So you’ve already freaked out about your housing lottery number. But if you thought that was the hardest part of the process think again. Now it’s time to start making the real calls. You have to not only decide who you want to live with and what dorm you would want to live in, but if you even want to live in a dorm at all! Her Campus is here to help with everyone’s favorite decision-making tool, the pro and con list.
Pros:
Proximity to everything
Having lived both on and off campus I can honestly say the proximity to everything was something I took for granted about dorm living, but it is actually AMAZING. Want to run out to grab a coffee at Starbucks or Einstein’s? No problem. The library? Sure, easy, why not. You just woke up and your class starts in 10 minutes? Kay, whatever, looks like a sweatpants day. Off campus, every journey to campus is just that: a journey. Walking to campus is anywhere from a time-suck (fall, spring) to the painful bane of your existence (winter). If you have a car be prepared to be constantly frustrated by the lack of parking and have your punctuality be at its’ mercy. Living on campus is kind of like the college equivalent of living in the center of (insert cool city name here) for a steal price.
Easy to clean
In a dorm you aren’t even responsible for a whole room. You are responsible for one half of a room. You don’t have dirty dishes because you just eat at the dining halls and your bathroom gets cleaned for you! If you can’t function in that environment, who are you? Off campus you have to deal with a whole mess of rooms and it isn’t as clear-cut as ‘this is my side that is your side.’ Instead, you get in arguments about whose dishes are piling up in the sink and whose turn it is to clean the bathroom. Not to mention all the time it takes to actually do all that extra cleaning!
All inclusive
You just pay once. You get free Internet, electricity, and heating. It is one of the sad truths of the real world that if you like to keep your living space warm you have to pay more for it. If you are like me, you and your roommates end up bargaining with your thermostat settings and constantly wrapping yourselves in coats and blankets around your apartment. I won’t even get into the time one of my roommates decided to stop paying the heating bill because it was the beginning of spring and it was “warm enough”…(Hint: heating also applies to water heating aka showering. Never stop paying your heating bill. Not ever.)
Social Life
It is awesome to be surrounded by your peers all the time. There is never a weekend when you don’t know where the parties are. Even on weekdays all you have to do to stay entertained is leave your door open and see who wonders in. It’s like a giant, nonstop sleepover with an endless variety of characters.
On the other hand…
Cons:
Too Much Socializing
It can be hard to do work when friends are always around, even (especially?) when you really need to. This applies most on those weekends when you’re sitting at your desk, watching everyone get ready to go out, and unavoidably listening to pregame bass through your walls. If you are someone with a strong enough will to resist that kind of temptation: hats off and a slow clap to you.
Plus, if you live off campus, on weekends when you are free you don’t have to register parties at your place or make everyone leave at a set time!
No Privacy
There is no privacy in a dorm. You share a room. You share a bathroom. And the worst part is there aren’t even any good places to have a private phone conversation. If you are someone who needs alone time this can be a real emotional drain after a while.
No Kitchen
If you love cooking there is one obvious flaw with dorm life: you can’t. Being able to cook every night can be a serious stress reliever in the middle of all your classes and extra curricular activities. It also allows you to eat whatever you want, whenever you want, as opposed to just whenever the dinning halls are open and whatever they decide to offer that day. This is especially helpful during breaks if you stay on campus!
Brandeis Bubble
Living on campus makes the Brandeis bubble that much stronger. It is fun getting to discover Waltham when you live off campus—knowing your way around makes it feel a lot more like home. Beyond just figuring out where the grocery stores and CVS are, there are some amazing restaurants to explore and even a sweet venue where you can drink beer and paint if you’re 21+!