Michael Emilio

Who can escape the allure of the dorm room?

You get the thrill of college life… and along with that, the cramped conditions, shared bathrooms, and nosy resident assistants that stick their nose into all of your business.

Because really, who can escape the unbridled freedom of living off-campus, by YOUR rules.

So what’s better: living on campus in a dorm room or living off-campus?

The advantages of living on-campus

You are fully connected to your college social scene. Just being around the dorm areas you can take a look at fliers posted for upcoming parties. You are actually IN school, which means you have access right across the hall to a fellow student. You can’t really escape the benefit of having everyone in your same building being roughly the same age as you also!

“It’s great being able to hang out with my college friends just by walking down the hall of my dorm and giving them a quick knock on the door! Another cool thing is that the bulletin boards have fliers so I’m really plugged in to the parties going on.” - Samantha Cole, University of Miami

You are close to your classes and resources. You don’t have to worry about the time involved in driving to campus. The school library is also much more accessible - whereas if you lived too far, you might conclude driving to the library isn’t worth the time involved.

“I live maybe 30 minutes away from school, so it’s a pain to be driving just for the library. What I usually just do is schedule any library time for right after I get out of a class.” - Terry DeFortuna, Miami International University of Art and Design

The advantages of living off-campus

You play by YOUR rules. A major complaint by those in dorm rooms is the fact they have very nosy resident assistants that can sometimes peer too much into your private life. Remember, most colleges do not allow you to cohabitate your dorm room with a boyfriend or girlfriend as coed rooms are usually not permitted. You’d like to maybe have a cocktail party and have some drinks with friends in your dorm room? Drinking alcohol is usually not allowed in a dorm room, but of course you’re perfectly free to do as you please in your off-campus rental.

“It’s just great to do what I want. I can have my boyfriend over for some wine and then invite my friends over. It was just such a pain when I lived on campus in the residence halls, I had to check everyone in, they couldn’t come over after a certain time, my boyfriend couldn’t stay over… I guess I like my freedom!” - Monica Suero, Florida International University

You get more room for less money. The average cost of room and board for college students in a four-year public university is $6,960 and $8,149 for a private university. Most of the time, off-campus apartments are less expensive than a college dormitory. You can get more square footage for either the same price or less as a dorm room. Remember, you’ll actually be able to have your own room instead of sharing a room with one or more people as you would in a dorm room!

“I have so much space in my own place here. When I go visit my sister at her dorm, I’m shocked with it - I mean, my sister and her roommate are packed like a sardine can!” - Antonio Casalas, Carlos Albizu University

You can actually get your schoolwork done off-campus. Although the social life of dorms is tempting, the fact is that the fast paced lifestyle of dormitories is usually a major distraction for studying and homework. Most students report that their grades improve when they move off campus because there are less interruptions and you can actually study in your own room as opposed to finding an outside location to study.

“I was kind of struggling last semester with my grades so I decided to move into my own apartment with my cousin maybe 5 minutes away from school and my grades have definitely improved. Although I liked having my friends in and out of my dorm room, it just got to the point that it seemed to hang out with my friends more than do what I had to do for school.” - Pat McCormick, Nova Southeastern University and Miami-Dade College

Ultimately, the decision is up to you. Weigh out the pros and cons of each and decide what’s right for you!