Hi I’m starting my first year of college at the infamous RISD. I am definitely going there but I have an issue. Should I dorm or not Dorming cost a little over $6,000. I live at most 15 minutes away so do you think I should dorm or not.
P.S any tips on how to make friends when commuting
Thank
Dorm. You’ll make more friends that way and be fully immersed in the “college experience”. If you don’t like it then you can go home on weekends and live at home the next year.
Depends on your financial situation. Can you afford to live in the dorm? What do you parents want you to do?
If you can afford to dorm, then dorm. I know several students (at different schools) who commuted or lived in off campus apartments in their freshman year and - in general- they were at a disadvantage when it came to making friends.
If you can Dorm freshman year, do so…make those friends. Then decide what to do for later years.
While dorming certainly has its benefits, I just want to chime in that commuting does not mean you’ll have a poor social life or “college experience.”
^ True, true
If money isn’t an issue, though, do dorm. It’s a good experience.
Living 15 minutes away, why would you even consider it? Do you know what money is and where it comes from? You practically live on campus as it is, would you rather have $6000 in your pocket or a loud, uncomfortable, cinderblock cell the exact same distance away?
Honestly, you’re not going to be missing out on any socializing. I guarantee it.
OP, make sure you are looking at not only the difference in cost between the most expensive dorm situation vs. living at home, but also the choice of the least expensive dorm situation.
Maybe I’m missing something here, but what about the other component…food? What are you going to do about meals if you live on campus?
You can make as many friends living off campus as you do living in a dorm. Sporting activities are a good avenue to meet other college students/make friends. The same applies to on-campus clubs.
A lot of college students live within 15-minutes of their college and consider this arrangement as “dorming”.
^ Ehh it’s not about the distance, as much as it is about living with the other students. A lot of bonding happens when students are settled in for the night at their dorms, for example.
Commuting is a perfectly fine option. Just pointing out the benefits of the dorm.
It all depends on A) money available/parents’ willingness to pay and B) how important it is to the OP. Different people value things differently.
If loans of any kind would be needed, don’t do it.
Thank you everyone I decided that I might dorm for my first year and the rest of the four years commute
Living in the dorms does not guarantee friends. It can make you more depressed by being so near but so far.
The potential is there, though. I think you will make friends faster from campus clubs and classmates. Being on campus just means they don’t have to walk as far to get back to your place.
Commuting is no fun either. I recommend living right off campus, so you have your own room at a lower price than on campus.