To Board Or Not To Board

It’s tough deciding where you plan on going to university, particularly if it means you will have to move out of home and live on-campus. When it comes to college living, there are some really fantastic highs and some particularly hellish lows, so it’s worth deciding whether college life is for you and factoring that into your ultimate university choice. While some people can thrive in student accommodation, others may find that a few more years living at home is a much more attractive option. Here are some of the pros and cons of college living. And we aren’t talking about American “College”.

Freedom

This one is relative to the college you are living at and how strict your parents are, but generally speaking college allows you way more independence to choose where you want to go, what you want to do and who you want to do it with. There are no parents around to watch your every move, so you’re pretty much free to make your own decisions. Want to make out with the boy who rides a motorcycle and has face tattoos that you know your mother would never approve of? Well now you can!
However, it is well worth looking into the rules of a college before you apply, as restrictions such as curfews may be enforced.

Money

If money is a worry (as it is for most students), college is something you need to be wary of. There are various different forms of accommodation for students, including share houses and off-campus housing, but college or on-campus accommodation is where you will often see food, laundry, Wi-Fi and even cleaning all thrown into the one rent cost. Depending on the university, you could be looking at something along the lines of $300-$600 per week to stay on-campus.
Even if your parents charge board, it usually works out cheaper to live at home. But every person is different, and living at home can incur other costs like travel to and from uni or buying food on-campus. You’ll need to do some number crunching to find out what works best for you. But, what I’ve heard of the food in college, your better off sticking with Mum’s home cooked meals. Prepare your body for McDonalds and 2-minute noodles.

Social Life

College is said to be one of the best social experiences you can have at university, as the people you live with become your friends, family and partners all rolled into one. The experiences you have during college will be some of the most memorable of your life, and the friends you make will often stick around even after university is over. College will help immensely in boosting your social confidence and people-skills, and there will always be somebody there to talk to or study with. The social calender of a college student is usually more jam-packed then your average university goer, where parties, sports competitions and organised events are frequent and often exclusive to college residents. Toga parties abound!

While there are plenty of benefits to bunking with your besties, tensions will inevitably arise when spending too much time with your friends. Throw a bunch of hormonal twenty-somethings into one building along with exam stress and alcohol, and there’s bound to be some drama. Gossip can spread like wildfire in college, and at times it can be very difficult to keep things to yourself. But if you’re looking for the ultimate social experience, college is definitely where it’s at.

Privacy and Safety

If you’re planning on living in college, be prepared to lose a lot of your personal privacy. There isn’t a whole lot of alone time when it comes to dorm living, and you will usually have to share bathrooms and kitchens with other residents (shower thongs may be necessary). Unfortunately, sexual harassment and assault aren’t uncommon on-campus, however there are usually all-male or all-female housing options to reduce the risk of these incidences. Still, if you are worried about your safety, there’s really no place like home.

Convenience

There’s nothing like rolling out of bed ten minutes before your morning lecture with the total assurance that you are going to make it on time. Living at home often means 7am alarms and long, overcrowded bus trips in snail-paced city traffic. The beauty of college lies in the fact that you are always on-campus, so there’s no time wasted travelling to and from uni. This equates to plenty more vital study time, party time, or aimless internet surfing time!

College is all about what you make it. You might have to embrace the shared living spaces, the grubby dorm rooms and the crappy cafeteria food, but what you’ll get in return is a social experience like no other. Most college kids will tell you that they’ve had the most awesome time living on-campus and that they wouldn’t trade it for anything – not even Mum’s spaghetti bolognese.