Off campus living, why so many students?

<p>Upon researching UMiami more and more I have found that a larg majority of students do not live on campus. Could someone please describe why this is and how it effects social and academic life for students living on campus at the U? Thanks so much</p>

<p>Let me clarify. A large majority of juniors and seniors live off campus. All freshmen aside from commuters live on-campus in the freshmen dorms. Most also decide to stay on campus for their sophomore year. There are those who don’t, but they are the clear minority. Juniors and Seniors live mainly off-campus, but this is typical of almost every college. Part of this is due to the fact that most universities can’t support all of their undergrads in university-based housing. It’s just not feasible to for the university to provide housing for nearly 10,000 undergrads, let alone 30,000 or 40,000 in some larger state schools. Part of it also is due to the fact that Juniors and Seniors tend to want more independence, and don’t want to have to rely on dorm rules and living with someone in a small, cramped room. This in no way affects social and academic life for those living on-campus, especially since most of your friendships are made in your freshman year while you’re living within a few hundred feet of all the other freshmen.</p>

<p>We visited Um a few weeks ago, we were informed that about 4500 students out of 9500 undergrads live on campus (if I remember correctly) so that’s a pretty big percentage.</p>