
When high school students start searching for colleges the first question that comes to mind is “Will I stay on campus?”. With the rising cost of tuitions students often find its safer and cheaper to commute to school. Many students who commute to school often find they don’t have time to go out with friends, causing their social life to suffer and they often get less sleep than students who live on campus. Will staying off campus benefit you? Will you get better grades? Is it cheaper to live off Campus? Many students are plagued with questions like these that are often left unanswered. So, how does living on campus affects a student’s performance? Students struggle to find the answer, but a lot of different variables play a part in the effects commuting and living on campus have on a student’s performance. College is often regarded as the best part of a student’s life because of all the social interactions students experience. Living off campus pushes you away from college and decreases your social life. Students should live on campus it keeps them closer to campus and ultimately helps them integrate better into the college mindset. 

Students who live on campus also have a better social life than those who live off campus. Students that live on campus also feel more included in campus events then those who commute to school. Students who commute to school often finds it’s hard to get help with assignments and have a social life. They’re away from the campus which makes it difficult to find time to meet up with friends. Living on campus is also a cheaper option than commuting to school. Students don’t have to pay as much money for gas and they’ll have a set meal plan that covers just about everything they need. Parents often worry about they’re students being away from home. Especially if they’re student is living away from school. Having a meal plan assures parents that their kids are eating properly. 

When students decide live on campus they realize that their parent aren’t over their shoulder. “Something that you probably took for granted in the past, because there was someone who does it for you, is now a big deal.” (Grace, 2016) Meaning students now must wash their own laundry and wash the dishes constantly, choirs that many parents had a hard time trying to teach their children. Students start to learn independence when they start managing their time around how much work they have. Living on campus teaches a student independence and prepares them for their life after they graduate from school. Living off campus teaches students independence, but there is a sharp learning curve. Students must fend for themselves and don’t have the assistance of other students and dorm staff to help them cope with their new-found independence. 

After a student graduate from high school and moves on to college, they’re away from home. They get new freedoms that they never would have had at home. They’re living on their own in a new place with new people. Going to college not only prepares students for their future career it prepares them for their life after college. Students also learn other skills that will benefit them and help them outside of college. Staying on campus helps separate students from home and allows them to experience new experiences they could never experience at home. Many students when they commute to school either stay home with their parents or find an apartment off campus. Living off campus takes students from college and decreases the number of new experience students will experience. 

Communication is a major skill students will learn in college. College is full of many people and it’s impossible to go a day without talking to someone. College teaches students important life skills and communication is amongst them. Students experience an increase in their social life when attending school. They are surrounded by peers with the same goals in life making it easier to communicate with other students. Students can relate to each other and form new experiences. Living away often keeps students from forming friendships with other students on campus. Commuting to school keeps students from fully enjoying school. Students who commute to school spend most of their free time driving to and from school. Because commuting cuts into a student’s free time, their social life is dramatically decreased. Because student commuting to school spend their free time commuting to school it makes it hard for them to form friendships.

Not only are they pushed away from forming friendships they feel alienated from on campus activities. When forming new friendships, you will be constantly invited to more social events that only become harder to attend when living off campus. “Relationships with classmates and campus involvement support classroom learning and are fostered by on-campus living, according to work by Alexander Astin, founding director of the University of California-Los Angeles Higher Education Research Institute.” (EAB, 2015) Students who commute to school often find they’re social life is dramatically decreased from their peers who live on campus. Commuting to campus makes it harder for students to attend social even and meeting up with friends. “The convenience of living on campus provides students easy access to numerous campus resources such as faculty and academic advisors, the library, computer labs, residence hall dining halls and other campus eateries, the health center, recreational facilities, and student organizations.” (University K. S., n.d.)

Students often choose to live on campus when they learn a friend is also planning to stay on campus. Living on campus gives students the opportunity to live with friends without parental restrictions. Many students jump at the opportunity to share a dorm with their friends. “Being in college will mean that you will be able to meet new people and make new friends.” (Andrea, n.d.) When living in a dorm bonding with your dormmates will only become that much easier. “When you live in a dorm, you will be able to really bond with your new friends, forming lasting friendships with people who can help you through the tough times, be with you during the happy times, and be witness to all the firsts that college inevitably brings.” (Andrea, n.d.)

In addition to living with friends creates a less stressful environment. Students can deal with stress and anxiety a lot better when staying with friends. Separation anxiety being the most common type of Anxiety students suffer from. “Separation anxiety is the fear or distress that can happen to both children and adults when they think about separating from home or from the people they've become attached to.” (Separation Anxiety, 2017) “Separation anxiety disorder (SAD) is rarely considered in college students with anxious symptomatology, but a growing body of evidence suggests that its symptoms are experienced by a significant number of young adults.”  (Seligman & Wuyek, 2007) Students who suffer from separation anxiety often suffer severe attacks of it during their first year of college. “Results showed that 21% of first-semester college students reported symptoms of separation anxiety.” (Seligman & Wuyek, 2007) Separation anxiety often limits students from trying new experience and often affects their educational choices. Living off campus decreases the affects anxiety has on first year students, however students who live with friends tend to have little or no anxiety problems as well. 

Separation anxiety decreases a student academic performance. “Many refuse to go to summer camp or to spend the night away from home due to homesickness and a yearning desire to return home as soon as possible (Gittelman & Klein, 1985).” (Ollendick, Lease, & Cooper, 1993). Although students may suffer from separation anxiety when living away from home. Studies have shown that living with peers and friends decreases anxiety attacks amongst students. Living with friends also helps decreases stress because they’re living with someone they familiar with. 

