College is one of the most memorable times of our lives. And without living on campus, your experience could be significantly less exciting. During my first year of college, I've discovered five HUGE reasons to stay on campus.

1. Dining halls

While you may hear horror stories about terrible dining hall food, Michigan State offers some of the best meals in the country. Just by looking at what facilities are on campus, it is clear that maintaining well-balanced, quality dining halls is a priority for the university. It may not be the healthiest food, and there is more room to cheat on your diet, eating at dining halls is a break from the adult world. Not having to make your own food, like you would have to live off campus, is a nice change of pace in the individualistic college lifestyle.

2. Friends for life

Living in a building full of people you have never met before brings a wild array of opportunities. On-campus residence halls can provide you with some of the best friends you’ll ever meet. If you live off campus, you may be able to meet people in your apartment building or next to the house you’re living in, but most people in the residence halls are in the same situation as you. They are living there to make friends and meet new people, even though they may already know their roommate or someone else in the building. Living on is a great decision to meet new people and make friends.

3. It is SO convenient

If your class is four miles away from your apartment building, it’s basically impossible to go to every class. But if you only have a five-to-ten minute walk from your residence hall to get to class, you don’t have a simple excuse to not go. It is at your convenience to live on campus, because like many of our professors say, “every class you miss is wasting money.” So, just think about all the money you are “wasting” every time you turn over in bed and not go to class. I promise living on will help you get better grades, and save money.

4. This is a once in a lifetime chance

You will most likely never be able to say “I lived with nine of my best friends for a whole year” again. So, if you meet a group of people that you click with and get along with, living together in the residence halls provides an opportunity for you to experience everything that college wants you to. You’ll never live this close to Spartan Stadium or the Breslin Center again. There is so much life on campus that you will never be able to be a part of living in an apartment complex.

5. It's the best

With everything that goes on during the academic year, it will be hard to forget everything you do. Living on campus provides students with some incredible stories and memories, and if I hadn’t lived on campus, I would not be the person I am today. It helps students transition from being dependent children at home, towards the adulthood after college. It’s truly wonderful to witness everything that happens on campus, and I hope everyone gets to experience it like I did.