To live on campus or off campus — that is the question. All freshmen have to make the decision about where they are going to live their first year in college. There are benefits of living on campus, as well as off campus.
University of Memphis cheerleader Kristen Kern said that she made the right decision when she decided to live on campus her freshman year.
“For my first year, it really helped me get to class every day because I was only five minutes from all of my classes, and I had no excuses not to go to class,” Kern said.
She said that it was hard at first to live in such close quarters with a roommate whom she did not know but that they became friends, and it was a great experience. Kern and her roommate became such good friends that they moved into an apartment together after they left the dorm.
Kern said the hardest part about living on campus for her was that there was little storage and that she constantly had to eat out because there was no place to keep food and nowhere to cook it.
Unlike Kern, former University of Memphis student Carly Bennet decided to live at home her freshman year. Bennet has lived in Germantown her entire life and said she thought it would be a better decision for her to live with her parents.
“It was nice living at home my freshman year because I was still getting money from my parents, and it gave me a chance to get adjusted to college before leaping off onto my own,” Bennet said. Bennet said, however, that she felt that she missed out on meeting more people by living at home rather than on campus, but overall it was a smart decision for her.
“You have to figure out what the best decision is for you, because everyone adjusts in different ways,” Bennet said.
While some have decided to live in the dormitories on campus and others have decided to remain at home with their parents, there are some who have decided that they are ready to be cut loose on their own.
Kelley Rando, a senior at The University of Memphis, moved out into his own apartment as soon as he got out of high school.
“The freedom of having your own place after being with your parents and curfews for your entire life is great,” Rando said. He said dorm life didn’t appeal to him, because he was moving out to get away from rules, not have different ones.
Rando said that he did find it a struggle to get to class after having late nights and having no one to tell him to go, but it was a good learning experience.
“I finally sat down and told myself that along with this freedom, I have to become more responsible and get what I need done,” Rando said. He said that after he straightened out his priorities, it made him a lot more self sufficient and responsible.
“I think that being thrown into a situation and having to learn from your own mistakes is the best way to learn,” Rando said.
John Hannah, a University of Memphis sophomore, said that he decided to live in the dorm his first year to meet people and get involved in college life.
“By living on campus I got to meet a lot of great people and friends, and it got me involved in Greek life, which was definitely a good thing for me,” Hannah said. Hannah said he has decided that he is ready to get his own house with some of his friends and that living in the dorms prepared him for that.
“When I was living on campus, there was always something to do, new people to meet, and there were a lot of other people that I could relate to that were going through the same thing as me,” Hannah said. He said that everyone helps each other out in the dorms, because it is a new experience for everyone.”
For students going away from their hometowns to college, dorm living is often the best choice, according to Julie Wichlinski, a Memphis native who packed up her things and headed for The University of Tennessee at Knoxville.
“It was weird being that far from home, but good,” Wichlinski said. Wichlinski lived in the dorm her freshman year and said that it was a good half-way adjustment in between living at home and getting her own place. She said that she would only recommend living in a dorm the first year, though, because after that you need to get out and have your freedom.
“I enjoyed living on campus, because it taught me how to regulate money, but I still did not have to pay for the little things like toilet paper, cleaning products, utility bills and cable. Now I realize that these are the little things that I took for granted,” said Wichlinski.
Wichlinski now lives in an apartment and said she loves the freedom, but she said you cannot beat the money you save living in a dorm. Also she said she learned how to compromise with roommates while living in the dorms, which has helped her a lot living in an apartment.
