<p>I have the oportunity to live with my parents while attending the university to save on dorm costs but i kind of want to live on the dorms. Is there anything ill miss out on by not living in them as far as experiences or meeting friends? </p>
<p>Living in dorms tends to be the first time living away from home for a lot of students. You’ll have to be more responsible, but also get more freedom. I think it’s also the time when a lot of guys learn to work a washing machine. :P</p>
<p>In terms of friends, it might set you back a little. Living in dorms means being surrounded by people constantly, and most students become friends with others on their floor… who are going to live a couple doors down (go in your pajamas!) all year. But it’s definitely possible to make friends as a commuter as well, but it’ll be a little harder to meet and befriend people, especially if you’re only on campus for class.</p>
<p>Also, if your commute is more than 30 minutes, it could end up discouraging you from going to school. Hour long discussion section? Nah, I’d rather save on the gas. A review session on the weekend? Too far away. A study group wants to meet up in about an hour? Whoops. So, just something to keep in mind, you don’t want a commute that’s bad enough to affect your attendance and motivation. And the longer you spend commuting, the less time you’ll have for studying, sleeping, etc.</p>
<p>While commuting minus the gas money still is saving, it’s an interesting food for thought that sometimes I rather save the gas / parents money haha ;)</p>
<p>The people that I know that did dorms / apartment their first year yet live about 20-30 minutes away have made new best friends on campus with their roommates. ~This doesn’t always happen to everyone. </p>
<p>–I wish I could dorm for free though! Not only do I have to drive around more, but I also have less of an excuse to carpool with others to places and be more of a ride provider. And sometimes I don’t have a car during the weekend if all my family members want to do different things. And if I didn’t live at home, leaving for road trips would be a little easier.</p>
<p>But I still have made a lot of friends by simply being involved in activities despite living at home. Make a wise decision because dorming costs more than tuition for me.</p>
<p>I am a huge supporter of living on campus! I just graduated from undergrad at a small college, and, despite my family home being about 15 minutes away from my college, I decided to dorm. The deciding factor for me was that I had a scholarship that covered the cost of my tuition, and so I paid only the cost of dorming. Rather than $30,000 a year, my total cost was about $7,500. It was the best decision I have ever made. Not only was I lucky enough to find a best friend in my very first roommate, it was a whole little community and culture, and the majority of my best college experiences came from being a part of that community. It also helps you grow up a lot faster, and now I know that once I’ve earned enough money to move out on my own, I will be able to cook for myself, do my own laundry, and manage all of my responsibilities without any culture shock. </p>
<p>And so, my advice is to definitely take into consideration your family’s financial situation, but if you can dorm, definitely take advantage of the opportunity :)</p>
<p>If possible financially, I would recommend trying to live on campus in the dorms for your freshmen year then commute the rest of your college career. The whole fuss about living on campus is really only relevant your first year in college and it will be fairly similarly the last three years.</p>
<p>I started out as a commuter and moved into my sorority house sophomore year. I would definitely recommend living on campus if you possibly can. </p>
<p>I definitely suggest living on campus. You meet a lot more people in the dorms. In fact, I’d have to say I met most of my close friends in the dorms rather than just in class or at clubs. </p>