Rooming for College

What do you guys think is the most optimal of choices when it comes down to rooming during the college years?

The way I see it, there are three main options for a college student to consider when choosing how they'll live:

• Live with parents
• Live in a dorm
• Live in an apartment

I figure the first option would be one of the easiest financially. The student is free to live with their parents without stressing over bills like rent and utilities. This gives the student the ability to have more free time, without needing to work too much since they wouldn't have too much to pay for. The downside is that the student is limited as to which school they could attend, since their parents sure as hell wouldn't move 500 miles for the student to attend some fancy institution. Another downside is, of course, the fact that you still live with your parents. After all, weren't you supposed to enter the real world after you got that nifty diploma thing at the end of high school?

Living in a dorm is a mixed bag, however. If the student pays for it through student loans, they'll still have to worry about the bill later on. Also, living on campus can be pretty expensive unless you have a generous amount of scholorships to front the Cafe's food bill. And don't forget the high cost of living in a dorm: typically $2000-$3000 a semester to live with three other guys in a tiny little apartment. The plus side is, of course, the fact that you don't have to work so hard while you're in school to live on campus. Since you paid for them like you did with your tuition, it was more than likely put on a low-interest student loan.
You might also make new friends, or meet new assholes, depending on who you get to room with.

Living in an apartment is probably the most "free" of all the choices. The student gets to live in their own place, without anyone besides neighbors to bother them. Of course it'd be easier to have an apartment with a roommate to help split the bill. Either way, the main problem with this scenario is the fact that the student has to put in a good amount of hours at work to pay the bills, buy food, buy clothes, and all of that good stuff. At least the government tries to ease the pressure by granting students who live on their own special grants (i.e. Pell Grant) and the like.
Another problem with living in an apartment is that the student can easily ruin their credit. If they get short on cash and need to eat, they'll buy groceries on their Discover Card. Sooner or later that bill will show up and they'll be hit with a nice 20% APR on their Chef Boyardee and Maruchan Ramen.


So with all of this in mind, what do you think is the best option when it comes down to it?
Would you live with your parents while you attend college?
Would you move into a dorm and potentially live with three assholes of the highest caliber?
Or would you rent an apartment and try to be as independent as you could?

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Originally Posted by qtipk

And besides, who wants to live with their parents?

Good question.
I suppose the student who is either too lazy to get their own place, or one who'd rather be buying junk instead of paying rent.

I notice a lot of people say that living in a dorm is their favorite option. I had the opportunity to stay at a dorm once and instead opted out, figuring that I'd have too much of a hard time living in a quasi-hotel with a community bathroom. Then again, that was some goofy private college that charged an arm and a leg for tuition anyway, and I didn't even go there.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Well...it shouldn't be too hard for her if she's got financial aid and/or scholorships.

I take it she's going to UCF?

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.