The Question To Live On Campus or Off This Fall

Now is the time when students are trying to figure out their housing situation for next year.
On-campus or off, it helps to know the pros and cons of each option.

After spending two years living on-campus and almost a year now living off, who better to help you out with this decision than me?
The biggest benefit of living on-campus is the overall convenience, like the ability to wake up for your 10 a.m. class at 9:55 and still, somehow, be one of the first people there.

Or being able to do laundry, go to the computer lab, get breakfast, lunch, dinner and go to the arcade without ever changing out of your pajamas or seeing sunlight.

And, yes, Vaughn has an arcade. Suck that, Ivy League schools!
With co-ed dorms, it’s never been so easy to take advantage of drunk girls stumbling in at 4 a.m.

(Note: this is a joke.
I don’t take advantage of drunk girls.
There’s no reason to get offended and write a letter to the editor complaining. (or check my criminal record.))
Living in a dorm, you have the luxury of a 5-minute walk separating you from everyone else at school, and a 10-second one from everyone who lives in your hall (or a couple fist pounds against your paper thin wall to let your neighbor know it’s time to come rage).

While fire alarms at 2 a.m., the constant smell of throw up in the elevator and a Salsa Rico burrito every single night can get old, you can’t help but miss it once you move away.
One of the negative aspects of living on-campus is all the rules: the constant request to see your student ID from the security guards who see you every day, but still don’t know that you live there.

The RAs telling you to “be quiet and put the fire extinguisher back” at 3 a.m., when clearly you’re just trying to show your friends what “up north probably looks like right now,” and of course, the strict policy of no drinking on-campus or in dry dorms.

Here’s where the fun of living off-campus begins: there are no rules, besides legal ones.
If you live off-campus, you can pretty much do whatever you want, as long as you don’t piss off your neighbors or the landlord.

You can drink as much as you want, be as loud as you want, have as many people over as you want and you can even own a toaster.

At first, you might be shocked at how quiet it can be living in the real world, but eventually you get used to it, and realize you can actually work at any time of day without being interrupted by every Yankees and Red Sox game.

If you’ve ever been on campus during a Yankees vs. Red Sox game, you’d swear someone was either dying or winning the lottery every 10 seconds.
While the main benefit of living on-campus is convenience, the worst part about living off-campus is the inconvenience.

No more cafeteria, maids or close proximity to your classes and friends.

You need to be willing to drive to work just like everyone else, pay rent, utilities, cable and Internet every month and prepare every meal you make every day, unless you choose to eat McDonald’s, KFC or Taco Bell every day (which really isn’t that bad, actually).

In reality, if you live off-campus, you really do need to take full responsibility for your life.
It will give you a small taste life after college, and that can be kind of scary.

Overall, there are two main points you have to consider when you make your decision: you can have all your food prepared for you, be close to your friends and classes, but be under the strict regulation of UT’s policies.
Or, you can do absolutely whatever you want at all times, but take on the responsibilities of an actual adult.

Either way, you’re still going to the University of Tampa, so it’s going to be awesome.

John Jacobs can be reached at jjacobs@spartans.ut.edu.