Dorm or Stay at Home?

happy1
Sat, 07 Nov 2020 18:58:08 +0000

If it is financially possible and covid has subsided by next fall then I’d live in the dorm, especially for freshman year when a lot of friendships are formed.

My caveat is if you spend the money to live in the dorm you and your parents must discuss ground rules in advance. You should not run home on weekends, to do laundry, to have dinner etc. and they should not pop by whenever they want. Treat it as if you were hours, not minutes away.

FWIW After looking at schools up and down the east coast my S ended up at a college (best fit, best merit aid etc.) 20 minutes away and he dormed there for all four years. We did sit down and create ground rules (like what I have above) before he sent a deposit in for that college and we insisted that grandparents follow our rules as well. It worked out great and he had a fantastic 4 year expereince.

IF you stay home for whatever reason (money, preferencem covid concerns) understand now that there are two types of commuter students. You could be a commuter who shows up for class and then runs home. OR you could plan on spending full days at college (see if you can get a partial meal plan) and get involved in clubs, with your classmates, with professors etc. IMO the second option will give you a much more fulfilling, fun, interesting college expereince.