Amber Greenwood

6 March 2012

Professor Slobod

English 113B

Cal State Northridge Dorms

                        When entering college, there is a vast majority of students who plan on living in the college dorms. These students chose to live on campus because of multiple different reasons; they want to experience the full college life so that includes living in the dorms. Not all students share the same belief about living in the dorms though. While there is vast majority who do, there is also an enormous minority who chose not to live in the dorms also for different reasons; (1) being that they see CSUN as the commuter college. “On-campus living offers special academic support, leadership opportunities and individual attention, all in an environment conducive to classroom success and personal growth” (What Does Housing Offer?). There are many benefits to living in the dorms but just as there are benefits there will always be a downfall; majority of the time there are more benefits to living in the CSUN’s dorms. College students who commute should be required to live on the college dorms for two reasons:  (1) they have easier/quicker access to the campus facilities and (2) they learn to cope with other different people and make new friends and (3) you have a little more freedom.

CSUN has three different housing options: (1) the apartment with kitchen (2) apartment without kitchen and (3) the suite without kitchen. “One of the most exciting aspects about living on campus is the apartment-style housing of the dorms. All rooms have a large bathroom, two large bedrooms, kitchen, TV room, and dining area. These spacious dorms make it easier to have roommates since you aren’t cramped” (College Prowler). Living in the apartments is good if you don’t like cramped areas and like to have space; also they are good if you don’t want a meal plan then you chose to have a kitchen. Even though there is a plethora of people who live in the apartments there is still a good handful of people who live in the suites; actually there have been plenty of people who said that it is better to live in the suites because you meet more people and hang out with more people on a daily basis. The atmosphere in the dorms is very relaxing.

“On-campus residents enjoy access to special academic programming and facilities beyond that available to their peers who live off campus. These programs and facilities include study skills workshops, dinners with faculty members, study jams during midterms and finals, a 24-hour computer lab and private study lounges”(What Does Housing Offer?).How can you get quick access to CSUN’s facilities if you don’t live on campus? It may become difficult through out the school year for a student to gain immediate access to CSUN’s amenities if they commute. These students who commute majority of the time are always in such a rush to get home because they want to be traffic or have an engagement that they are rarely able to use the school’s library, tutoring labs and office hours. Students often only have time use these facilities when they are in between campus. If these students were to live on campus they would be able to get a better use of these amenities and they will also be able to find easy study groups with other classmates who live on campus.

            On the other side, the students who don’t commute majority of the time have two reasons. The main two reasons those students don’t live in the dorms is because of: (1) financial reasons (2) they feel that they may not be able to adapt to living with a complete stranger and (3) majority of the people that apply to CSUN know that this school is a commuter college. There are students who may want to live on campus but they are unable to because it may be too expensive for them and they may not be able to afford it. To live in dorms is between $7,000-$9,000 for the whole year; for some of those students who don’t choose to live a dorm with a kitchen they still have to pay for a meal plan, which is around 5,000 all year round and for the students who chose a kitchen they have to buy groceries each week so that they don’t spend as much money out buying food. So when you add up everything to live in the dorms your probably going to spending around 12,000 dollars; for students who didn’t get enough financial aid they may not be able to pay for that because it is so expensive.

Additionally, when people apply to CSUN they figure that there is no point in applying for the dorms because of the fact that it is so close to people’s homes and they can easily drive to school rather than paying for the dorms and/or maybe a meal plan. With the gas prices raising as fast as they are these students don’t realize that they are spending more probably the same amount on gas each month as they would on living in the dorms. The other thing to think about is how much damage they are putting on their car driving back and forth. Driving from school can be a big hassle on your car and can mess with the condition of some people’s car.

Another thing that may prevent students from wanting to live in the dorms is living with someone they don’t know and not being able to adapt to the person. From personal experience I know what this feels like because at one point I was not very comfortable living with my roommate and that brought issues between us and I wanted to move out and go back home but I knew that if I did that, I would regret it at the end but not all students are as strong as me to just suck it up and stay in the dorms. Some students just might not be able to handle there living conditions in the dorms and feel like they have to move back home.

 “On-campus residents report that one of the most rewarding aspects of residential life is the opportunity to live among people from all walks of life. Because this type of living environment may be new for some students, housing staff members regularly invite groups of students to get together for guided dialogues on issues surrounding diversity” (What Does Housing Offer?). When you live in the dorms you have the opportunity to meet so many people that you never thought you would get along with. You learn that some people may have the same interest and views as you. Living the dorm life helps you get to know people who are from different cultures little more; rather than going off of what somebody else says you are able to know the real deal about a person and their background. “A word of caution: get to know your roommates in the beginning and lay groundwork, because it can save you trouble in the long run working out nasty arguments” (College Prowler). Truth be told when you set out ground rules for you and roommates in the living space it makes everything a whole lot easier and it makes happy living. All around living in the dorms is fun and helps you meet fun people. Anybody can drive to school and meet people then go home but it’s a totally different story when you living in the dorms and meet people because that person can become a true good friend.

If students who commute were required to live on campus they would they will not only be able to gain quicker access to the schools many facilities but they will also be able to learn different things about themselves that they never know. The student would be able to live under new comfortable living conditions and have a more sense of independence. “Research shows that students living on campus are more satisfied with their living environment and college experience, earn higher grades, have a more satisfied social life, and participate in more student activities” (Ask Matty).