Before we even get to college, we hear horror stories about dorm life and prepare to move into an apartment ASAP following freshman year. In reality, dorms are more like all-inclusive resorts than houses of horror. Dorms allow students to delay the responsibilities of adulthood for a few more years and fully experience college. What 20-year-old wouldn’t want that?
Here are 10 Reasons To Live In The Dorms
1. Cleaning service included
One of the greatest perks of living in a dorm is the cleaning service. The cleaning service does your dirty work, but it also saves you time. The facility staff takes out the trash, refills the soap and toilet paper, disinfects the bathrooms, and vacuums the common areas before you even get out of bed for class! You have the rest of your life to do your cleaning, so let someone else do it for you for a year … or four.
2. Proximity
This is a huge advantage that is not generally seen. Your dorm is within walking distance from the classroom, free cafeteria food in the dining hall, a pleasant study environment in the library, on-campus parties, sporting events, and your best friend’s dorm room. And make sure to take advantage of it while on campus, as you won’t have to fight parking tickets and can also drive to campus, if appropriate.
3. Great place to meet new people
Often housing over a hundred students, dormitories allow casually meeting people outside of your normal social circle. So whether you’re gathering people to play an impromptu game of volleyball or rallying people to make a late-night food run, you have the opportunity to meet many people that you mightn’t necessarily encounter otherwise.
4. Safety
Unless you are living in a highly secure apartment complex (which is usually pretty expensive), most apartments are only protected by the door lock and maybe an entrance gate. Dorms, however, usually require special key-card access in addition to a door key and are monitored at night by the RA. In addition, college campuses often have blue-light security phones around campus and have surveillance by a campus security patrol and video cameras. Many schools also provide night shuttles to dorms and escorts for students upon request.
5. Free stuff from your RA
Do you remember freshman year when the RA would shower you with candy for every holiday, throw tie-dye parties and assemble finals week stress-reliever packages? That doesn’t have to stop after freshman year.
All RAs are usually required to provide monthly activities for their residents that commonly involve giving away free stuff, especially food. These freebies may sound like little perks, but you can fill your stomach and accumulate a lot of free stuff over the years.
6. No bills
You may not fully appreciate this luxury until you live in an apartment. Unlike apartments, dorms do not have leases or monthly bills, so there is no worrying about legal contracts or late payments. Instead, you pay one high price at the beginning of the semester that usually includes all utilities, Wi-Fi and cable. Also, you don’t have to deal with resetting that pesky Wi-Fi router or running out of hot water.
7. No furniture moving
With everything you want to bring and everything your mom snuck into your bag when you weren’t looking, you already have enough stuff to get to college. So why add heavy furniture to that list? Plus, an unfurnished apartment will probably require shelves, a dining table, a couch and a television. All of that is in addition to your bed, dresser and desk. I’m getting stressed out and tired from just thinking about searching, buying, moving and then selling and disposing of all of that furniture at the end of the year.
8. Ultimate entertainment centers
Most dorms will have a game room or at least one form of entertainment. For example, at my university, each dorm had a ping-pong or pool table, a large television in the common rooms and shared access to outdoor basketball and volleyball courts.
Sometimes, friends who lived off campus would come to the dorms to play volleyball or ping-pong. If your dorm does not have any form of entertainment, your hall can put in a request to the RA. For example, my first-year hall requested a new ping-pong table and received one within a reasonable time.
9. Customize your dorms
Just because you live in a dorm doesn’t necessarily mean you have to live in a hall, share a bathroom with 12 other people or even have a roommate. Many schools offer different types of dorms for upper-level students. If you don’t want to share a hall bathroom, look into your school’s option for a suite-style dorm.
If you don’t want a roommate, live in a single-occupancy room. If you enjoy cooking, look into the dorm with the best kitchen or look if your school offers an apartment-style dorm. You can still reap all the benefits of living in a dorm without compromising what you want.
10. Once-in-a-lifetime experience
College consumers must treat dorm life as a major part of obtaining the complete school experience. Plant your feet on the floor and forget about your life at home while you’re at school for two or three years, and you may not remember to enjoy dormitory life.
That not-so-pleasant roommate or that awkward bathroom encounter becomes an amusing story to tell. You will never be this age again and have the convenience and fun that a dorm provides. Remember, living in a dorm is only available for four years out of your entire life.
