Should all freshman have to live on campus?

In My Humble Opinion
1

This article talks about how MIT will require all freshmen to live in on-campus housing. What do you think about that (in general, not MIT in particular)?

I disagree with the policy. I never wanted to live on campus when I was a student, and I would not have chosen a school that required it. My limited dorm experiences - visiting other residents - convinced me that I’d never get any privacy, I’d never be able to study or sleep when I wanted, and I’d be very unhappy the whole time. When my Perfect Child[sup]TM[/sup] goes off to college, we’ll set her up in a rental home or we’ll buy a small house and rent it to her and a roommate.

If parents haven’t taught their kids responsible behavior by the time they’re in college, why should that fall to the university? If my kid needs a resident babysitter, maybe she’s not ready to leave home.

2

Personally, I think it’s a good IDEA for freshmen to live on campus if they’re kids out of high school. It’s a nice transition.

Making it a requirement is idiotic. A school isn’t boot camp.

3

As an MIT alumnus, I mourn the passing of Rush Week. Despite the impression the news accounts might give, it wasn’t an orgy of beer blasts. It was an intense familiarization process, and during that week I also advance-placed out of my first term of Calculus. In addition, you also got to tour the dorms and request space at a particular dorm. That had nothing to do with drinking or partying, and now that option is gone, too, since MIT assigns your room.

As it worked out, I ended up in a dorm, and haven’t regretted it. But I ended up at the dorm of my choosing, although through a roundabout process. And we won’t talk about the toothpaste in my door lock.

4

The last (and final) time I was a freshman I was 26. I had classmates who were in their 40s, returning to school after decades of being in the workforce or after divorce nuked a career as stay-at-home mom. We even had one freshman who was in her 70s. (In our history class, when we described the effects of the great depression on American families, she could speak from first-hand experience). The rule cited in the OP would have forced us all into dorms.

An across-the-board like this is just plain stupid.

(I don’t think it would get much better if it specified only freshmen right out of high school either. Colleges should be places where individuality reigns over convenient generalizations.)

5

There are a couple of questions to be answered here, FCM.

  1. Should freshmen be forced to live on campus, no matter what?

  2. Is it a good idea for freshmen to live on campus?

As you mentioned, there’s on-campus housing, off-campus housing, and also at-home housing (i.e., commuting to class).

For the reasons AHunter listed, I don’t think anyone should be forced to live on-campus. That’s just silly. For one thing, forced social behavior never works - you’ll gravitate to people you like in any event. For another thing, you’ll wind up with a lot of people who clearly don’t want to be there - or together, for that matter.

I commuted to each of the three undergrad schools I attended, over a period of 8 years. It was a mistake. It’s better to live either on campus in a dorm or off campus in an apartment.

I realize MIT isn’t exactly an easy school, but this seems to cause more harm than good.

6
      • The St. Louis paper had an article about this a few days ago-- it seems that a lot of schools are going to require freshmen to stay on-campus. A money grab, pure and simple. It adds ~$7500+ on to the cost of the first year, and doesn’t provide any justifiable benefit to the student. -So, then all the “concerned schools” can go to the gov’t and ask for more grant money, to help students pay for what the schools are overcharging for in the first place.
        ~
7

It’s ridiculous to require freshmen to live on campus, although I do think that it’s possible to miss out on some of the social aspects of living in a dorm and being close to campus. I had great experiences living in dorms–particularly the last two years when I had a single in a “quiet dorm” (noise restrictions in the evenings, practically no hard partiers which means no vomit clogging up the toilets or beer cans littering the halls)–and would recommend it to a freshman. The college I went to was pretty rural, and there wasn’t much social life off campus, which determined my choice to stay in the dorms. I also didn’t have a car. Not that any of these things are problems at MIT, but every college is going to have a different set of circumstances. From reading the article, it seems that MIT is instituting the new rule simply to appease paranoid and guilty parents. My sympathies go to the parents for losing a son, but you’re right, FCM, parents ought to teach their kids some responsibility.

8

I went to a school that emphasized the sense of community that came with being a residential college. If you wanted to live off campus at any point during your 4 years you had to get a housing waiver. These would be granted for various reasons including financial necessity, living with an SO or spouse, and a certain number of freebies awarded in a lottery for seniors. I liked it and the only people I knew who had a problem with the system were people who just didn’t want to be at the school at all. Of course since it wasn’t just a first-year requirement it wasn’t just about babysitting new students. I don’t know how I would have felt about that. I would favor a policy of guaranteeing all new students a place in school housing if they want one.

