If you are going away to college, I would definitely recommend staying in an on-campus dorm for at least your first year. I did this and was able to make so many friends because there were always people right around my age just a door or two away. I know I wouldn't have met nearly as many people if I had lived in an apartment or off-campus and it would have affected the rest of my college life, the friends I made, etc.

I would agree with you , for the first year because you are geting acquainted with your new surroundings as well as coming into your own. Now after that if you are able, I would advise to move into your own place because now you are starting to get into where you're going in your college career. And the unneeded distractions would be to much of a deterrence.

I completely agree! I stayed in the dorms for my freshman and sophomore year and everything was a lot of fun ... but I would not have been able to handle it another year. My workload became much too heavy my junior year and I would not have been able to stay up late with my friends or go out and do goofy things as much. I had a friend who stayed in the dorms all 4 years and her last year she was exhausted all the time because her roommates were always up when she needed to sleep.

I gotta agree also! I stayed in the dorms for first 2 years & I met some great friends in college. Even though we don't live close by anymore, we still keep in touch. However, after 2 years of living in dorms, I just couldn't take it anymore. I now live in an apartment with a roomie & I must say that it's the best feeling ever. No more sharing nasty bathroom with other 234234234 people & no more tiny rooms!

When I first started college I lived in married housing, but after my divorce I lived in the dorms for a couple of semesters.

True, there are a lot of advantages to living on campus. You can usually walk to class so you dont have to worry about finding parking, it is easier to make friends and it is more convenient if you have to spend a lot of time at the library.

However, I much preferred living off campus in my own space - with an actual kitchen and my own shower etc.

I agree that dorms can be nice for the first year, but after a while they really start to bear down on you. For example, my university had a dry campus, so even though I was 21, I wasn't able to even just enjoy a beer in my room.

On the other hand, living in the dorms is the single best way to meet people, no questions asked. I made almost all of my good friends in the dorms, and I didn't live in that big of a complex (350 people or so).