What do you recommend?!

livinluxuriously_Lila

livinluxuriously_Lila

Member
Feb 3, 2006
524
4
#1
Hey ladies and gents, well I need your opinion on some questions I have.
1st- What type of housing is the best for college students?
On Campus housing or my own apartment?
2nd- Should I get roomates?
3rd- Should I get a job?
All the stress about leaving home and being on my own is catching up.
Anyways I knew I could count on my trusty PF ladies and Gents to help me out. :biggrin::huh:
 
#2
livinluxuriously_Lila said:
Hey ladies, well I need your opinion on some questions I have.
1st- What type of housing is the best for college students?
On Campus housing or my own apartment?
2nd- Should I get roomates?
3rd- Should I get a job?
All the stress about leaving home and being on my own is catching up.
Anyways I knew I could count on my trusty PF ladies and Gents to help me out. :biggrin::huh:
Click to expand...

1) your first year should really be on campus. i think you meet more people and are forced to live outside your comfort zone and grow. i had a really bad dorm experience but LOVED living in my sorority. wouldn't change the friends or experiences i had for ANYTHING. i really reccomend the greek system to most entering freshman. you make a lot of great friends, have built in study groups, and always have support around you. plus you live in a house, so you feel less homesick.

2) roommates make life less lonely...but only if you have good ones. i think every woman should live by herself at least once in her life (even though i never did...) but i also loved the time i shared with most of my roommates. they were also good friends that i met through my sorority though (even when i lived off campus) so it's not like random people. i don't really reccomend random roommates unless it's in a dorm setting. even then it can get kind of sketchy. they're either great or awful...not a whole lot of middle ground.

3) only get a JOB job if you need it. i think its important to have ACTIVITIES in college because it helps you manage your time better...but you can get involved in all kinds of things. the more you have to work, the less time you have for campus newspaper, student senate, honor society, sorority, whatever it is you choose to do.

good luck! going off to college is so exciting!! even though i didn't graduate from the college i started at and i'm STILL plodding away at a degree six years after high school, i wouldn't change a second of it. :smile: i learned so many life lessons that when my path took me in different directions i could grow from it. :smile:
 
#3
I think its good for freshman year to live on campus... its a great way to meet people and be involved in activities. Plus, I think everyone should experience living with roommates, you learn a lot about other people and yourself that way... and how to problem solve and stuff like that. Actually, I'm almost positive that my school required people to live on campus freshman year unless they met certain requirements.

Things to consider before moving off campus are things like if you plan on living there for the summer then are you responsible or are your parents responsible for the rent. If you plan on studying abroad sometimes it can be hard to get people to sublet. Sometimes there's a big difference in cost depending on what city you're in too... I know my apartments were considerably more than living on campus.

As for working, if you don't have to and your parents are paying for everything, I'd take that time to do some internships, which are often unpaid.. good way to gain some experience. My parents paid for everything but I babysat just cuz I sort of felt guilty having them pay for my nights out clubbing or drinking:P
 
#4
Definetly live on campus...at least the first year. I never did (was married already when I started college)..but boy do I wish I had!
My undergrad school required dorm living for the 1st, and my current grad school does as well. Where I go now actually recommends it for the entire time...dorm living is a huge thing at my university! They don't have fraternities or anything, so your dorm is like your fraternity/sorority.
Don't get a job initially.....as time goes on you might want to consider getting a campus job part-time. Just kick back and enjoy the first year at least!
Roommates......if you do dorm living the first year you might get some great roomies who will be your friend for life....and maybe you'll all decide to move out together!

I say just worry about your first year for now, and other things will fall into place. Enjoy school, study hard, party hard (yes...that's part of college too!), make new friends...but enjoy it...you'll never get to do it again!
 
#5
dorming was one of my best/worst/most meaningful experiences of college

and now in grad school i miss the accessiblility of dorm life

ie food, friends, class, the library
 
#9
Hmm, if you're going to USC Law you should know that on-campus housing at USC is very limited. Almost everyone who is not a freshman lives off campus unless they are Greek. I have a lot of friends at USC and a few friends at USC Law, including a sorority sister I'm very close to. Maybe I can introduce you two and she can be of some help to you.

