To Dorm, or not to Dorm?

By: Alaina Gizzo
Posted In: Opinion

As their second year at college begins, many sophomores at Salve are currently browsing off-campus rentals for their junior year. Meanwhile, others are still debating whether to live on or off campus. Due to limited on-campus housing, most seniors and juniors opt to live off campus in seasonal rentals throughout Newport and Middletown, which can end up being less expensive than the cost of on-campus housing.

When it came time for me to choose, influences such as involvement in extracurricular activities, on campus jobs, and the lack of vehicle came into play. Figuring out the costs to bring my car to Salve from home also helped me decide to stay on campus. Seeing my junior and senior friends move off campus during my sophomore year gave me some perspective. Their experiences served me with a vicarious sense of trial and error. In the end, I favor being on campus, immersed in the heart of the university.

Most students prefer off-campus residences as a means of escaping dorm-life, including its appliance regulations, cafeteria food, and lack of personal space. They can blast music during finals week, use spider lamps, and, most importantly, have a decent size room. Not to mention, Salve’s policy of being a dry campus may drive certain students to rent.

But are all of these freedoms worth it? The price of off-campus living isn’t just in the rent. The price of utilities can pile high quickly in addition to the growing cost of food. Also most landlords require a security deposit, equal to a month’s rent, which is often kept in part or whole for things such as cleaning costs after moving out or any damages to the house that occurred throughout the school year. More often than not, the security deposit is not returned in whole.

The sense of the university is lost with off campus living. During my first two years at Salve, my friends and classmates were generally a short walk away. Since the beginning of junior year, it has been more difficult to keep in touch with off campus friends.

However, I am easily able to keep in touch with campus activities and clubs. I love not having to worry about using water or electricity or even wondering how to affordably heat my living space during the cold and damp winter months in Newport. Plus, I am just a five minute walk from classes.

Juniors and seniors on campus also have more privileges than sophomores and freshmen. For the most part, it is apartment style living, which means (finally!) we have kitchens. So, meal plans aren’t required. Generally the rooms are bigger and nicer-looking than lower-classman dorms, or at least any that I’ve seen before. The rooms have less of a dorm atmosphere and take on more of a cozy quality.

So, to the sophomores trying to decide, the most important advice that I can give is to choose what is right for you. In the end, you are the only one who knows which living situation will best suit you.