College Students Living On-Campus
Marvelous, you’ve made the decision to live on-campus. You are now known as a college resident. No matter why you decided to live on campus, embrace this on-campus lifestyle. You’re going to love all the freedom that living on campus will bring to your life.
More Than Just a University
Not your momma’s college dorm anymore! Living on-campus means is a lifestyle today. It’s a way of life. This is how you will live your life for the next number of years.
It’s how you will spend your time, your social life, and what events you will attend. Right down to planning your day, your life as a university student is a lifestyle.
Being that I lived in a small town thirty minutes from the closest university, married and had children, an on-campus lifestyle was not an option for me.
If I’d had the option, you can bet that I would have selected to live in each of these types of housing. I love experiencing the variety of lifestyles. It’s as close to living in a different culture as you may come. Without having to leave your country.
Here’s a look at the different types of housing that you may find on-campus.
Types of College Housing
- Residence Halls and Dormitories
- Special Interest Housing
- University Apartments
The University of North Texas has 19% of their college students living in coed dorms 70%, sorority housing 5%, fraternity housing 5%, apartments for single students 5% and theme housing 15%.
The University of Houston has 17% of their college students living in coed dorms 57%, sorority housing 1%, fraternity housing 2%, apartments for married students 1%, and apartments for single students 38%.
Residence Halls and Dormitories
Typical, everyday college housing! Want to know the truth from actual college students? Well, here’s the good, the bad and the ugly side of college dorm housing. Let’s discuss shall we!
The Good
College students said that one good part is that your social life will expand immensely. Your RA will be putting on dorm events and you are going to want to be there.
Here is where you will make the best of friends and the best of memories. There is someone there all the time. You will make connections like never before, probably even know more than you want to about certain people! The old saying ‘you never know someone till you live with them’ will reign true here.
The Bad
They said the bad is that you will be in close proximity to people that you will come to dislike, maybe even immensely. You will share the kitchen, living room and bathrooms.
You will more than likely have difficulty planning your laundry day and time considering everyone else needs clean clothes, too. It may be loud at night, if you’re a deep sleeper then you should have no problems.
Hopefully, you don’t find that someone has borrowed your favorite pair of jeans or t-shirt without asking permission; it’s bound to happen.
The Ugly
Lastly, the ugly, they said that you may have to live with a roommate that you may or may not like. On the bright side of this, maybe, they will have a partner and you won’t have to spend much time with them at all.
Please note, you will be showering in a shared bathroom, so make sure that you take a towel, a shower caddy to and from, and wear flipflops. There’s no telling what kind of funky junk people have; one case of athlete’s foot and you’ll never shower barefoot again.
Streaking down the hall naked isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be and could, quite frankly, result in you being kicked out. Despite these couple of uglies, college dorm life will be loaded with fantastic moments that you are not going to want to miss.
Special Interest Housing
Special interest housing consists of sorority, fraternity and theme housing. Sorority and fraternities differ based on gender. In case you didn’t know, sororities are for females and fraternities are for males.
For those of you wishing to follow in a parent’s footsteps, you should profoundly consider one of these; like mother like daughter or like father like son. Theme housing is where you are all majoring in the same field, like robotics per se. Here you can find your like-minded peeps.
As a freshman, you may meet people from your study groups who live in a specialty house. After your freshman year, you might want to consider moving into one of these.
Once you’ve lived on-campus for a year, you will have chosen a major and have a better feel for where you’d like to fit in. You must be at least a sophomore to live in special interest housing, which means you must be enrolled as a sophomore.
While enjoying your like-minded friends, you will experience a similar living situation as you would in a dorm. Your living space will be larger, but you will still have to share a room.
Networking is a major plus to living in a special interest house. Not only will you meet friends, but you will also meet your future. Birds of a feather flock together, stick with the people who will be joining you in your future endeavors. Networking is an integral part of life nowadays. Everyone wants to meet someone who can help with getting a foot in the door.
However, some universities may not have these types of housing as an option. If they do, then they will more than likely have their own requirements to live there. Get to know the ones that you are interested in joining. These are not as centrally located on campus like a dormitory and thus may require a bit more walking to and from classes and events.
The cost between dorms and special interest housing are very close and shouldn’t be a deterrent when deciding as to which one to choose.
University Apartments
Living in a university apartment may be the lifestyle you choose. Unlike the dorms, you can live in apartments year-round, which means that you don’t have to move in and out every few months.
They are inexpensive, probably not as cheap as the other two types of housing, but definitely more affordable than apartments off-campus.
They are farther away from campus, so you will have a small commute. You can walk if you’re an avid healthy do-gooder. The commute will be short enough that you won’t notice much gas being used in your car. If you are on a large campus, there may be shuttles or buses that run from one location to the other.
They, just like regular apartments, come with restrictions and rules, so check those out and make sure you follow them. Like special interest housing, you will have to have at least a sophomore standing. You will still have a RA so don’t get to excited about having so much freedom. It’s like living on-campus just in an apartment. You can still have your meals on-campus when you are taking classes. Otherwise, enjoy cooking in your own kitchen and eating on your own small patio.
They come in one, two, three, even four-bedroom sizes. This could be a really big deal when budgeting comes into play. Sharing a cheap apartment with several people could be a huge bonus.
You need to take into account when you budget that you will be paying utilities, cable and internet costs. Another thing is that they are not furnished. You will need everything as if you are moving into a regular apartment. Scrounging up furniture isn’t as easy as one might think and if you must buy items it’s going to cut into your budget.