9

I think it’s a great idea for all freshman to live on campus, but I don’t think it should be required. I went to school in the same town that my parents lived in. In interest of saving money, I lived at home my freshman year. I hated it–I lived and worked off campus (no car, so I had to take the bus everywhere), so I had to stick around campus between classes with nowhere to go, but at night (when most student orgs had meetings) I was either working or didn’t feel like taking a 45-minute (one-way) busride back to campus. It’s been my experience that most people make their friends their freshman year, with people in their dorms. That’s not to say that I don’t have friends, but I don’t feel like I’m really part of a group. I really didn’t meet new people that year. About 40 other people from my high school went to my college, and I usually had 1 or 2 of them in my classes. Also, my parents and I fought quite a bit that year–I felt like they really weren’t treating me differently than when I was in high school, and they probably felt I wasn’t acting my age.

I got along with them so much better after I moved out. I met more people after I moved out. IMHO, I would rather be more in debt to have had that experience.

10

Like many others, making it policy to require freshmen to live on campus is rather stupid. It’s like telling someone “You WILL adjust the way we say.” that’s just dumb.

I do, however, believe it is a good idea for all freshmen incoming from high school, to live in the dorms. Depending on the size of the school, even extend it into two years. I spent my freshman year in the dorms, and chose to stay my sophomore year, and I think it was a great idea. UT is a pretty big campus, and even living there two years, I don’t know where everything is, but it really helped to learn the area. Plus, at that point in time, the majority of the people you meet live in dorms, so it makes hanging out and meeting others very easy. And, that first year is always difficult when it comes to getting up in time for those 8:00 a.m. classes. The last thing you need is to struggle through traffic, then fight for parking when you could simply crawl out of bed five minutes before class and wonder over to class. It helps with that whole “Not quite responsible yet” phase, and it’s just a good idea.

Fairy, I would reconsider keeping your child out of the dorms for the first year. Trust me, when it comes to “sleeping whenever you want,” there’s no trouble whatsoever. Most freshmen nowadays spend their time on computers, smoking cigs outside, or sleeping. Dorms aren’t as terrible and horrific as you think they are. There are plenty of study rooms in most dorms, plus the rooms themselves are rather quiet. And if they’re not, another good thing about living on campus is you’re right by the library, where you can get all your studying done there as well. So, I suggest you give it a shot for at least the first year, and then worry about off campus living.

11

I’ll chime in for the “pro” column. At my college all freshmen were required to either live on campus or with family. For “traditonal” freshman – just graduate high school, probably 18 years old, it makes perfect sense as a sort of “training wheels” for life 9I’m sure non-traditional students could get a waiver, but they were few and far between). On campus is where all support services are located – writing tutors, math tutors, mental health services. food service and much much more. As well as just knowing that if you were freaking out over something at 2 am there would always be someone to talk to. Students who, for whatever reason, did not live on campus their freshman year did not seem to “fit in” as well nor to have as wide a circle of friends (yes, I consider friends a “support service” now that I think of it!). Of my closest college friends I know most through my freshman dorm.

Also, at my college, living on campus was desirable throughout the four years with most students living on-campus at least 3 of their 4 years. A strong sense of community as well as the university’s policy of “self determination in residence life” (meaning: dorm residents set their own rules by common consent) made dorms a pleasant place to live. Add to this the fact that underclassmen were not allowed to park on campus, and off-campus housing that would still allow you to walk to class was extremely limited. Every year a few people more people requested rooms than were available, resulting in the much-feared “involuntary bump” from housing lottery.

If you want to hear about a money grab, how about requiring freshmen to be on the “highest level” food plan? Now THAT was freaking’ absurd.

12

NCSU has the same requirement, as I recall, and I’m sure many other universities do as well.

13

I agree that there are benefits to living in a dorm, but I don’t think it should be an across-the-board requirement. Some people simply aren’t meant to live in dorms, and they tend to make other students’ lives miserable as well as their own.

14

I think it depends on the location of the school. I, for one, am totally for dorm living and firmly believe that all college students should spend at least ONE full school year in the dorms. Some of the best developmental “people” lessons you’ll ever learn. Especially for kids who were only children and hadn’t had to “share” much. This is a growth experience and I wouldn’t trade my two years in the dorms for anything. In fact, I’m still best friends with my freshman roommate… 15 years later. You really bond in the dorms; there’s so many pros. There are some cons, but it’s not like Animal House or anything. (Okay, there were some Animal House days, but in general, it was the quietest place to study – and I spent one year in an all girls’ quiet study and one year in a plain old co-ed upperclassmen dorm.)

That said, I resented being told I had to live on campus. While I don’t agree with “forcing” someone to live in dorms, I can’t imagine (after my experience) why you wouldn’t want to grow as a human and experience that.

