In college, you’ll be confronted with several extremely important decisions to make, from deciding on a major to choosing which campus organizations to join (and some even more important, like which shoes to wear to Bentley’s on a Friday night). One decision whose significance often gets overlooked is that of where to live while you attend school. Whether you’re hitting snooze on your alarm for the sixth time, recovering from the night before or just hanging out, chances are you’re going to be spending a lot of time wherever you choose to reside. To assist you all, I’ve profiled different living options, both on and off campus, so you have an idea of what to expect from each one.
North Campus High-Rises
High-Rises (better known as dorms) have a reputation for being dirty, loud and constantly full of drunk freshmen…probably because they are dirty, loud and constantly full of drunk freshmen. But most students agree that’s what makes living in the dorms such a great #thatssocollege experience. Plus, it has its perks…you live right next door to all your new best friends, there’s always someone to hang out/study/go get food with and, with over 100 collegiettes™ in one central location, you basically have an unlimited amount of closets to borrow clothes from! Trust me, from the serious case of heat stroke you’ll get from living without air conditioning the first two weeks of school to the severe mental breakdowns during finals (silent breakdowns of course…quiet hours week is no joke), living in the dorms will be an experience you will never forget (and barely remember).
Location: North Campus
Cost: $2,857 per semester
Bedrooms: 30-40 per floor
Bathrooms: 1 or 2 per floor
Food: Meal Plans are required
Authority: 2 Resident Assistants (RAs) per floor, and 1 Resident Director (RD) per building
South Campus Apartments and Suites
After freshman year, most students typically decide to leave the crazy dorm life behind in favor of a more personal living arrangement. For those who aren’t quite ready to make the jump off-campus, the South Campus apartments and suites are the perfect fit (apartments only differ from suites in that they have kitchens and dining rooms). With only two RA’s per building, students have more freedom while still maintaining the benefits of on-campus housing (aka free wireless internet – don’t worry, you don’t have to pay extra for your Hulu addiction quite yet).
Location: Most are located on South Campus, Leonardtown Apartments are located behind Frat Row
Cost: Suites – $2,857 per semester; Apartments – $2997.50 per semester
Bedrooms: 3-5 per suite/apartment
Bathrooms: 1-3 per suite/apartment
Food: Meal plans are required for suites, apartments have kitchens
Authority: 2 RAs per building
South Campus Commons
Often referred to as one of the most coveted living locations (and, no, I’m not just saying that because I snagged a spot in Commons 7 for next year – yay!), Commons residents get the advantages of single bedrooms and a washer and dryer in each apartment, along with everything that comes with living on-campus. And, since the lease is for an entire year, students can continue to live in their apartments over the summer (all of the fun of living in College Park without having to go to class…enough said). However, getting into Commons can be very competitive, so it’s best to have a back-up plan in case this doesn’t work out (or make friends with a collegiette™ that’s already living there so she can pull you in)!
Location: South Campus
Cost: $767 – $879 per month (depending on the number of bedrooms)
Bedrooms: 2-4 per apartment
Bathrooms: 2 per apartment
Food: Kitchens
Authority: 1 RA on each floor
Off-Campus Apartments
Once you finally decide to make the transition to off-campus housing, apartment buildings like The View, Parkside and Knox Towers are popular choices. These are basically set up the same way dorms are, with several stories in each building and many different apartments on each floor (one key difference being that the rooms are big enough to throw parties of more than four people). Because these apartments are not affiliated with the University, there are no RAs, which makes seeing people walking around with Nattys a common occurrence (not like this was uncommon in the dorms..especially if you lived in Easton). Unfortunately, these generally come completely unfurnished, so it’s up to the tenants to provide furniture (but seriously, what collegiette™ doesn’t like to decorate?).
Location: Varies, but generally across Rt. 1
Cost: Varies
Bedrooms: Generally 2-4 per apartment
Bathrooms: Generally 2-3 per apartment
Food: Kitchens
Authority: No RAs