Should You Live On or Off Campus?
Getting ready to go to college means making multiple important decisions, including where to live. The choice between on- or off-campus housing can have a major impact on a student’s education and their overall experience, so it shouldn’t be made lightly.
Getting ready to go to college means making multiple important decisions, including where to live. The choice between on- or off-campus housing can have a major impact on a student’s education and their overall experience, so it shouldn’t be made lightly.
Space Out
Practical & Personal Decor
- Under-bed storage boxes help maximize space for seasonal clothing and less-used items.
- Add a playful punch of your favorite color with accent pillows.
- Practical items, like a mini fridge and extra storage, can also show off your personality.
- Invest in a rug to amplify your room’s style.
- Sports decor has never been more appropriate.
- Pair like color families of bedding instead of settling for matching sets.
- Loft-style beds (or raising your dorm room bed) provide additional living and study space.
Tip: Blue and grey are the new neutrals. Pair rich indigo or charcoal with bright colors.
Study On
What a good desk needs:
- Adequate work space
- Drawers/storage to organize (magazine files, file boxes, pen storage)
- Good desk lamp
- Adjustable chair
Get Personal
Amanda Zuckerman, co-founder/designer of dormify suggests covering white walls by creating a “gallery wall” concept. Use posters, photos of family and friends and other decorative objects. You don’t need to make it perfect or symmetrical; in fact, the more character the better. You don’t need to use frames that will ruin the wall. You can frame photos and posters with colored washi tape or masking tape.
On or Off?
According to stats from San Diego State University, students living on-campus academically outperform their peers living off-campus. 30 percent of students living off-campus were placed on academic probation compared with 14 percent of residential students.
ON-CAMPUS PROS
- Easier and faster access to class, the library, computer labs and other on-campus resources
- Opportunities to become truly involved in campus social life and extra-curricular activities like clubs and interest groups
- Access to new friends. There’s always someone in the dorm!
- Convenient access to professors and their office hours for help or guidance
- Fewer commuting costs like gas and wear on car that comes with driving from off-campus location
- Simplified (and often less expensive) living expenses: no utility or water bills to remember to pay
ON-CAMPUS CONS
- Possibly less living space
- Limited privacy
- Shared access to washers and dryers
- Less access to appliances for cooking can mean more meals out or at campus dining options, which makes it harder to maintain healthy eating habits
- More distractions from studying
- College-enforced restrictions on what you can or can’t do in your living space
OFF-CAMPUS PROS
- Learning real-life responsibility by paying rent and bills and dealing with possible issues
- More freedom
- More personal space
OFF-CAMPUS CONS
- Usually more expensive
- Increased isolation, especially if you live alone
- Additional time required to get on campus and parking hassle
