Most college students live in residence halls on campus for at least the first year or two of their studies. It is usually thought that dorm life is preferable for students starting their college careers so that they can meet people and have easy access to dining halls and other campus facilities. Of course, living on campus is often more expensive than most off-campus living options, and the amenities of on-campus living are often limited. However, living in a dorm is worth the money in a number of circumstances.
I lived in on-campus residence halls for all seven years of my college and graduate school experience. As previously mentioned on this website, I was a Resident Advisor for two years in college, and this provided me with free housing. However, the five other years I was a student, I lived on campus in the dorms as a paying student. This was expensive, especially when I lived in Washington, DC and my law school charged well over $1,000 a month for housing costs. However, living in a dorm is worth the money for a number of reasons.
Perhaps most importantly, living in a dorm can help you succeed academically. If you live in a dorm, you usually have to spend almost no time traveling to class or back home. This means that you have more time to study and complete assignments, and this can have a positive impact on your grades. Of course, grades are important to securing jobs, applying to graduate school, and other pursuits. As a result, living on campus can impact your ability to pay off student loans indirectly because of the impact this can have on your grades.
In addition, living in a dorm is worth the money, since it helps students be more connected with on-campus organizations. Students at many colleges participate in clubs, sports, and other activities on campus. Such organizations allow students to not only make social connections, but also obtain leadership positions that can be useful if students apply for further schooling in the future.
It can be difficult for off-campus students to be active participants in many organizations. This is because students need to attend meetings and competitions in order to be involved with many organizations, and it might be difficult to travel to and from campus to be so involved. Since clubs and activities can help people be admitted to graduate programs and potentially receive financial assistance at these schools, living in a dorm is worth the money to assist you in actively participating in on-campus life.
Furthermore, living on campus is worth the money if you have an on-campus job. As mentioned previously on this website, I worked a few work-study jobs as a graduate student. These jobs paid me significantly more than minimum wage, and allowed me to pay for textbooks, food costs, and other expenses associated with attending law school.
Since I lived on campus, it was extremely easy for me to “commute” to my job. Indeed, my workspace was in the same building that I lived in, so it was no imposition at all to travel to work. However, if I lived off campus, it might have been difficult for me to hold down an on-campus work-study job. Since on-campus work-study positions can be very lucrative, it might be worth it to live on campus so that you can earn money in work-study positions.
Living in a dorm is worth the money for all of the social experiences you have on campus. As mentioned in prior articles, one of the best benefits of college is meeting new people, having unique experiences, and coming out of your shell in ways not possible earlier in life. The friendships you forge, and the life lessons you learn in college, will last much longer than the information you acquire in most classes.
Of course, people who live off campus enjoy much of the same college life as people who live in residence halls. However, when you live off campus, it is much easier to surround yourself with a limited amount of connections. While living on campus, you have the ability to meet new people and explore in ways not possible if you live off campus.
It should be noted that living in a dorm is worth the money mostly if you have to pay to live off campus. If you can crash with parents and commute to school, you can save an incredible amount of money on housing costs and living expenses. Over four years, this amount can add up to a substantial amount of money. Of course, people who have the option of living off campus for free need to make difficult decisions about forgoing some of the experiences of college in favor of saving money. It is usually important for students to live on campus for at least some part of their college career so they can enjoy parts of the college experience they cannot find off campus.
In the end, living in a dorm is worth the money in a number of circumstances, and students should usually spend the additional sums to live on campus for at least some part of their college career. Living in the dorms can not only help you academically, but can enrich your college life with connections and experiences that will be useful long after you graduate.