[Kati Compton]

Originally Posted by Janak Parekh

You know how small-town folk think...

I think some were "big town" folk that thought that just because Northwestern University isn't ACTUALLY in Chicago, none of the "ruffians" could get you there. Well, they'd have to pay $1.50 to use the El, anyway.

How much you want to bet that the people stealing were other students? "But they're my FRIENDS! My BESTEST BESTEST FRIENDS!"

If you can't tell, I hated living in the dorms.

[Kati Compton]

Originally Posted by Janak Parekh

You know how small-town folk think...

I think some were "big town" folk that thought that just because Northwestern University isn't ACTUALLY in Chicago, none of the "ruffians" could get you there. Well, they'd have to pay $1.50 to use the El, anyway.

How much you want to bet that the people stealing were other students? "But they're my FRIENDS! My BESTEST BESTEST FRIENDS!"

If you can't tell, I hated living in the dorms.

[karen]

Originally Posted by kati42

If you can't tell, I hated living in the dorms.

Gawd, me, too.

I can't get over the number of parents who tell me that they want their kids to live in the dorms because:

- they'll make more friends
Not necessarily. They'll definitely make more enemies.

- the dorms are safer
Uh...no. They will have all kinds of things stolen from their rooms, doors propped open at night to let 'guests' in, etc. Definitely not safer.

- they'll have a superviors/RA
hah! Sure. A grad student who is never there and a dorm director who works 8-5.

- they will get to meet people from diverse backgrounds.
Sure. And some of them will be nice and some not.

- they will have a better environment to study
Goodness, someone is stuck in the 50s aren't they?

- they will get experiences that they'll never get anywhere else...
Sure. Stepping over puke at the 2am trip to the bathroom, sharing 5 sinks with 40 others, having to trapse down the hall to have a shower, having to deal with a million other things.

I would never let one of my kids stay in a dorm...

K

[Busdriver]

As we we drift off-topic in the off-topic forum..... :wink:

Originally Posted by Karen

I would never let one of my kids stay in a dorm...

Our son will be attending the University of Tenn where they require freshman to live on campus, as do many colleges, yes?

Do you feel strongly enough about this to reject a college for this reason alone?

[Janak Parekh]

Originally Posted by Busdriver

Our son will be attending the University of Tenn where they require freshman to live on campus, as do many colleges, yes?

Most that I've seen don't, actually.

Do you feel strongly enough about this to reject a college for this reason alone?

No. Unlike Kati and Karen, I do see some upsides to living in student housing -- since there's no commute per se, it's much easier to be involved in a social life at the school. As a counterpoint, if you don't want to be involved in a social life, student housing is non-optimal.

An alternative that might capture the "best" of both worlds is apartment housing nearby. In any case, any long commute really sucks if you're an undergrad, except perhaps from a cost-of-living point of view.

--janak

[Busdriver]

We'll see how it goes the first year. Hopefully, it will be a positive experience for him.

I lived at home while attending college and I think I missed a lot by doing that. So whether he lives on campus or not, "going away" to college, we think, is a good thing.

[Kati Compton]

I recommend moving out of "home", whether into a dorm or an apartment, for college. I think it isn't a bad thing to have to spend one year in the dorm. Keeps ya from getting spoiled...

[othell]

Living on campus is not that bad. I recommend that all college students do it for at least 1 year.

I lived in a dorm for 2 1/2 years and am now living off campus... but the friends that I made during that time are still with me (one of them is my Best Man for June 2004).

The enemies you could make during such a time should really be a none issue. You'll make enemies no matter where you live or go or do.

College life is great... but there are some people who just don't like it. :?

[dMores]

i can't really say much about american/canadian dorms, but i do have some insight in european student dormatories as i have spent my first couple of years in them.

some are good, some are bad. i moved twice until i got to one where i felt comfortable and got along with the others. (oh, and i had a fridge in my room !!)

so i would say that they're ok for taking the first step out of "home".

[karen]

Originally Posted by Busdriver

As we we drift off-topic in the off-topic forum..... :wink:

Our son will be attending the University of Tenn where they require freshman to live on campus, as do many colleges, yes?

Do you feel strongly enough about this to reject a college for this reason alone?

Sons are a different animal all together...I guess I was thinking more of daughters. I might have a bit more leeway with a son. The downside of sons living off campus is that they tend to live with bathrooms that have never been cleaned. At least in a dorm they can have somewhat clean environments.

[Kati Compton]

It always made me really mad when my mother had more rules for me than my brother. Part of it was because I'm older, but some of it was because of gender.