What are the differences between living in the dorms and living off-campus? Which one is better? Here are our thoughts and experiences.
Dorming – Chenghui Jiang
Dorming is definitely a freshman college experience. One of the great things about dorming is being able to meet new people. As a freshman, no one expects you to be an expert on campus. It is probably the first time anyone has been away from home. Dorming in college means learning how to respect someone else’s space. If issues arise, RAs in the building could help resolve roommate conflicts, but you learn how to communicate with your roommate, who may or may not become your best friend. Additionally, dorms are closer to your classes and require less time to walk to a bus stop. As the years pass, off-campus housing is definitely a great option because you get to live with the people of your liking.
Off-Campus – Zeal Doshi
Living off-campus is a wonderful experience, yet it comes with its very own set of advantages and disadvantages. Living off-campus gives you the option of having more spacious rooms and getting to pick who you want to live with. You also get the option of cheaper rent depending on where on campus you live.
However, with having more options, comes more responsibilities. When you are living off-campus, you are treated more like an adult and you do not have RA supervision at all times. If problems arise within your apartment or off-campus house, it is solely up to you and your roommates to come up with a solution. You are also more like an adult in the aspect that you have to plan out your own meals if you don’t have a meal plan. If you did purchase a meal plan, it takes a while to walk to the nearest dining hall.
Personally, I recommend living off-campus as an upperclassman especially if you do not know the ins and outs of the university. Living off-campus can make you less aware of all the events that are going on around campus. Many events are also for residents, some of which can be attended by everyone, but it can be difficult to find out about those events.
Dorming – Keoni Nguyen
There are some pretty obvious pros and cons to the dorming life. While dorming is nice for people who like to have constant social access to a large number of people and don’t want to trek or commute, I think the most troubling thing about dorming can definitely be the bathrooms. Even though it’s nice to not have to set aside time to clean the bathrooms (or dole out and regulate housemates’ turns to clean them), they can be a truly nasty experience at times. Clogged shower drains, questionable smears on the walls of the shower or bathroom stalls, even more questionable unflushed substances in the toilet bowls, I can honestly go on forever.
I think that, if taken advantage of, dorming can be a great experience. It allows you the opportunity to live and meet other students you may otherwise never have a class with, talk to, or hang out with. Socializing and hanging out with people from different backgrounds that have different experiences from you allows you to challenge your ideas, thoughts, and expand your horizon.
Dorming-Hannah Javed
Dorming has its pros and cons and definitely does not offer the amount of freedom that living off-campus does. However, I personally think dorming is a much better choice for incoming freshman and even sophomores. Dorming really allows one to engage themselves in a college community with students who are facing similar situations. A dorm generally has floor meetings and events designed by the Resident Assistants to nurture a community atmosphere. These events and meetings allow residents to interact with their floormates. Eventually, these floormates become friends. The wonderful aspect about having a diverse floor community is the various backgrounds and experiences people have to offer, which definitely leads to interesting conversations. A lot of college friendships usually begin in a residence hall, whether it’s a roommate or a floormate.
However, dorming can be frustrating because the rooms may not be as big as you may find in an off-campus house. Dorming also generally doesn’t offer a kitchen, which doesn’t allow you to cook healthy nutritious meals for yourself. Sharing a communal bathroom space can also be uncomfortable because of the various bathroom habits of individuals. An off-campus house generally has fewer people living there than a dorm, so bathroom situations are less complicated. At the end of the day, both dorming and living off-campus has its pros and cons. It really depends on the individual and their personal situation to see which is a better fit.