Benefits of Living in the Dorms

Living in the Dorms

The best living option for new, incoming freshman to Iowa State University is to spend at least there first two semesters in one of the on campus dorms. Other options available to these students are to find off campus housing in an apartment or a fraternity or sorority, to live at home and commute, or to live for one semester in the dorms and one semester off campus. By examining the alternative options to on campus residence, it is clear that none of these other living options will give incoming students the same variety of benefits or experiences as living on campus.

The types of benefits and advantages being compared for these various living options are those of closeness in proximity to the college campus and classes, cost effectiveness, availability of easy and nutritious meals, development opportunities and additional educational benefits to the student.

The first alternative to examine, for new incoming freshman is that of living off campus (not in the school's dorms) for the first two semesters of college. This could be through living in an apartment, or living in a sorority or fraternity. This living option does not have the benefit of closeness in proximity to classes. Some students who live off campus have to travel tiring distances each morning to get to there classes, compared to those students who already live on campus. The research (interviews) I have done has told me that this problem has lead to many students not wanting to get up, and actually come to class in the past, and it only gets worse in the winter. In the winter students find that their beds are far more inviting than their cold commute to school.

The cost of living in an apartment can be really high. Advertisements fo...

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...ake myself a meal because I can just run down to food service almost anytime and pick something up, if I am in a hurry. The food is nutritious and there is a variety to choose form. I find motivation to go to my classes because none are too far away from my dorm, and I have friends who I live with who are in quite a few of my same classes, so we walk together and give each other encouragement. I feel that I am encouraged to participate in campus activities and clubs, and that my dorm has a very good support system for academics in place.

Overall though, I feel that for incoming freshman, it is clear that the alternative options would not be as beneficial to their academics and that none of the other residence options have the same variety of benefits as living in a campus dorm community. After comparison I believe living in the college dorms is the best option.