Figuring Out Where to Live

After you have committed yourself to a particular college the next step is figuring out where to live. This is assuming that the student will be living away from home while at school.

Do some comparisons before randomly selecting a housing option. During campus visits you may only discover and be subjected to a couple of housing options. Do some research about “student living at xyz university” and figure out what you want to gain from your college living experience.

• Some things to consider

• Price: Dorms are usually more expensive than off-campus apartments due to included fees such as a meal plan, cable/internet, and utilities. Apartments generally don’t include these things in the rent. This requires you to acquire and pay for cable, utilities, etc..
• Privacy: In a dorm you have roommates and the living space is usually smaller than apartments. In apartments you have the option of living on your own or choosing your roommates to live with.
• Meeting new people: Dorms provide the perfect environment for meeting new people. It is much harder to meet new people in apartments.
• In my opinion, dorms are better for first year college students. Dorms have many organized activities including: sports, games, movie nights, contests, etc. A meal plan is usually offered by dorms. This means you don’t have to cook or clean and the food is always ready. Dorms are also as close as you can get to campus. There is no need to worry about commuting to and from campus. Dorms increase your campus involvement level by making you close and quickly available for all sorts of meet-ups and events.

If you will continue living at home while in college, your next step is to become acquainted with the campus and discover the best transportation routes from home to campus.