The smell of a mom cooking dinner and a welcoming hug of a father that makes them feel like he has their world in his hands is enough to make a student forget about the stress of school. There is nowhere else a student would rather be living than in a clean place like home with everything arranged neatly from the kitchen to the bedrooms, and no leftover pizza sitting on the counter for days or even weeks.

More people are living at home or by themselves now. Students prefer their own private place and the freedom to do what they want without being disturb by other roommates.

“Florida Gulf Coast University has 15,000 students; 5,000 live in FGCU student housing and the rest live with parents and by themselves,” according to Susan Evans, Vice President and Chief of Staff at FGCU.

Living at home with parents while going to college is not as bad as many people make it feel like. People tend to have the idea that students who live at home are the ones who can’t make friends, weirdos, and unable to connect to the outside world, but there are many other reasons that we don’t really think about.

Commonly, people think living at home is only to save money, which is not always true. College is a heck of a workload and can be so stressful at times that not having the right support and guidance can cause many students to drop out.

“It’s like a give and take,” Harold Melendez, a freshman at FGCU said. “Living on campus, I have a more social life but struggle with money. Living with my parents, less social life but I’m good with money and to be honest, I would rather be good with money.”

It depends on what students want to do while they are going to college. If a student only wants to make new friends and have fun, living on campus is the best option. But if a student wants to further his or her education, living at home is not bad because grad school is not that cheap.

“I feel like if someone is planning on doing something after their major, living at home is a better option,” Melendez said. “I want to go to grad school, and that’s not something really affordable. I need to save up.”

The first few weeks living in a dorm is pretty neat and clean, but after a month or so, it gets bad and hectic. Roommates start to come home late after a late night, throwing shoes and socks anywhere in the living room. Sweaty T-shirts, cups, bottles, and books are piled up on the couch and coffee table. The trash can is full and starting to smell. No one wants to take out the trash, and dirty dishes are piled up in the sink and on top of the stove.

“It’s good to be independent,” Conner Saxenmeyer, a senior at FGCU said. “There are a lot of dirty roommates for the year of college. I don’t have to deal with that, whatever mess I make, it’s mine. I clean it, and I don’t have to worry about other people’s messes.”

It is not always that great living with other people. Sometimes students lied on the application to get a better roommates or so they can be with their friends.

“I asked to match me with non-smokers and clean students, and they put me in a dorm with those three guys,” Ryan Deisher, a junior at Santa Fe College said. “They were nice and neat in the first month, then they start drinking, smoking inside the dorm and trash was everywhere. I had to leave and get a place on my own.”

Parents are the biggest supporters a college student can ever have. They push their kids to stay on top of their school work and motivated them when things start to get hard. Students procrastinate a lot, especially when they have two weeks ahead of them before an assignment is due. Sometimes students try to do the assignment the last hour before its due, but at home, parents are always pushing their kids to get everything done ahead of time.

“Living with parents has its up and down, but they always encourage me to get my work done,” Preston Olinger, a sophomore at FGCU said.

It saves students so much time from scheduling an appointment with counselors to discuss private matters or how stress they are.

“Living at home, you have a million supports compare to when you’re away from home. You got all the comfort from your family and their jokes and laughs,” Cecilia Mojica, a senior at FGCU said.

Students who live at home have the freedom to escape all the noises. Dorms are often noisy with so many students living in one building. It’s hard to study and stay focused with all the noises going on around the room.

“Having your own room to escape isn’t always available to those students who live on campus. Friends are coming over all the time, and your roommates are coming home with random people all the time,” Jann Rickson, a junior a Santa Fe College said. “So studying in a quiet place is almost impossible to do.”

Those students are less likely to catch a cold or flu. Students who live in a dorm share the kitchen and living room. It is not often college students are going to clean after themselves, so another student is more likely to catch a cold and any other diseases by sharing the same unsanitary things.

After all, living with parents while going to college is not as bad as people think. Students find it beneficial in so many ways, and they get a lot more done in less time.

“It’s kind of comforting to come home to those people I know,” Daniel Quiroz said. “I can talk to them about my experience at school, and I can be myself.

Living at home ease and decrease the amount of pressures students go through. Whether a student lives at home or by him or herself, he or she can enjoy college life and get involved just like the students who live on campus.