living off-campus. You can go to college out of state and live off-campus.</p>
<p>That being said, staying on campus is the best option for at least your first year; it's easier to meet people. I would never live at home for college - isn't leaving home the point of college haha?</p>
<p>don go to collge if you want to live at home</p>
<p>I don't think it's fair to tell someone not to go to college if they're going to live at home...</p>
<p>I have lived at home for 3 1/2 years and I don't recommend it to anyone.</p>
<p>I guess it all comes down to how close you are with your family.</p>
<p>maybe my words were too much.. but a huge part of college is to learn to live independently.</p>
<p>i have two close friends that live at home and go to school.
one of them loves it, because she has a boyfriend nearby and loves her family and her job etc. she feels more focused and she was still able to make tons of friends in her classes, so she can chill in their dorms if she gets sick at home.
my other friend, hates living at home. she wants to go away but she got a full ride in a nursing program at the local college and couldn't turn it down. then again, it could also be the fact that she's stuck with girls all the time. she does like the fact that she doesn't get distracted easily and can get good grades easier.</p>
<p>i live at school and wouldn't have it any other way! i go to rutgers and live about 45 min from there so i go home some weekends when i want to sleep and be away from those i live with. i think this is the best option: go to a school that is close enough where you can go home if you want to but where you can get away too. it also helps in terms of getting money/laundry/food from the parents =]</p>
<p>I lived in the dorms last year, and home this year. I much preferred the dorms: I was more motivated socially, and now the train commute sucks and I gained at least 25 pounds (when I lived in the city, riding my bike all the time was fun, here it stinks). Next year I'll have my own place in the city.</p>
<p>do not do not do not live at home. i live 15 min away from my college, yet i live on campus. it is so much better</p>
<p>I commuted from my parents' house my first year of college, then moved into a dorm sophomore year. A lot depends on the logistics of your commute--I had a 1-1.5 hour drive, which is manageable but a pretty significant time-suck, especially when you account for needing to leave more time to park, take a shuttle bus to the main part of campus, and then walk to class. It's a little different if you live 15 minutes away, but longer commutes definitely affect quality of life negatively.</p>
<p>Personally, I'm really glad I got to have a dorm experience. There were valuable things about living at home too, but I was much more able to have a full social experience and be active in campus life once I wasn't commuting anymore--and I was someone who stayed late to hang out with people and go to events even when I was commuting. Not having to worry about driving to campus in freezing rain or a snowstorm when the weather was bad enough to be dangerous but not bad enough to cancel classes was a nice load off, too... being able to schedule courses without worrying about having too much dead time in the middle of the day or driving home too late was also helpful. Having your social and academic lives integrated by living on campus among other students is an experience I think a lot of people benefit from.</p>
<p>Now I live off-campus in an apartment (~15-30 minutes away from school depending on mode of transportation) after dorming for 3 years. This is a perfect scenario for me now that I'm well established socially and academically, but not something I'd recommend for the first couple of years of school.</p>
<p>i would never live on campus. at home my mom is there to fold my clothes and pick them out for me to make sure i look good, she fixes me awsome meals...its great</p>
<p>^^wow, somebody's never going to grow up (or get laid)....</p>
<p>Anyway, I would definitely recommend living on campus. I live about 30-40 minutes from my school but I dormed for 2 years and then have been living in apartments for 2 years as well. I did however commute the summer after freshman year and it SUCKED. I had a curfew of like 10pm on weeknights (even though i didn't have class the next day) and could only see my friends like twice a week (when I was in town for class). I hated it, my mom and I fought so much that summer it was ridiculous. She was really overprotective of me for the first year and some of college, until I was finally like, "Look, I am an adult now. I take care of my own stuff; I pay all my bills, I have a credit card. CHILL THE F OUT AND STOP CALLING ME THREE TIMES A DAY FOR NO REASON."
She's really cool about it now, but she still almost had a stroke when I went to France last summer.</p>
<p>Living at home means mommy can take care of you, but it also means mommy controls your social life. You live in your parents' house means you live with their rules. Being at college forces you to establish your own rules and own responsibility. One night you'll want to hang out with friends instead of doing homework, but it'll be up to you to decide whether you should skip out on studying. At home you would probably have your parents bug you to do it.</p>
<p>My parents haven't asked me about homework since I was maybe in the fourth grade. I don't understand, even in high school, how people still have their parents bugging them about homework.</p>
<p>I just asked my brother this question. We live twenty minutes from the university he attends. He enjoys being at home, rather than the dorms; however, it may help to mention that our parents are ridiculously lenient, so he doesn't have to worry about the majority of problems that most people flee from. I have the same dilemma; I'm torn between staying at home or going to a university between two and six hours away.</p>
<p>pluses of living on campus:
1. easier access to on-campus activities, classes, resources, dining halls--plus if you leave something behind in a lecture hall it's not that hard to go back later and get it
2. easier to hang out with friends or classmates, and easier to meet up with professors or TAs
3. easier to do things you wouldn't necessarily want your parents to know about
4. independence and responsibility so you can get more used to living on your own</p>
<p>I think it's better to live on campus, but two things:</p>
<p>It's not for everyone. Some people need to be at home, whether for personal reasons related to health, emotional state, or finances.</p>
<p>And also, if for whatever reason you choose to live at home, so be it, don't kill yourself over it. It's only a couple years of your life and in the long run doesn't change things all that much.</p>
<p>I would choose on campus unless cost was a big issue.</p>
<p>The closest school I applied to is 1,000 miles away.</p>
<p>That would be one hell of a commute...</p>