Dorms vs. Off-Campus Housing Cal Poly

beelzelboss · #1 03-26-2011, 06:28 PM

The time has come for me to decide where I'm going to live for the next year. (I'm going into college) So the question is: A dorm with all the other kids in my college (College of Chemistry at Cal Poly) or apartments that are a little bit more off campus.

For those of you who want to look, here is the website.

University Housing - Cal Poly

I'm deciding on either Muir, which is under South Mountain Halls. Those are the dorms, vs. Cierro Vista apartments.

Honestly, I just want to have access to parties so I'm joining a frat, but I just want to have a fun "college" experience. My thought on the whole thing was to go with Muir because I'm going to be with a bunch of smart kids who are all doing the same stuff for the first year, but I also do like having my own space and stuff.

Whats your opinion on the whole matter? Any fun stories of dorm like vs. apartment life?

tl;dr opinion on whether or not I should go into a dorm or off campus apartment for a freshman in college.

SoonerMatt · #2 03-26-2011, 06:35 PM

If it's your first year in college I would definitely say to live in the dorms. Some of my best friends in college were guys who lived in my hall and it'll expose you to a lot more of what's going on around campus. Same story with my sister. My brother did the off-campus thing his freshman year and didn't know anybody as a result.

Dorm days are fun days (as long as you aren't an RA).

TJ55 · #3 03-26-2011, 06:41 PM

I have to agree with Sooner. Living on campus at first is good idea IMO. Meeting people and getting socially aquainted will lay a great foundation for fun later. I think you risk being excluded from a lot of stuff if you live off campus initially.

beelzelboss · #4 03-26-2011, 06:59 PM

That is what my thought was. Did you guys enjoy living in the dorms though? You both said it's great for meeting people, but was it fun?

Selta · #5 03-26-2011, 07:14 PM

I had a TON of fun living in dorms my first year.

TJ55 · #6 03-26-2011, 07:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by beelzelboss

That is what my thought was. Did you guys enjoy living in the dorms though? You both said it's great for meeting people, but was it fun?

Full disclosure, I never lived in "The Dorms" if you want to split hairs (not implying that you are). I went to college on an athletic scholarship so we lived in on campus apartments. Me and three teammates in a two bedroom duplex type thing. So eight of us per structure. All neighbors were athletes too.

To answer your question, YES. Some of the best times I ever had.

jp58 · #7 03-26-2011, 08:05 PM

Dorms or on campus apartments are the way to go at least for the first year. It gets you on campus for all the events, like movie nights, where all the other freshman will be. I've lived with about 6 people on campus, and now that I'm in my junior year, I moved off campus with 4 of them.

Living in the dorms (regular style) was definitely an interesting experience. It takes some getting used to, and sharing a room with someone you don't know can be a little nerve racking at first, but once you get over the initial shell-shock it's fine. My roommate shared a lot of similar interests as me, and we got along fine. *It can be difficult to "share a moment" with a lady friend in this set-up*

Last year, I lived in the on-campus apartments with my previous roommate and a friend from home for most of the year. This was great for most of the year. We frequently had people over, had movie nights, played 4-8 player xbox and wii. Everyone trusted everyone, and all was perfect.

After spring break, things changed. A new guy moved in, and we all hated him. He was literally at college to party, and had been moved from room to room as he pissed people off. He smoked weed and cigs in his room and the shared bathroom, rolled on pills in the living room, had a friend live with him, got us questioned by the authorities, and threatened to kill us if anyone said anything to an RA or public safety. Needless to say, we went out of our way to piss him off until he went to the RA, and of course none of us saw anything. Eventually he started to get the message, until one day he decided to smoke some "legal weed" in the stairwell and got caught. His pipe tested positive for resin, and that was the last we ever saw of him.

