Some when they get to college can’t wait to get out of there and live independently. They want an apartment or a room in a house where they can be themselves. This has a lot to do with the fact that they are escaping from their family home. We are all ungrateful as children, seeing home as our right and resenting the fact that someone else, a parent, is doing the old my house, my rules thing. 

So when we fly the nest, we want to go the whole hog. But hey, slow down a little. You’re a student in a new town, establishing your own identity, with no one pigeonholing you as so-and-so’s son or daughter. Isn’t that a good start? Here are five reasons to take a small first step and stay in a college dorm over private accommodation.

The People

Going away to college can be lonely at first. Even those of us who are happy with our own company can find out that those are just words that make us sound cool. The reality can be very different. You don’t know anybody, and the people on your course are not necessarily your kind of people; they’re just other kids who have elected to study what you’re studying. Back in high school you might have had one or two close friends, but most were just acquaintances you were obliged to spend time with. 

Course-mates are likely to be more of the same. But at least at home you had allies in your family, plus friends you had made in other spheres of life. Some students grab the first person who they can have a conversation with, only to drop them when someone more suitable comes along. In a dorm, you will find a camaraderie emerges very quickly and it is fun getting to know people from other parts of the country, or maybe other parts of the world.

Security

You have never had to consider this before. Parents are the family’s security guards. They lock the doors and make sure the home is a safe, private place. In a dorm, you can keep your valuables safe since this is taken care of by the authorities.

Location

The dorm may be right there on the campus, and even if it isn’t, it’s not going to be far away, because you’ve got to get to college every day and they don’t want you having to trek over from the other side of the city. That takes time and provides excuses for being late. From your point of view, it also costs money, which is something that suddenly doesn’t grow on trees anymore. So, you’ll be close enough to get to class when you’re supposed to, and if there is a bar or some kind of restaurant on site, that will be convenient too.

No Bills

Getting back to money, again, if you’re renting a place somewhere, this time it’s you in the firing line when the bills must be paid. Life on a student loan is not a life of luxury. Your loan is going to see you through the duration of the course, but at some point, it will have to be repaid, and you might want to start thinking about that now. By refinancing student loans, it is something many lenders are interested in, because today’s student is tomorrow’s regular customer, and banks need a constant supply of fresh customers. 

Customers with a good track record, that is. You will be getting a credit score, or credit rating, which is a measure of your creditworthiness, and it is important that yours is good, which starts with paying back your loan as agreed. However, loans can be renegotiated and if the lender won’t do that, somebody else probably will, so check out your options and maybe you can switch.

Study Discipline

Never forget you’re not at college solely to have a good time. Ideally that will be part of it, but really, you’re there to learn how to study and gain a qualification. When you’re living in a dorm, everyone is in the same boat, so when you need to get your head down and do some work, you’re not going to be the odd one out; you’re a student and if you need to be left alone to get an assignment done, so be it. Everyone in your dorm will understand.