Living on Campus

Many colleges require freshmen to live on campus and while your child may think he’s ready to move into his own apartment there are very sound reasons for most students to live on campus for at least their first year.

1.              There is no better way to get to know people than to shower with them.  Of course, not all residence halls offer the traditional bunk bed, shower down the hall experience, but in general, living in close quarters with a number of diverse students is the best way to get to know people quickly and to build lasting friendships.

2.              On-campus housing is convenient for everything that students need; food services, academic buildings, health clinic, library, and activity venues. On all but the largest campuses, living on campus means an easy walk or bike ride to wherever students need to go, while living off campus may mean that students need to drive to campus and search for the ever elusive open parking space.

3.              Living in a residence hall is generally safer than an apartment. It is rare that an apartment building manager will be very concerned about a student who is acting depressed or whether or not they have staff available to immediately fix door locks or smoke detectors. Residence halls offer safe, convenient housing even if it is not the most well appointed.

4.              All-inclusive pricing. While some apartment complexes offer per-person leases and all bills paid, most do not, so students are left to set up their own utilities, cable, internet etc. and then charge their roommates for their portion of the bill. If all the roommates pay their share everything is fine, if they don’t and the service is in your child’s name, he will be liable for the entire bill.

5.              Resident Assistants (RAs), upper class students who work in the halls helping new students adjust, and taking care of property management issues, are great resources for your student. RAs are not just there to discipline students for loud parties, a good portion of what they do is build community through programming and activities. In addition to RAs, campuses also have full time residence hall staff members, usually called Resident Directors (RDs) to help students with everything from academics to social problems.