In all my time here at the University of Idaho, I have never lived on campus.
I went to high school in Moscow and decided to go to UI in order to save money while living locally with my family my first year, which the university allows. With the requirement to live on campus at least your first year, many students on campus aren’t in the same position as me.
There have amazing perks living off campus, but they also come along with some of the annoying downfalls of not being in the dorms.
The Good
- Being with my dog: I never had to leave my pet behind and have gotten to have my dog with me throughout college. From school to life, no matter the stress he’s been with me. What’s great about having a dog is that you’re never alone.
- Escaping the stress of school: I can escape from college life when I want to. By leaving campus every day I can physically leave a huge portion of my stress, my schoolwork. For me, living on campus would feel like I could never escape my stresses.
- Dorm life isn’t for me: I never had to deal with the dorms. Living on a floor with multiple women sounds like a nightmare to me. Sharing a bathroom with that number of women, sounds like an even bigger one. Whether you’re living in a dorm, sorority or whatever it may be on campus, you can never truly be by yourself. I’m an introvert in most situations so I need that alone time.
- Whatever I want in my room: Living options on campus can limit what you can bring. Meanwhile at home, I can have everything I want with me. I can have as many candles, house plants or even my giant dresser. More importantly, I can have my dog.
- Sense of control: I can control most aspects of my living situation. Above all, I like control and living off campus lets me control most if not all aspects of my life.
The Bad
- Inconvenience: I’m not living on campus, so I need to plan out my schedule to get to school. On a long day, I can’t go home and take a quick nap and then go to class. I also have to pack a meal every day or plan to go home for lunch. Without the convenience of The Hub, I can’t just go grab food. Most days I’m so busy I don’t have a chance to catch my breath.
- Being away from college life: This was more so a problem freshmen year when the majority of my friends were living on campus. I couldn’t have impromptu sleepovers with my friends or stay up until dawn with them. Yes, I have a choice to go do these things whenever I want, but I have to stop and plan things out a little bit better.
- Never experiencing dorm life: I feel like a good part of college is experiencing the bad aspects of dorm life, but it’s not essential. Do I wish I would have lived in the dorms? A little bit, but ultimately, I’d rather pass on that experience.
With my college career ending soon, I know I’m going to miss UI. Even though I love college and all that has come with it, I’m glad I made the choice of not living on campus. I feel like I’ve experienced every aspect of college without dealing with too many things that I didn’t like.
Nicole Hindberg can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @HindbergNicole.