Although I can tell this will be an entry the majority of people will disagree with, I would like to state that after living in a dorm for four years, I completely regret my decision. This has nothing to do with Framingham State’s dry campus and lack of weekend activities. I know that wherever I went, I would have regretted living there. As my time in these residence halls is slowly running out, I have made several realizations.
I am going to owe thousands upon thousands of dollars more in loans than any of my friends who commuted to school. And I don’t know about the rest of you, but my parents sure aren’t going to help me out with those loans. Have I made a few friends while living in the dorms? Of course I have. But I’m not naïve enough to think we’ll be best friends forever. I know the sad truth is that once we move out of the dorms for good, we will probably see each other every once in awhile at most. All of the great memories I have over the last four years took place during breaks or at times I was home for the weekend. No amazing memories of dorm life come to mind.
I’ll stress again that the dry campus we have here at Framingham is not the reason for my regret of living at school. I understand many people live very sheltered lives and moving away to college is the first time they really have no boundaries. I imagine in those cases, moving into the dorms must have been an amazing experience. I didn’t grow up in a strict household. As long as I wasn’t breaking laws, my parents were content. They knew I was a good kid and could make my own decisions.
I know sit here thinking about all of the money I’m going to be paying for a less-than-ideal experience. I think all students who chose to live at home during college are going to be very thankful by the time they graduate. As a commuter, you normally work while going to school. Therefore you eliminate the cost of living at school and you are making money at the same time. Paying off college shouldn’t be a problem at all. When you choose to live in a dorm, you have that much more to pay off once you graduate. Plus not to mention, having a car on campus costs 500 dollars a year at FSU. Thanks, but no thanks, I’ll leave mine at home.
The college experience is very important. But living at school has just caused anxiety for after graduation. I wish I would have commuted. I’d recommend it to future generations.
I lived on campus my first year of college, at Umass Amherst, and loved it, but not the parts of college dormlife most people think about, the room, roommate, dormlife, or making friends. I already had a large number of close friends from highschool coming with me to college so I made no friends. I disliked my room, roommate, and the strict dorm rules almost as much as the cafeteria food. I also hated the fact that you were not allowed to bring a car and it nearly impossible to get a job around there. The only thing I liked were the offcampus parties. Then I lived in an apartment offcampus while attending framingham state and working, while paying rent without any help from school loans was strapping, I think that this was the best option by far. I could work, keep a car for no extra money, didnt have to awkwardly smile at 50 people every time i went down the hall to the bathroom, and I had complete freedom to do whatever I wanted. Now that I live at home and commute, I can save a lot of money on rent, and work more, but it's just not the same, it doesnt seem like living a college life. So for anyone out there debating these three options, I would say if you are a social butterfly wanting to meet as many people as you can: go with the dorms. For those of you who love to party and love your privacy: get an off-campus apartment. And those of you whose prime concern are those student loans and saving up money: stay at home and avoid all the extra rent and dorm fees.
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