Anxiety is a big problem amongst college students. Students who have had anxiety in the past are more likely to have an anxiety attack in college. Being around peers and friends is more likely relieve a student of stress and Anxiety ultimately preventing panic attacks. Studies performed have found that Anxiety has surpassed depression in the leading mental issue college students face. “The same study found that 21.9 percent of students said that within the last 12 months, anxiety had affected their academic performance, defined as receiving a lower grade on an exam or important project, receiving an incomplete, or dropping a course. That’s up from 18.2 percent in the ACHA’s 2008 survey. Meanwhile, 13.8 percent reported that in the last 12 months, depression had affected their academic performance, up from 11.2 percent in 2008.” (Brown, 2016)

Living on campus offers students support in both academically and emotionally. “Living on campus offers each student the emotional, spiritual, social and academic support to succeed as a student.” (University, n.d.) Dorms are staffed with other students who can relate to students better than adults can. In additional to that Faculty, staff, and other professional counselors are available on campus. Students who had a pass of suffering with separation anxiety or anxiety in general have no need to worry when living on campus. Students of all background will find a community that will support them academically and emotionally. “By being tied-in to a community of 500+ students, they will meet more people here than they probably would commuting.” (Housing, n.d.)

Students who lived on campus were also shown to have better grades than their peers who commuted to college. “Students who live off-campus are nearly twice as likely to get a GPA below 1.0 as those living on campus.” (Patel, 2014) Students who live on campus are closer to school resources like tutoring centers and study communities. In additional to having access to additional study opportunities students living on campus also have a higher rate of graduating. “Students who live on campus have also been shown to have a much higher rate of graduation. The chance of graduation increases for those who live for at least two years on campus.” (Andrea, n.d.) Students who live on campus also have more time to study and practice for assignments. Being closer to campus study aids also dramatically improves a student’s academic performance. “Among black students, those who live on campus in residence halls have significantly higher GPAs than similar students at the same institution who live off campus with family.” (Brotzen, 2010)

Students who live on campus also get more sleep than students who commute to school. Students who commute to school get home later than students who live on campus and they also have to wake up earlier to attend the same class as someone who stays on campus. Students who don’t commute to campus can put more time into studying and also get more rest, improving their grades. “According to USA Today College, the travel time from your apartment to your school can be a bit time consuming especially when you are already running late, so you have to make sure you leave at least an hour before the classes start.” (Taylors, 2017)

Some students may justify their reason for staying of campus by saying it’s cheaper. Living on campus can look costly up front, but when compared to the amount of gas and money burnt coming to school it evens out depending on your commute. “The price of gas these days is making living on campus a much more economical choice in college living arrangements. There is also the time factor to consider. A short walk from your dorm to your 8am class means you can sleep in longer.” (Taylors, 2017)  When living on campus you won’t have to pay for gas and you can save money on your utilities. “For example, at Texas State University, the cost of living on campus in a dorm, including a meal plan, will cost between $600 and $1200 a month, depending on the type of dorm and the type of meal plan you choose. The cost of a single room in an apartment typically costs a minimum of $500, and that does not include meals or utilities.” (Taylors, 2017) Living off campus is not only more expensive than living on campus it is inconvenient when it comes to you student life and your social life.

  Staying on campus not only benefits the students the school benefits from it as well. Students may think the university is only out to steal money, but in truth the more students that living on campus the cheaper tuition is. In Alberta, Canada, the university of Alberta had to up the cost of their tuition because not enough students lived on campus. Most their students commuted to school and thinks it’s a cheaper option, but in actuality it isn’t. The university couldn’t afford to pay its residence staff, so it raised the cost of tuition to keep from firing its staff. Student should live on campus because it not only helps them by keeping them closer to class it helps lower the cost of living on campus. The more students that live on campus the cheaper the cost of living on campus will be.

Students should live on camp. It not only decreases the overall cost of attending college, but it keeps them closer to the campus. Parent’s won’t have to worry what their students are doing because they’re on campus. Studies have shown that students who live on campus for at least their first two years have a higher chance of graduating compared to students who live off campus. Studies have also shown that students who live on campus get better grades than students who live off campus. They’re closer to the school’s academic resources and tutoring is easier to attend. Students who commute to school have to wake up earlier than students who live on campus to attend the same class. Because they wake up earlier students who commute to class often find themselves getting less sleep. With less sleep, students who commute to school often find they perform poorer than students who live on campus. 

So, is living off campus worth it? Students who live on campus are included in more campus activities then those living off campus. Those students also living on campus find it easier to have a social life because they don’t have to commute to campus, meaning they get more time to go out with friends. When living on campus students they often suffer from separation anxiety being away from home, but when students live with friends and a supporting community they’re chance for anxiety decrease. Anxiety limits a student’s ability to try new experiences, but living off campus also limits a student’s experience. Anxiety can be overcome by simple distractions and many freshmen suffer from it, but in their later years in college they’re anxiety is gone. Living on campus benefits students in many ways not only grade wise, but socially and educational cost as well. Living on campus only sets a student up for success later in life. Living on campus forces a student to learn on their own without the support in help others unlike living on campus.  Will living on campus benefit you?
