Are you ever envious of your pet hamsters’ living areas? Most people would prefer their own living conditions than their hamsters’. Hamsters live in crowded spaces, with very little privacy, and eat whatever they’re fed everyday. This is how most students in dormitories live. The question at hand is whether living in university housing or living in an apartment in the community is better. From my perspective, living in an apartment is a much better choice because living in an apartment allows students to choose their own roommates, and even enjoy meals that healthier and more cost effective.
First of all, students who live in apartments are able to choose their own roommates. I agree that people should try to make as many new friends when they go to college. I however do not think people should be obligated to live with total strangers. Many students have unsatisfying dorm experiences because of their roommates. With different personalities, friends, and lifestyles, students naturally clash and make the living experience uncomfortable. For example, when my sister went to college, she lived in a dorm with a randomly matched roommate. She called my mom frequently to complain of her roommate’s love of partying which distracted her studies. Finally, after many fights, my sister ended up requesting for a different roommate and never talked to her ex-roommate again. Her second year, she chose to move into an apartment with three of her friends and she was able to have a more comfortable and satisfying lifestyle.
In addition, when students live in apartments, they are able to eat much healthier. Students living in dorms are required to sign up for meal plans and because many dormitories ban students from cooking, a lot of students have to rely on school food for nutrition. But in most universities, the meal plans are not worth their humongous cost. Ranging from pizza, hamburgers, mac and cheese, and dessert, university cafeterias, which are usually all-you-can-eat buffets, are usually packed with unhealthy food. And because of the high cost of meal plans, students feel obligated to eat as much food as they can fit, including the ice cream. And so, many students end up gaining a lot of weight. So, when students go to live in apartments, they are no longer required to buy and use the meal plans. Instead they’re able to buy and cook their own food, or even go other places to find whatever food they want to eat. Most students end up eating much healthier and save a lot of money by not using the meal plans. For example, when my sister went up to college, she gained over twenty pounds while she lived in a dorm. But when she moved into an apartment her sophomore year, she was able to lose those twenty pounds and save over two thousand dollars on food.
In conclusion, apartment living is more appealing to me due to the opportunity of choosing my roommates and the ability to eat more healthily and cost-efficiently. The high costs of university dormitories are not worth their value. Not just the randomly matched roommates and the unhealthy food, but university housing also presents dirty crowded rooms and even dangerous situations when students next door party and decide to invade personal space. University housing is no longer considered so safe any more. Recently, I’ve heard of a student who was murdered by her roommate. Before universities promote and boast of their wonderful housing system, they should try to build up higher security for their students. |