See Matthew Oakes’ alternate viewpoint advocating for living off campus.
Imagine this: You snooze your alarm one too many times and wake up 10 minutes before your 9 a.m. class starts.
If you live in an off-campus apartment, forget it, you aren’t going to make it to class without missing the first half.
But if you live on campus, ten minutes is more than enough time for you to brush your teeth, grab your bag and go. A disheveled appearance in class is way better than missing an impromptu exam review.
Obviously, the best part about living on campus is the closeness to the academic buildings and libraries, but the dorms are the little gold mine of resources, there to make your time at UNC as excellent as possible.
You’ve got all of your friends in one place, and if you don’t like your roommate, there are plenty more people living in the rooms up and down your hall who are just friends-in-waiting. Living off campus, you’ll have neighbors, but they probably won’t take kindly to you randomly dropping in.
When you live on campus, food is never an issue. We might take the food at the dining halls for granted, but ask anyone who has lived off campus for a semester: That much buffet-style food at your disposal with just the swipe of a One Card is a godsend.
There will come a time when a student feels ready to have to deal with absent-minded landlords and bills, and the independence that comes with it can be exhilarating.
But let’s be real — not everyone is ready to venture out on their own after a few semesters at UNC.
