On-Campus Living vs. Off-Campus Living

Kunyi Li
Mr. Harlan
RH131
April 12, 2013

On-Campus Living vs. Off-Campus Living

It's an inevitable question that every college student must answer: should you live on-campus or off-campus? The fact is living on or off campus can drastically change your college experience; both options have their advantages and disadvantages. So it is crucial for student to weigh their choices before making a final decision. The major proponents of living on-campus are believe that on-campus life is easier to make connections with people in housing environment and physically closer to campus than an off-campus apartment. The negative is that constantly surrounded only by other students.
Living on-campus will allow you to meet more people and establish more friendships than if you live off-campus. Living in a dorm means that there will always be someone around to hang out with. You will also usually be aware of any campus activities and how to be involved in them. For example, you are doing homework on your desk, and your neighbor stop by telling you there is a cook out just started near the library. So you can either keep working or throw up your pen and go have a hotdog. That is not easy if you live off-campus.
Another serious advantage worth to mention is that physically closer to campus. It is ten times easier to access campus facilities when you live right there. Going to campus can simply be a hassle when you live in the surrounding area. Chances are that you will have a close place to park your car off-campus, unlike living on-campus. You might even be late for class simply due to the fact that you can't find parking. If you live on-campus, you can easily walk to classes, libraries, computer labs, cafeterias, etc. You don't have to waste time and money on driving to school, finding a parking space, and so forth. You can meet up any time but not worry about taking too much time on the driving.
However, living on-campus sometimes can be annoying. When living in a dorm, it can be very hard to find privacy. You have to share bedrooms, bathrooms, etc. The close living quarters mean that you may never have quiet time in your dorm because there will always be something going on. Also, at most colleges, the dorm rooms are tiny. You have to limit what you bring to school, or your space will be too crowded. That means you can't bring a different pair of shoes for every outfit.
In summary, living on-campus can make you feel stronger sense of community, easy to get involved in college life, and save a considerable time or money. But you may feel like you can never "get away"; also you have to share your bathroom and space with many, many people. So this final decision can be different because of different personality. These pros and cons of living on-campus and off-campus only provide advices of making final decision.