This year, I live off campus with 6-8 people that I've lived with or known for a few years. Everything is perfect again, there is always beer in the fridge, etc. Just like the beginning of my sophomore year all over again. It is awesome, but wouldn't have been possible if I didn't live on campus first.

tl;dr

It takes a while to get used to living with others + building up trust, and it isn't without it's problems, but living on campus was a great experience for me. Living off campus is better IMO, but not without the people that I lived on campus with.

Hope this helps.

SoonerMatt · #8 03-26-2011, 08:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by beelzelboss

That is what my thought was. Did you guys enjoy living in the dorms though? You both said it's great for meeting people, but was it fun?

Oh **** yes it was fun.

**jmattbassplaya** · #9 03-26-2011, 08:49 PM

Go for the on-campus dorm. It sucks ***, but it's fun and soooo much easier to meet people this way. For what it's worth, I'm a junior and now live in an on-campus apartment which is really nice. I'd suggest trying that your sophomore year.

beelzelboss · #10 03-26-2011, 10:26 PM

Hmm. I met a couple of people tonight who said to not go with the dorm route, but with on campus apartments. Besides being a lot nicer, they said you still meet a lot of people and have fun, but without the problem of having a d-bag roommate. I really think I'm going to go with the on campus apartments because I'll have a room to myself and I'll still have friends and stuff.

So it really comes down to dorm vs on campus apartment.

**jmattbassplaya** · #11 03-26-2011, 10:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by beelzelboss

Hmm. I met a couple of people tonight who said to not go with the dorm route, but with on campus apartments. Besides being a lot nicer, they said you still meet a lot of people and have fun, but without the problem of having a d-bag roommate. I really think I'm going to go with the on campus apartments because I'll have a room to myself and I'll still have friends and stuff.

So it really comes down to dorm vs on campus apartment.

Just be sure you can actually get in. At my school freshmen are required to live in a dorm unless they live within x number of miles from the school. In addition, it's incredibly hard to get into an on-campus apartment because your signing day is determined by how many hours you have accumulated -meaning unless you're a junior, you have a snowballs chance in hell getting in. Just be sure to know what conditions might be attached with where you can and can't live.

jp58 · #12 03-26-2011, 10:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jmattbassplaya

Just be sure you can actually get in. At my school freshmen are required to live in a dorm unless they live within x number of miles from the school. In addition, it's incredibly hard to get into an on-campus apartment because your signing day is determined by how many hours you have accumulated -meaning unless you're a junior, you have a snowballs chance in hell getting in. Just be sure to know what conditions might be attached with where you can and can't live.

This. The selection process for who gets what is determined by grade and years living on campus here. Unless you are a sophomore with a ton of credits or a junior, it can be very difficult to get into them.

Also, don't be late for anything to do with housing. It is the easiest way to end up on the "waiting list" for a room or to end up just put wherever.

beelzelboss · #13 03-26-2011, 11:55 PM

Oh, I was told it was on a first come first serve basis, and that they have on campus apartments specifically for freshman who don't want to live in dorms. Also, housing just opened up not more than a week or two ago. I will be submitting it soon though as I just saw the dorms and apartments yesterday.

Hawaii Islander · #14 03-27-2011, 12:29 AM

I liked living in on-campus apartments better than dorms. I was a graduate student at the time. I also lived in off-campus apartments which were better for noise (or lack therreof), but living on campus made it easier to participate in on-campus activities (and to get to my lab for research work).

IconBasser · #15 03-27-2011, 08:55 AM

awww, you guys make it sound like I've missed out on so much by not living on campus

oh well, I've made my own fun over the last 2 years.

**jmattbassplaya** · #16 03-27-2011, 09:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by IconBasser

awww, you guys make it sound like I've missed out on so much by not living on campus

oh well, I've made my own fun over the last 2 years.

Haha, it was fun but it definitely sucked. Community baths, sharing a single room with another person (something I've never had to do before), people pulling fire alarms as pranks at 3 in the morning, etc... I would never go back to one again, but it definitely was an experience I'm glad I had. Plus being in the middle of campus made going to class a lot easier and more convenient.