Dorm life offers minimal benefits

CON

Living in the dorms is not necessarily the answer to the search for social and financial happiness.

There is little control over your environment - you have to spend a year sleeping next to someone you do not even know. Right when you need quiet time to study your dormmate could decide that it is the perfect time to invite 20 of their closest friends into the room to party. Or you could be the one ready to party and have to deal with an angry, studying roommate. To make matters worse, the issues and differences between you and your chosen dormmate can be way more intense than just studying and partying.

As far as money is concerned, living off campus may cost a little more over the long run, but you are able to create an environment that best suits your needs. Besides the dorms, there are three choices: living at home, living alone or living with roommates. Though living at home is not the most desirable choice to independence, it may be a smart decision for planning for the future.

Living at home, at least for one semester, allows a student to save the most amount of money. This creates a base from which to work for true independence. Free from having to pay rent, a student can save money to move out.

Living away from the dorms does not equate with a lonely existence on campus. The dorms are not the only way to meet other people on campus. There is a multitude of centers and clubs here to get involved with. Coming to school to study and then forming study groups with classmates is another great way to build strong social connections.

Erica Miller is a journalism student at CSULB.