If you're going to law school, you probably also know that maybe ONE student in your class will have a job, because law school itself is a full-time job. Depending on the curve -- and since this is a Tier 1 school, there will be a tough curve -- you're going to have the bust your butt studying to get a 85% which the curve might make a C. I know a lot of law students and none of them, no matter how pressed for money, have a job. You'll get summer internships that will pay pretty well, especially the summer after your second year: but you probably don't need me to tell you that.

Since you live in San Diego, USC really isn't that far away, nor will the lifestyle/people there be very different if you're used to living in La Jolla (as your profile states). Have you been living at home up until this point? If so, I assume you've been going to USD or UCSD.

I know for a fact that USC, like many law schools, has a program to set you up with other law students looking for roommates.

From the way you worded your post, you almost sound like a first-year college undergraduate rather than a law student. Sorry, I'm not trying to be insulting, but I'm just surprised that a young woman (what 21 at the youngest, 22?) who has already had an undergraduate experience still has these kinds of questions.
 
#10
Definitely try to get on campus housing. I was on campus the first year then off the second and on again the last two years as a Resident Assistant. I loved just about every minute of it.

I had roommates the first year but they were never really there. The next year I lived alone (not really, BF lived in same building and he was over all the time) and the last two years I was a Resident Assistant so I lived alone too. It wouldn't have been the same experience if I hadn't lived with roommates the first year. They are actually better friends I still have up to today rather than people I just met on campus.

I had a job about 10 hours a week but you have to see if you have time for it. Don't sacrifice extracurricular activities for a job too. Find a balance with it when you can. Activities are good on your resume.
 
#11
FIRST YEAR: i think you should live on campus (dorms) because you meet a lot of friends this way. all the people i am close with not are basically friends from dorms. you really don't add many friends by going to frat parties & etc. i never really made friends in lecture because i just took notes and got out of there as soon as i could haha.

ROOMMATES: if you are moving into an apt get an aptmate. it makes it a little less lonely. i don't believe in living with good friends though. (i never shared my room besides freshmen year. 2nd-4th yrs i've always had a 4bed 4bath setup with 3 other girls) i started out living with girls from the dorms and we got closer.

JOB: i think in the beginning since you are adjusting to the college life a job might be too much on your plate. after you've settled in then i would say working is not a problem.

GOOD LUCK!! & let me know if you need anything else :smile:
 
#13
Hello Lila! I went to USC for undergrad. I would not suggest living in the area for law school. Housing is rather limited, cramped, noisy, and a bit unsafe (from personal experience).

I don't think grad students have housing on the actual campus. There may be grad housing around campus, but I'm not positive where. Lots of students live in the Medici (on 6th and Bixel, I think). It's very close to campus (a few minutes' drive) and the apartments are very nice. Pricey, but if you can afford it, I would suggest living there. They have a Web site. If you can't find it, let me know and I'll look for it for you. Check the USC housing website and Daily Trojan online as well for housing leads.

I do not suggest roommates for law school, especially not first year.

I don't think you're allowed to work your first year in law school. It's not worth it. You will find that your schedule is packed first year.

Any other questions, let me know!
 
#15
Hey there!

1st- What type of housing is the best for college students?
On Campus housing or my own apartment?

I would stay on campus for at least one semester, so you can meet more people.

2nd- Should I get roomates?

Sometimes it's nice to have a roommate and sometimes it's not. I know people that had to share rooms with people that peed all over the floor at night (sleep walkers) or haven't taken showers in weeks. But you never know who you are going to get as a roommate!

3rd- Should I get a job?
I had three part time jobs when I was in college and I was doing well in classes. However, I did not party AT ALL! If you think you'd want to experience the REAL college life and your parents don't mind supporting you financially, then concentrate on your studies and just have fun. If you know you'll need the money, get a part time job a few days a week.

Good luck!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top
Back