<p>Hello,</p>
<p>I need your honest opinion on whether or not I should get a dorm. There are many dorm threads, but none really address non-social beings like myself. I'm starting college @ RIT this Fall for 5 years (4 years for BS in Management Information Systems and 1 year for MBA in MIS).</p>
<p>Dorms, after adding up deposit costs, mandatory dining plan, etc.. it comes out about $20K a year. Most people have said I should go and get a dorm for the first year for the "college experience", but then again everyone's reasons seems to be "making friends" and "social gatherings". I'm a shy guy that always keeps to myself. I never had an interest in attending social gatherings, nor did I ever care for making friends (they always just came through random occurrences).</p>
<p>Is there anything that would benefit me, other than making new friends and social gatherings, if I took out a $20K loan just to attend freshman year? I live 6.5 miles away with parents, but I can't seem to justify getting a loan for $20K when I live 6.5 miles away (most people that go to RIT are either international students or out of state - so they are required to live on campus). After scholarships and other aid, I pay $5K/year for tuition. Is the college experience honestly worth paying $25K (tuition + dorm) vs just the $5K, living with parents 6.5 miles away? Need I also say free food, laundry, internet, cable, etc at home..</p>
<p>What I love about RIT is the mandatory co-op and the job opportunities that are involved, and I'm sure during those co-op terms I could pay off part of the dorm debt during the year, just don't know if I should use the money towards dorm debt or just towards the $5K a year and come out of school with a bachelors and a MBA from RIT, in 5 years with no debt.</p>
<p>What do you think? I just can't see myself sitting on a small bed in a puny dorm room, feet away from a complete stranger, thinking to myself "Wow, I just wasted $20K when I could be in my nice cozy room at home". There really are no distractions at home, my father is a public official and comes home at around 10PM every night from working late in his office. My mother is a " homemaker" and usually keeps to herself in her bedroom. I'm an only child and the only possible attraction is the family dog, pug, when he wants attention.</p>
<p>Any ideas?</p>
<p>I think u already answered the question for yourself.</p>
<p>Stay home! You are lucky that you actually seem to like living at home, and you see the advantages. If you get bored, you can seek out social activities or clubs to join, on or off campus. If you really hate it the first year, you could try to get a dorm room second year.</p>
<p>I’d live in the dorm-- Your home life sounds downright depressing. Open yourself up to change-- be uncomfortable-- it’s OK! That’s how you grow up and experience life and learn to adapt. There’s a huge world out there-- live it!</p>
<p>Would you be okay if you didn’t have any friends in college?</p>
<p>Normally, I tell people that living on campus is not worth the debt, and you can have as active of a social life as you want, as long as you put in the effort. But you don’t sound like you would put in any effort in making friends at college, and it’s unlikely that you would make anything other than acquaintances from “random occurrences.” It’s hard to make friends in college if you don’t put yourself in situations where you would be likely to, and it’s even harder if you’re naturally shy and avoid social situations. If you would like to have friends in college, then I would recommend you dorm, at least for the first year, not because that’s the only way to make friends but because that might be easier for you to make friends if you’re going to rely on chance meetings.</p>
<p>On the other hand, if you’re perfectly okay with not making friends or with it being harder to make friends. Or you’re completely willing to put in the extra effort to make friends whenever it suits you, then by all means live at home.</p>
<p>I’m having trouble figuring out how you’re getting room and board to be $20k. My D just finished her freshman year there, and it was not anywhere close to that. I looked it up, and a double in a Residence Hall is $6758 for the year, and the lowest meal plan (which is more food than I can imagine using) is $4810 for the year. Your housing deposit counts toward this amount.</p>
<p>That said, she did live in a shoebox with a stranger and shared bathroom. But, she made great friends and gained a lot of life skills. </p>
<p>Thank you all for the replies. I made an error in calculation, thanks to @mamaduck for noticing. Housing and food is $11568 and RIT emailed me today offering to add $4,000 more in grant aid along with $2000 more in loan options. I might consider this option now, more for the life skills part of it.</p>
<p>I can understand saving the money. But you ought to at least try to come out of your shell a bit. If you live at home you need to join some clubs and meet people your age. It’s easier to make friends in college than any other time in your life, IMO. </p>
<p>I think it’s a good idea to try dorming your first year. At least you have a plan B if you really hate it. One of my kids is an introvert. He also makes friends thru “random occurrences”. Other times, he’s perfectly happy being alone. Being around people is exhausting for him, so imagine my surprise when he decided to go away for college. I was pretty sure it would be a disaster and he’d end up hating his roommates. But he himself said that if he didn’t go away, he’d never grow up and be self-sufficient. It was really hard for him in the beginning, but by the end of the year, he’d learned a lot about being responsible for himself. And he liked some of his roommates enough to dorm with them again in the fall. Living on campus presented opportunities he would never have come across otherwise. There were poker games, watching sports in someone’s room, midnight runs for food. He even went to a frat party. He didn’t do it all, but he did some, which is more than he would’ve done had he decided to commute. When it got overwhelming, he would come home weekends. He’s home for the summer, has sort of reverted back to his former self, so a part of me can’t wait until he goes back. </p>
<p>College is a time to stretch yourself. Live on campus as a freshman and then reevaluate. </p>