It's that time of year -- everyone is getting ready for school to start. Moving into a dorm can be stressful, but I believe that it is worth it in the end. Here are eight advantages to living on campus.

1. All of your stuff is one place

The nice thing about having a room with all of your belongings in it is that anything you need is in the same place where you sleep. If you forget something, you don't have to drive home to get it -- it's in your room on campus!

2. Save gas money

Since you're living on campus, you don't have to drive everywhere. You can walk, or if you live on a larger campus, ride your bike. When you're not driving, you're saving money because you don't have to fill up your car as often. This is a big advantage for students in college.

3. Sleep in!

Sleep is healthy for you! It allows your body to heal and your brain to process. When living on campus, you don't have to wake up as early for classes since they're right on campus. If you were a commuter, you'd have to allow for driving time and possibly traffic. Nobody wants to do that.

4. Build relationships

Since you are living in a residence hall with other people, you start to build friendships with those around you. This makes for an amazing college experience. You and your new friends can spend those late nights together, some may be in the same classes and you can all experience life together. The friendships you build in college are the ones that will last a lifetime.

5. Independence

Living on campus gives you an opportunity to be independent. You are responsible for going to class on time, doing your homework and, of course, balancing that with having plenty of fun. When you're not living at home, your parents aren't there to tell you what to do and when -- it's all on you. Yes, it's time to "adult" now.

6. You don't have to cook (or do dishes)

Having a meal plan on campus is the greatest. The dining staff makes every meal for you and they will clean the dishes. These are two very time-consuming chores that you don't have to do.

7. More free time

Since you don't have to budget time for a commute, you have more free time on nights and weekends. You can use this time to do whatever you want -- go to the movies, play games, or go to the gym. The beauty of it is that you get to choose -- it's your free time!

8. Free activities

Colleges are great about putting on free activities for students who live on campus! This includes movie nights, concerts, intramural sports, comedians and other enjoyable things. The best part is, yes, you read it right, they're free!

I have lived on my campus for two years and I am going into my third year. I would not trade it at all. I have the opportunity to build lasting friendships and experience a lot that I wouldn't have if I was commuting. I encourage each and every person to live on their college campus.