A meal plan
Having a meal plan was the greatest thing that could have ever happened to me. While dining hall food isn't the best food you could ever want to eat, you could eat and buy food whenever you wanted. Let me tell you, I never realized how much I would hate having to go grocery shopping for my apartment. Everything is expensive, and you have to decide what kind of food you want for dinner and lunch right then and there. With a meal plan, you can just walk into a dining hall and figure out what you want then. Trust me, you'll miss it too.
Being close to campus
While my apartment is pretty close to campus, being in a dorm is a whole new kind of close. For one of my 8a.m. classes, I have to catch the bus outside of my apartment at around 7:40 in order to make it to the building on time. When I lived in my freshman year dorm right on campus, I could get out of bed at 7:40, leave at 7:55, and still make it there with a few minutes to spare. When you live on campus, you feel so much more connected and involved. It's so much easier to go to campus events, meetings, and other activities.
Having friends down the hall
It's pretty hard not to be social when you live in a dorm. Bored? Go knock on your friends door who lives down the hall. Hungry? Ask your roommate if they want to get food. Need social interaction? Just go sit in your floor lobby and hang out with the other people chilling in there. While I live in an apartment with thee friends, it's not the same as having multiple friends around you all the time.
The bonds and friendships you'll make
Especially when it's your first few weeks of school, the people in your dorm are the people you will most likely make your first connections with. Living in an apartment is so much fun, and it gives you way more freedom, but it's more isolated than people would likely imagine. If you live in a dorm and you don't like it, I get it. However, don't let it go too fast, and enjoy the connections you will make in your tiny rooms!
