<p>i’m currently a freshman college student in my second semester. personally, i’ve had a terrible time living in the dorms. i like my roommmate, and i have a nice group of friends of girls that live around me, but its nothing that i couldn’t have managed to do if i commuted. the dorms at my school are brand new and they are beautiful (very spacious with a private bathroom), and i’m still unhappy and still feel like i have no privacy. i’m a very quiet, private person, and living with a random person (even though my roommate happens to be very nice) in a room with paperthin walls and a bunch of morons running through the halls yelling at 1am when i have an 8am class the next morning is not exactly my idea of fun. i wouldn’t call myself the typical college student, i hate big parties at off campus houses and frats, i don’t drink because i want to teach so im waiting until im “of age”, i like to be alone alot, and my classes/grades are my very top priority right now, so living in the dorms isn’t exactly my cup of tea. i do, however, know alot of people who love it, so i suggest trying it out your freshman year and seeing what you think for yourself, thats really the only way to know what you want. ill most likely be commuting next year and for the rest of the years until i graduate, and i still feel like ill be very involved in my school, but thats my decision. only you know whats right for you. good luck :)</p>
<p>I saw many excellent points on living on campus vs. living at home, but I didn’t see any information or opinions on living in an apartment near campus. I think that $4,800/ 10 mo year is a bit more reasonable than the $11,000 I would be paying to live in the dorms. I’m just putting a point out there because I’m not entirely sure about the living habits college students living on their own have compared to those living in the dorms.</p>
<p>Live on campus, at least in your first year. You make so many friends, meet so many new people, and you learn to be independent. </p>
<p>After first year, you can reassess. If you really hate living on campus, then you can consider moving back to the parental home. Otherwise, you could consider renting a house off campus with a group of friends for your second & subsequent years. I’ve done the latter (after spending first year on campus) and really enjoyed it, although it is entirely the norm at my university.</p>
<p>First off, I know this is old but I wanted to add my two cents. I would say if you can afford to live on campus your first year then do it. The university I attend now as all suites for dorms and actually has 3 dorms that are not on campus. Those students have to take a shuttle to get to campus. So this university does not have the traditional dorms which probably changes the experience.</p>
<p>The only downfall to living at home is the commute and having a hard time connecting with students. I mean I certainly talked with people in my courses but it wasn’t an ever lasting friendship there just was not enough time to get to know them outside of the class environment. This semester I think I might take a job cashiering for dining services because it will allow me to be on campus more especially during the fall and spring when I don’t have to pay for parking. I will agree that sleeping in and missing class is easy but if you have the determination and the will you can get yourself out of bed. I will have two days a week this semester where I will need to be on the earlier bus which is much better then three days.</p>
<p>I will not be able to live closer to campus with roommates as I cannot afford the rent. I refuse to take out additional loans to do so. I would think that if you are going to school in an area that has a higher cost of living it might be the same price regardless if you live off campus or on. I know someone who said minimum rent for them would be $590 and they would be sharing a room. It sounded like 5 or 6 people would be living there. To me if you are locked in for 12 months that would cost 7,080 not including food, cleaning supplies, personal supplies, and possibly not including utilities. Oh I forgot if you need to get furniture or anything extra that’s additional expenses that some may not include in the budget. At my university room and board for the year is like 10,000 so by my rough calculation it could end up costing the same no matter if it’s off campus.</p>