My college experience is very far from the traditional, "cookie-cutter" experience that most others have. I am currently commuting from home, which is about 20 minutes away from campus. As a transfer student my housing options were very limited and not having to pay for rent/food/internet/heat/Netflix/printer ink is a pretty great deal
On the flip side, I have also had the standard dorm experience, full of late night adventures, trips to the dining hall and the dreaded first roommate(s) experience.
Having had both of these, I really can't say which one I like better. There are a definite list of pros and cons to both sides of the argument, but I am a firm believer that you have to try out both (if possible) to see which one fits the bill for you.
1. The Roommate Situation: Having the traditional dorm-life experience probably means having a roommate. This past year I had the absolute pleasure of having not one, but two roommates and two suitemates. Usually you can find someone pretty decent on Facebook or you could even strike gold like other people that I know and actually like the random person you were assigned. If you're unlucky you could get someone like I did and end up having to get a new roommate 8 weeks before the school year ends. Roommates in apartments can be a scary thing, especially if you are meeting them from somewhere like Craigslist. However having your own room and only sharing the common areas is a major perk. Everyone is so busy that nobody is ever really home anyways and let's be honest most of our precious time is spent in bed on Netflix. This is where commuting wins for me, because having your own space is something you should never take for granted. Plus, dorm showers make shaving your legs an Olympic sport.
2. Getting to Class: Living in the dorms has its drawbacks, but one major perk is the location. You can find apartments near campus but usually they cost more than your first born child is worth. I loved knowing that if I missed my alarm, I could roll out of bed and run to class and still have enough time to grab coffee. I have to leave my house almost an hour earlier than the time that class starts because I have to drive to the train, take the train and then walk to class. Plus I have to pay for said train pass. And I'm totally screwed if I forget something. Points for living on campus!
3. The Food: As someone who loves to cook, living in the dorms can really make you sad. I cooked when I could, but not being able to have a pantry made me want to do it less and less. Having pots, pans and gadgets in a dorm room is totally unattainable, but being able to have a working kitchen is amazing. I don't care how good the food at school is, eating in the dining hall gets depressing after a while and takeout can be very hard on the wallet. Not having to confine my shopping to a mini-fridge (and share that space with a roommate) is very nice. Therefore, this ones goes to living off-campus.
4. The Freedom: This is kind of a toss-up for me, especially since I am living at home. In the dorms, you have an RA to impose rules on you but when you are living at home you have to be courteous of others who live there. Obviously if you are living with roommates who aren't your parents you have the utmost freedom. Still, I would take living off-campus/at home any day because having to live on a floor where people constantly get in trouble is no fun. Last year my floor was the rowdiest in the building which meant that RA's would always be suspicious of every single thing ever, even if we were just getting too rowdy during our marathon of Ink Masters.
5. The Cost: Living on campus is so overpriced! Sharing a room and bathroom is enough torture already, and you have to pay astronomical prices just to have a crap experience. If you live off campus, rent can usually be much cheaper, especially since you get your own space, storage, kitchen and a bathroom shared with only a few people. The costs sometimes work out to be the same, but not having restrictions on what you can have in your room, not being required to have a meal plan and being able to pirate as many movies as you want makes living off campus the winner. And if your parents are as great as mine, you get to do this for free at home.
While there are many other factors that contribute to the great housing debate, ultimately you have to do what is right for you. For me, my current living situation works; it may not be the same for everyone.
I thought living at home was going to be such a terrible experience but honestly it's not. All of the money that my parents and I are saving is really the only thing that matters. I still have a social life and I'm hardly ever home. Don't think it's lame; think of all of the loans you don't have to take just to pay for rent and groceries. Your adult-self will thank you later!