You will still face having to do chores and you will have to pay utilities. Some have laundry facilities in your apartment, others you’ll have a centrally located facility for all to use.
Most of the time, these apartments are for those who are married, but not always the case. If you are married, you should seriously consider living in an on-campus apartment.
You certainly won’t be able to live in any of the other on-campus housing with your spouse. With married couples come children, so keep in mind that there may be children running amuck; but that’s really no different than students running amuck in dorms and special housing.
If your attending the University of Houston, they even have loft living spaces. How cool is that? It’d be just like living a New York lifestyle but in Texas. Although, you must at least have a junior standing, which means you must be enrolled as a junior.
Convenience of On-Campus Living
Did you know that 40% of full-time college students live on campus? Because of this high statistic, universities have had a hard time of keeping up with these demands, so congratulations on finding available student on-campus housing.
Living on-campus has huge advantages that you will want to be sure to take advantage of. For example, you are going to save a lot of money by not having to fill up your gas tank all the time. You could possibly even become healthier and lose weight due to all the walking to and from classes and events that I’m sure you are going to want to experience.
First, you are going to get to sleep-in. If you are a night owl like me, this is just a way of life. This is a huge plus for those of us that like to sleep late; past the alarm, hitting the snooze just one more time, just 5 more minutes. It’s lovely isn’t it?
Second, you don’t have to fight traffic. No road rage to start your day off in an outrageous way. You can even skip to class, if you’re feeling the whole ‘it’s a skippidy-do-dah day’ thing. Foot traffic is a whole lot more relaxing, especially first thing in the morning when you’ve slept your extra 5 minutes.
Third, you have all your resources centrally located at your fingertips. You are literally mere minutes away from your resident advisor, career advisor, study groups, food, library and so many more; too many to list. This is a huge bonus for new students who are feeling totally overwhelmed.
Fourth, your dorm room will be quite small, which translates into less cleaning space. You may have to share in the responsibilities of keeping your shared living room and bathroom clean. If everyone picks up after themselves then it’ll only take minutes to do your chore. Not a big deal, right?
Fifth, the taste of independence is on the tip of your tongue. Ah, no more parents or adults telling you what to do. You get to make your own schedule, do the things you want, go to bed when you want, and no younger siblings sneaking into your room wreaking havoc. It’s fabulous!
Being able to experience the ‘college’ life is unlike any other. It’s a great way to socialize and make new friends. There will always be something going on or something to do; you’ll never be bored with living on-campus.
Cost
The average cost of tuition and fees for in-state residents of Texas is $5,901 and for out-of-state residents it’s $12,277. Then you add books and supplies $1,355, room and board $11,832 and other living expenses. For a total of $19,088 for in-state residents and $25,464 for out-of-state residents. Good news, your utilities, cable and internet are included in your cost of living on campus, unless you’re in an on-campus apartment.
Compare that to the cost of living off campus, the medium monthly expenses cost about is $2,172 for a semester total of $13,032. You can possibly save $1,200 by the end of the semester. I don’t know about you, but I could use an extra $200 a month regardless of whether or not I’m in college.
Your food cost is also pre-purchased with your college funds. Yes, you will have to ration out your money so that you don’t spend it all within a month, being frugal never hurt anyone.
However, pre-paid is generally better than paying as you go because you may be more tempted to eat out and spend more money than you have. Save your money for when you go out on the town for the night and then you can treat yourself.
A few miscellaneous thoughts about where you can save money by living on campus. Furniture is already provided, and your dorm is turn-key ready. You’ll just need to bring your comfy bedding and your personal items. You’ll save a lot of money not having to keep gas in your car. Gas can get very expensive, especially if you find yourself running all over the place.
Another excellent point is that your cost of living in a dorm isn’t going to change. It’s a set amount. You don’t have to worry about them bumping up the rent, your roommate moving out nor do you have to worry if you’re going to get enough hours at work to pay for your housing. Living on campus is a fantastic stress reliever.
Also, a quick thought, some universities require freshmen to live on-campus. They want you to focus on your studies and sanctify your first year.
Support
You will be and always should be your biggest support system. The time to be self-sufficient, self-efficient and self-motivated is now. Growing up and being responsible, isn’t it fun?
Being away from home for the first time ever, you are going to need a support system. Your support system will be found in your resident advisor or assistant (RA), roommate (if you share your housing space) and newfound friends.
These people will be there for you every day, all day. Your resident advisor/assistant (RA) is an upperclassman. They oversee your entire floor. They will be one of the first people that you meet on move-in day. They will be your go-to person. Not to mention that sometimes talking to somebody our age is better than talking to an adult.
Resident advisors (RA) go through an intense interview and are trained to help you have the best experience as a college student. They are there to solve conflicts between a diverse group of students, and to give advice as someone you trust to help solve problems.
Some more quick thoughts and tips for you. Keep snacks on hand in case you have a late-night study fest. Manage your laundry, keep it neat and organized. Keep a stash of personal hygiene products including toilet paper. Do you chores that you have agreed to or been designated to do along with keeping your space clean and tidy. Connect with study groups and develop good study habits early on.
One large pro for living on campus is that your daily needs are met. You don’t have to worry about fixing something if it breaks down. There’s always noise wherever you live. While there are so many advantages to living on campus there are a few disadvantages to living on campus too. Make the most of your easy-living on-campus life. You’ll be glad you did.