Tweet

At Grand View University, students are given the choice to either live on campus or live at home the first three years of college. For students that live on campus, there are different dorms to choose from. The choices vary between Nielsen, Langrock Suites, Hull Suites, Hull Apartments and Knudsen. Each dorm looks different and each have a unique aroma, while giving an interesting and different take towards everyday life going to school. When it comes to living at home, there are huge advantages like saving money, and keeping the tradition of sticking to your old schedule with your family while still going to school at the same time.  

Biotech student Kai Tran is a sophomore at GVU and has had experiences that she appreciates as a resident on campus.   

“My favorite thing right now is that I don’t need to pay for my A/C so I can crank it down to 64 every single night… we don’t pay for the bills, we don’t pay for electricity. I get all the hot water I want,” Tran said.   

GVU is transparent with the cost of living on campus. The amount of hot water or electricity is not charged on the student’s bill, so using that advantage might be the way to go, especially if someone likes long hot showers and a nice cool temperature in their room every night. There is one unfortunate drawback to living on campus, but it does not seem to have too much of an effect on Tran.  

“I miss my parents, of course, and like my cat. But it’s just a different environment and it’s a new environment, too. You change so much from new environments. I just think it’s overall a good opportunity to live on campus,” Tran said.   

From Tran’s perspective, living on campus seems to be the better choice for a fresh new environment and plenty of A/C to sleep well at night.  

Living at GVU is not the only choice students have, and being a commuter to and from school has great benefits and disadvantages.  

Peyton Houangvan is a freshman who commutes to school just five minutes away.   

“I can see my family, it’s like I get to go to school every day and then I get to come home to my mom and my dad, and then I get to have that moral support from them,” Houangvan said.   

Family support can be one of the most meaningful and helpful things to have while going to school. Living on campus can take away from that if you do not visit your family often. Living at home does have some drawbacks, Houangvan explains.  

“Everyday I go to the library and I pay out of pocket. Sometimes I do feel like I’m missing out because my friends do stay here and I go home,” Houangvan said.   

Missing out on special events and social gatherings happening both on and off campus can take away from the college experience, creating a feeling of disconnect from other students.   

Houangvan expresses what she would do if she had the choice to stay home or not.  

“I really do want to stay on campus because I do feel like I’m missing out on some activities and events,” Houangvan said. “I’ll continue to stay at home because it’s only a five-minute drive, if it was farther than that, then I would probably consider staying on campus.”  

If you are a people-person and enjoy participating in lots of events, living on campus might be the better option.  

While living on or off campus, it can change how you do things like schoolwork, getting in your daily activity and the effect on your mood on a day-to-day basis. Diving into the differences and understanding what people go through separately gives an idea and a fun look at how different people live their life here at GVU. There are several different ways to live life on campus. There is no right or wrong choice, and each one gives a student a separate outlook on life, while also being the place you go to sleep at every night.