If you're a senior high school student who is already looking forward to leaving home and “living the college life”, you may want to consider the fact that there are dozens of details that you need to attend to.
Aside from choosing which college or university it is that you will attend, you also need to decide whether you will be living on campus or off campus, if you will be a full-time student or take on a part-time job and the list could go on and on.
We will be taking a look at one particular aspect of your college life that you need to seriously think about: whether you will be living on campus or off campus.
On Campus versus Off Campus Living: The Pros and Cons
Just as it is when making any decision, it would greatly help if you’d consider the pros and cons of each option that you have. Let's take this particular topic as an example. What are the advantages and disadvantages of living on and off campus? Take a look at the following list:
1. The pros and cons of living on campus.
When you ask anyone who has already gone through the rigors of college life, one of the most common pieces of advice that you will get is that you should experience on campus living during your first year in college.
It does make perfect sense, because by living on campus during your freshman year, you will get to experience everything that your college or university has to offer. You will get to discover what students do in the middle of the night – are most of them sound asleep, or do they take advantage of the no-parents environment? How about during exams week? Will you be able to get enough privacy within the campus to ensure that you will get the study time you need?
To sum it all up, the main benefit of living on campus is that you will get a stronger sense of what that campus is all about as a community of students. You will also be able to connect easily and much more quickly with other students by living on campus. Finally, there will be a shorter commute time and all of the facilities that you need within the campus will be much more accessible to you.
So what are the disadvantages of living on campus? Aside from the fact that you need to bear with having a roommate, you will also be constantly surrounded by students. Sharing your living facilities with other students is not always a great experience, especially when you’re extremely tired but can’t get some well-deserved sleep due to the fact that the music just won’t stop.
2. The pros and cons of living off campus.
Next, let us take a look at the pros and cons associated with living off campus. Depending on your budget, you have the option of having or not having a roommate. This setup will also allow you to have your own private space away from campus and it's usually less expensive than living on campus.
On the downside, the location of your off-campus apartment may not be ideal because of the longer commute. Also, you will not gain instant access to the school or university's learning facilities anytime you want to. Finally, security may be an issue because you won't be “covered” by the 24/7 security that students living within the campus have.
At the end of the day, making the decision as to whether you should live on or off campus is entirely up to you. If the pros of living within the campus far outweigh the cons, you should definitely go for the on campus living option. On the other hand, if you feel that you will learn more in a more private environment which is away from the noise of the campus, then an off-campus living option might be more suitable for you.