The Pros and Cons of Living On-Campus vs. Off-Campus

Introduction

Moving away from home to attend college or a university is regarded as the greatest leap in a student’s life. This is because a student encounters new opportunities and challenges; at the very thought, some students prefer off-campus, considering the advantages it entails (padsplit.com, 2023). When it comes to deciding whether to stay on-campus or off-campus, students land themselves in a situation of dilemma. In this regard considering the advantages and disadvantages, students should wisely take decisions about whether to stay off-campus or on campus.

To develop a better comprehension, the pros and cons of staying on-campus are discussed below as follows:

Pros of living on campus

The students shall widely consider various advantages of living on campus.

  • While living on campus, students can develop social relationships as they make friends with fellow college students. They will likely develop a bond as they all share the same experience. An incredible and amazing college experience is experienced by the students (Zahra, 2021). In addition, it also helps in community building as the students who live on campus are surrounded by support staff and faculty. Thus it becomes easier for the students to seek opportunities while creating a relationship with their mates.
  • Living on campus offers convenience to attending classes, thereby avoiding the costs and the hassle involved in travelling by public transport(Zahra, 2021). Thus students can easily walk to their classes and enjoy the other amenities the college offers, such as cafeterias, laundry facilities, libraries, gym, dining and on-campus events.
  • Living on-campus also helps savesave money, as the student does not needneed to travel anymoreanymore. They can make it to class time even if they are sleeping late. They need to pay a minimum amount for the dorms, and if they are lucky enough, they can also avail of the meals offered by the dorms for a minimum patent. This helps in cutting down the groceries cost.

Cons of living on campus

While there are a few advantages of on-campus living, there are also certain disadvantages. These are discussed below as follows:

  • Students cannot enjoy privacy while they stay on campus. This happens because their fellow mates surround them. Sharing a room with one or two mates can affect privacy (Zahra, 2021). In addition to this, issues related to space constraints also take place. Sharing a common bathroom also makes some students uncomfortable.
  • While living in the on-campus dormitories, students need to adhere to strict guidelines stated by the resident advisor. They ensure that every student follows the rules and that no breaching is allowed. Warnings and fines are issued to the students if they do not follow the rules.
  • Many on-campus dormitories need to provide students with access to the kitchen. As a result, the students are required to purchase meals. In addition to this, there are some universities which offer residence only to those students who are pursuing full-time courses.
  • The on-campus environment may create distractions when focusing on the course or academic work. Students may often engage in frequent hangouts with their classmates, which can hamper their grades.

Pros of living off campus

  • Considering the disadvantages, students prefer staying off campus because of its benefits. These are discussed below as follows:
  • If a student prefers to live off campus, he can enjoy his living space. He can have his living room, kitchen, bathroom and balcony without sharing it with anyone else (Zahra, 2021). Thus opting for an apartment will be a really good decision.
  • While staying off-campus, students can enjoy flexibility as they are not subjected to adhere to a set of stringent rules. Students will enjoy an increased source of freedom in their daily lives.
  • Students can choose their location options as they can stay close to the college campus. They can either stay closer to the university or live away from it, closer to their favourite neighbourhood or friends’ place.
  • Students can enjoy solitude and decide whether to stay alone or share with anyone they like (amberstudent.com, 2023). In other words, he can live a life full of independence without strict restrictions.
  • Students can give more time to themselves and their family choose the lifestyle that suits them the best.

Cons of living off campus

Despite the advantages living off campus offers, there are also certain cons. These are listed below as follows:

  • While living off-campus, students need access to public or private transport to travel to the university or college (Zahra, 2021). This does not save their transportation costs which may act as another problem. In addition, if the student is driving to campus, they will have to purchase their parking passes which add to the cost.
  • Students living off-campus feel isolated as their classmates do not surround them, support staff and faculty. Thus staying connected to the college and attending events takes time for them.
  • The average monthly rent of the apartments also varies from place to place. The increase in their costs adds more (amberstudent.com, 2023). In addition to these, most of the off-campus apartments require a lease of 12 months. Most semesters begin from August to May, and they cannot move out of their apartments whenever the sessions are not held.
  • However, most of the off-campus housing is not expensive. The students of the UK need to do thorough research before they opt for off-campus residence. In addition, they can also rent off-campus properties and look for a suitable person with whom they can share the apartment. Splitting the cost reduces the burden of too much spending. In the UK, many university-owned flats and university-managed houses in Brighton and Hove are affordable for students. Moreover, these houses are linked to the campus using a nearby bus or train route.

Conclusion

To conclude, there is a wide variety of factors that shall be considered by a student when they decide to opt for living, on campus or off campus. Thus one needs to weigh their options very wisely. Privacy, transportation, food, security and medical care, social commitment, living expenses, roommate and finances are all important factors that are to be considered by the students whole deciding to stay on campus or off campus. It has been noted that most college students decide to live on campus because they prioritise finances more than anything else. The other things that the students consider are commutation costs, socialising, and connecting with friends and faculty. However, if the student decides to be admitted to an online university, he can reside off-campus and connect with peers through online classes.

References

  • padsplit.com. (2023). A Guide for Student Housing: Pros and Cons of Living On and Off-Campus | PadSplit. [online] Available at: https://www.padsplit.com/blog/roommate-living/student-housing-pros-and-cons-of-living-on-and-off-campus.
  • Zahra (2021). Pros and cons of living on and off campus. [online] Undergraduate Programs. Available at: https://uwaterloo.ca/future-students/missing-manual/applying/pros-and-cons-living-and-campus.
  • amberstudent.com. (2023). Is Off-Campus Living Worth It? Pros and Cons to Consider | Amber. [online] Available at: https://amberstudent.com/blog/post/pros-and-cons-of-living-off-campus-in-2023 [Accessed 8 Jul. 2023].

FAQS

1. State two advantages of on-campus living?

Ans: On-campus living helps develop social relationships with peers and faculty, allowing students to join the community. In addition, when students stay on campus, they d not have to feel the burden of transportation costs and can make up for the classes even if they are late by an hour or so.

2. Mention two disadvantages of on-campus living?

Ans: Firstly, living on campus puts forward stringent rules to which students are to adhere. Failing to follow them will make them pay fines. Furthermore, living on campus needs more privacy as they have to share rooms and bathrooms. However, this should have been the condition if they stayed off campus.

3. What are the advantages of off-campus living?

Ans: Students who live off campus enjoy solitude and privacy as they no longer need to share their rooms. Also, they can enjoy their freedom as they are not subjected to strict guidelines.

4. What are the disadvantages of off-campus living?

Ans: Regardless of the advantages, there are also certain disadvantages; firstly, students who live off campus cannot be a part of the social community and miss being in close connection with the faculty and peers. Secondly, as they are lively far off, they have to bear the transport expenses to commute to their university.

5. What are mainly preferred by the students? On-campus or off-campus living?

Ans: Considering the advantages and disadvantages of on-campus and off-campus living students either for on-campus or off-campus living. In most cases, it is noted that students mostly want to save their budget, and thus they prefer to stay on-campus living and try to make comprises with the disadvantages in entail. This implies that they mainly focus on saving as it helps their well-being. Thus they try to accommodate themselves in on-campus living. The cons of on-campus living are almost negligible to them, and they highly cherish the pros it brings. Contrary to this, some students prefer solitude and privacy over everything pros of on-campus living and thus prefer off-campus living.

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