15

I also mourn the passing of Rush at MIT - it was part of a great tradition, and will probably be the death of a number of living groups. Further, they’re kicking large numbers of grad students out of campus housing in order to make room to house all the freshmen (they have also built an astonishingly ugly new dorm, already nicknamed “Waffle House”). In terms of needing structure to adjust to college, I think we were better off with freshmen living in fraternities (that still had plenty of support structures in place) than with foreign grad students having to find apartments in Cambridge and deal with commuting and rotten landlords.

Scott Krueger’s death was sad, but it didn’t happen because he lived in a fraternity. Many of the people I knew at MIT who drank heavily lived in the dorms, and the majority of heroin users that I was aware of lived in the dorms.

16

The college that I nearly attended, from which my sister my sister graduated and my niece and nephew are currently attending, has a 100% on campus policy with very limited exceptions: students over 25, married students, students with children, veterans, and those living with close relatives (parents, grandparents, aunts/uncles or siblings over 25) were the only ones allowed to live off-campus. A meal plan of at least 15 meals per week is also required.

Of course, this is a small (~1700 students) Christian college that emphasizes community, fellowship, honor code, motivation and accountability amongst students and also has a stringent code of conduct which covers everything from appropriate recreation (no booze, no drugs, no sex, no dancing no R rated movies) to appropriate language (no swearing!) to appropriate dress (no sweats or shorts in classrooms for daytime classes or in the chapel ever).

So no matter what MIT does – it could be worse! Or better, I suppose, depending on your POV.

I think that it is a good idea for traditional-age freshmen to live in a dormitory if they’re not residing with family. The first year of college, particularly at a fairly rigorous school like MIT, is frought with enough peril on its own that it doesn’t need the extra rigors of having to balance unfettered freedom with responsibility about schoolwork, partying appropriately, and so on.

Hello Again, maybe that highest level meal plan was an attempt to keep freshmen filled up by having them eating three squares a day instead of being limited on cafeteria options and therefore turning to pizza and burgers and junk? The freshman fifteen is a very real thing, and colleges everywhere are trying to help combat it.

17

There is also the issue of M O N E Y. On campus housing (and campus meal plans which are often mandatory for residential students) can be ridiculously expensive in some instances, and some students are only able to afford college by living off campus with their families or in other arrangements.

18

Stupid hamsters, my first reply was eaten (the one time I forgot to save it in notepad)

Anyway, another alum checking in-
the article is slightly misleading. When I was there the school required freshmen to live in MIT sanctioned housing, either the dorms, the frats, the sorority houses, or officially recognized independent living groups. Exceptions could be made, but they were very, very, very infrequent (and the college always did try to talk freshman straight out of high school out of living on their own.) The vast majority of freshmen lived in one of the above categories of places.

And, unlike other schools that I saw/visited, we tended to stay there for all four years - the entire time I was there, I knew maybe 1 or 2 dozen undergrads who did not continue living in their dorm/frat/etc, people didn’t move off campus. (In fact, occasionally it was difficult to get graduates to go away) The new requirement is mostly different in that it takes away the fraternity (sorority, etc.) options away from freshmen which is IMNSHO a huge, huge huge mistake. (I loved my dorm, it was the perfect place for me because we got to choose them, most other people felt the same way about the places they were living.)

Also, unlike some of my friends schools, the people in dorms were very respectful of their dormmates, so I never really had an issue with security/privacy/quiet/study time. (Also, unless things have changed drastically, supervision was nearly non-existant, so I’m not sure what this policy is supposed to solve, but that’s a digression)

Anyway, should living on campus be required? I tend towards “no”. Should it be encouraged? It depends on the culture of the college. Honestly, with the previous policy, yes, with the new policy, not really.

19

I went to a public commuter college (there may have been a few dorms, but I don’t think so). If all colleges required freshman to live on campus, I couldn’t have gone to college. I barely was able to earn enough to pay for the low tuition ,clothing and transportation.

Two questions-

Do most colleges that require some or all students to live in a dorm not make exceptions for local students? Even MIT must have some local students.

Why is living in an off-campus apartment better than commuting? Is it just the parent factor? Seems to me if you’re living off campus, with or without your parents, you’re commuting.

20

If she was determined to stay in a dorm, I wouldn’t fight her. But she expressed the preference of living off campus. She’s already getting practice - we’ve left her home alone for up to a week at a time. And there are a few other situations that make it preferable for her to have her own place.

I’m sure there are advantages and disadvantages to any living situation, and dorm living may well be the best alternative for the majority of students. However, the choice should be up to the student and the parents.