Most freshman entering college may not have had the choice of living or not living in the college dorms. For those that do there are many things to consider when making that decision. Living in college dorms can be a hard adjustment from living at home and is not meant for some students. With living in college dorms there are advantages, such as, accessibility to the school, increased social life, simplicity, inexpensive costs, and sense of safety. Although everything comes with disadvantages and they are little privacy, limited space, possible roommate issues, possible low GPA, and hard adjustments of leaving home. This is why it is important to decide if living in college dorms best meets your interests. Living in a dorm is not always the best choice for college students.
In a recent interview with Teresa Hibbard, the director of housing at The University of Tennessee at Martin (UTM), she gave the statistic that there are currently 1254 students living in the residence halls. Out of these 1254 students 772 are freshman. Even though the majority of students living in the dorms are freshman, the dorms are also filled by many non-freshman. A recent survey of thirty UTM freshman living in the dorms shows that, 67% of students said, they would not consider living in the residence halls in the future years of college. This percentage shows that many of the non-freshman students living in the dorms have found that the dormitories meet their needs as a student or they may not be there by choice.
Accessibility to the school can be a costly, timely, and even frustrating part of college. If you live on campus, you can easily walk to classes, libraries, computer labs, cafeterias, etc. The majority of students living in dorms have meal plans so there is not the trouble of wondering where you will eat, the cost of restaurants, or even the hassle of grocery shopping and cooking a meal. Students do not have to waste time and money on driving to school, finding a parking space, and so forth. The dorms are on-campus so the students are close to their classes.
One reason that many students choose to live in college dorms is the cost. Of the thirty people surveyed, only 10 students considered the cost of living in dorms as expensive. Although living in dorms can be costly, it is much cheaper than living in on-campus apartments or even living off campus. You receive a sense of responsibility typically from being away from your parents house and having less rules. So your getting a chance to mature and getting closer to the real world, but you are not hassled with the responsibility of paying bills, since everything is paid upfront and in one large sum. There are no additional fees to be paid towards housing. With this fee you are also able to enjoy many features such as, cable internet, cable television service, and telephone service. In an interview conducted with Kris Gordon, a student at UTM, he said:”With all the fees paid upfront, I don’t have to worry about budgeting and saving money for rent. I am also able to enjoy the same luxuries of cable TV and internet as I had at my home”. Something that is always hard for college students is budgeting money. With all the fees paid upfront there is no need to set money aside and worry about having next months rent, utilities, and other payments.
Freshman students sometimes have a hard time adjusting to college life. Many are leaving home for the first time, and friends that they have known throughout grade school are now spread around in different colleges or the work force. One thing that can be a huge help in adjusting to college life is becoming involved with campus activities and having a good social life. Teresa Hibbard explained that, “One of the main reasons living in the dormitories enhances a students college experience is that it keeps the students involved with campus life, and it is a great chance to make new friends since you are able to be close to so many different people at one time.” When living in the dorms there is always someone to hang out with if you just put yourself out there. Being around so many people every day allows you to meet new friends and establish relationships with people.
The biggest adjustment when moving into a dorm is learning to live in close quarters with another person and having little to no privacy. You are forced to share a bedroom with a roommate and even share a single bathroom with several people you do not typically know. This can become frustrating when there is almost no quite time in your dorm room. Even when rooming with a close friend you will often even get tired of him or her. Kris Gordon requested to room with a grade school friend and now does not know if that was a good idea. Kris said, “Going into college I was excited to be rooming with someone I knew and was friends with, but now I think of him as an asshole. He has got to have the worst habits of anyone I know. I have even found myself avoiding going to my room in-between classes, just because I knew he would be there.” It takes patience when learning to live with someone in such close quarters. You are forced to adjust your way of living.College dorm rooms are tiny so you have very limited space. You are obligated to limit what you bring to school or your space will be too crowded. Students will need to consider their own wants and needs when deciding what clothes and items to bring with you.
Students are ultimately going to school for an education, but this is sometimes lost in a student’s social life. When it is difficult to find alone or quite time to study, schoolwork could quickly fall to the bottom of many student’s priorities. Dorm life is very social and if a student chooses to hang out with their dorm buddies instead of studying at the library their grades could suffer. Since everyone has different classes not everyone will be trying to study the same time as you. There will always be something going on and someone trying to find someone to hang out with.
Looking at the following pros and cons there are many things to consider. Although living in college dorms can be a helpful part of adjustment to college life, it is not the suited for all college students. Without giving up many of the positives of living in dorms a student could choose to live in the apartments on-campus. I think for some students the best way to go for would be, to skip the dorm experience. When going to college it is important to have a social life, but the social life can become nearly inescapable and the dorm activities can feel like unavoidable obligations while living in dormitories.
Works Cited
Gordon, Kris. Personal Interview. 28 October 2006.
Hibbard, Teresa. Personal Interview. 28 October 2006.
