You could say I am just a little scared about living on campus. I just finished my first year of living on campus and you could say it was one of the most inconvenient and annoying experiences in my college journey so far. To name just a few of my biggest frustrations:
1. I am paying more money to share a room and a bathroom than to live off campus in my own room and bathroom
I pay almost $900 dollars a month to share a normal sized bedroom and one closet with another person and a bathroom with four other people. This includes crappy internet that never works or kicks me off constantly in a show. This includes electricity and air conditioning that I have no control over the temperature in my room, but only the temperature I want the air to blow out at. I also have no kitchen and the kitchen provided on my floor was closed for almost the entire fall semester and is never cleaned.
Lastly, it includes a three-piece functional set of furniture with prison mattress to top it off. Now, why would I pay so much to live in subpar living experience when I can live five minutes off campus and pay a lot less for my own room, my own bathroom, and amenities included?
2. They make you spend an egregious amount of money on a meal plan to eat nasty dining hall food.
The biggest complaint and debate of this past school year was the dining hall fails. We have had uncooked chicken in all forms, maggots on vegetables, and rotten fruits served to students. There are limited options to choose from causing you to typically end up eating unhealthy even though they are trying to be healthy because there is nothing good to eat. They require you to pay thousands of dollars a semester to buy a meal plan if you live on campus. I would rather cook my own food at this point, but then I am wasting money and that's right I don't have a kitchen.
3. The social experience they tell you about is a myth.
My parents and I am sure other parents included tell you all about how many friends you make living on campus and how great it was. They are wrong. Maybe back then it was fun and great, now it sucks. I lived in my dorms for eight months and have never spoken to a single person in my pod. They stay up late and watch TV, rearrange the furniture, and are loud when you are trying to sleep. Sometimes you just don't click. There is no guarantee you will find your people living on campus.
4. The cleaning staff that is supposed to clean the bathroom doesn't do their job.
Remeber how I said I pay thousands of dollars a semester to live int hat little room, well they also promised me my bathroom would be cleaned once a week. Well, our cleaning lady on our floor either decides she won't get to us that day or comes in and wipes the mirror and leaves. Other days we come in and the place reeks of bleach. They also don't do a very thorough job. I really only get free toilet paper out fo this gig.
See also: I Chose To Move Off Campus And Live Alone, Let Me Tell Ya, I Am THRIVING
5. They say students are more academically successful when living on campus.
There is not one person in my pod with my major. I also cannot study in my pod because people are always out there watching tv or socializing. Then there is your roommate who plays video games, watches tv, or does homework all hours of the night. There is also the chance your roommate goes to bed uber early and expects the lights to be off or is taking a nap so you can't turn the lights on because you don't want to be rude.
There is also nowhere in the building considered to study locations because the classroom doors are locked, the lobby is too loud, or people are in the kitchens/ it is dirty. At this point, you have no choice, but to go to the library.
6. You can hear everything.
I can hear the people upstairs dropping coins and walking around. I can hear my suitemate on the phone through the walls. I can hear people outside in the pod watching tv or talking loudly. I can hear the neighboring room someone throwing a ball at the wall. I can hear people playing online video games in their room from the pod. You can hear everything and usually, it's when you ware trying to go to bed.
