Colleges experiences vary from person to person. Some people might be thinking of their academic activities, such as doing research; scholar clubs are the ones that glamorize their college experiences. Some might think of their Greek life; some might think of the athletic teams of the universities. For me specifically, obviously, it is my experiences of living in the residence hall that shaped the most of my college experiences. And here are the 10 reasons why you should live in the residence hall.
1. On the first day that you move in, you will probably make around between 10 to 20 friends already.
And yes, not only aacquaintances but they can be the ones who will be your friends for this whole year, your whole years in college and even someone who will be your lunch/dinner partner. Mostly, on the first day of your move in, you will have your first floor meeting with your RA/CA, where you will get to know so many people without worrying about it is so difficult to make friends.
2. You will have at least one person on your floor who will possibly know nearly everything about the university.
And ta-dah — your community advisor/resident advisor/resident assistant (whatever term your uni called them), they are the students who will be living on the floor with you and will put all of their 100 percent efforts to help you and see you grow from a small caterpillar into a beautiful butterfly. Any questions related to campus resources, campus direction, what to do, what to join, ask them. They can tell you all you need, and if they can't, they will find someone to help answer your questions.
3. You will have a great experience living along with others who share the same majors/interests as you.
Some universities have the living-learning communities in each of the residence halls on campus, so if you are choosing to live with someone who shares the same majors or interests as you, live in the residence hall. It can be a health house floor, foreign language, second-year experience, STEM floor or leadership and much more. It is an amazing experience to live alongside those students. You will spend your time living with someone that can understand what your career is going to be in the future. You can have group study of the class you have or maybe you all might be having the same class together.
4. You will not only make some great friends with other students, but also the professional staff in your residence hall are amazing and awesome friends that you will have.
In my hall (Stevenson), I have not only know students but also even the professional staff such as residence hall directors, graduate hall directors, complex coordinators, dining hall staff and even building-services workers. Everyone who works in the residence hall, no matter what, they are the most amazing people you have ever met. They are just so down to earth and — guess what — their advice will help you go through tough times as well.
5. You might meet someone who is from the other side of the world.
Living in the residence hall is such a great place to know everyone who comes from a different background than you. Also, it can be an intersection of students all around the world. There might be some international students who live on your floor. You can get to know them and understand how their cultures are different from your culture.
6. It's fun!
Yes, it is fun living in the residence hall! Each residence hall has its own hall/community councils, even your CAs/RAs and Hall Directors who will be there to create super fun social programs that possibly even provide you free food. But yes, sometimes, you don't even need to walk to the student center to attend fun programs, just come down from your floor, and it's right there in the lobby!
7. You don't even have to care about making food in your room.
The dining hall in your residence hall will basically be your best friend for the whole time you're living on campus. At my campus, Northern Illinois University, our all-you-care-to-eat-dining facilities in each of the residence halls are basically a place where you can eat everything you want in there, and every resident has an unlimited meal plan, a-hem. Let me emphasize it — unlimited meal plan, which means you have unlimited meal swipes, you can come anytime you want during the meal hours (basically it is like you're using unlimited wireless).
8. Enjoy the lifestyle that will help you explore your inner self and improve your understanding on different issues.
Living in the residence hall is also a great classroom. Your CAs/RAs/HDs/CCs might be putting up some passive programs that allow you to understand in many different fields such as time management, healthy habits, alcohol awareness, manage your relationships. At my campus, Northern Illinois University, our Housing & Residential Services staff adopted this residential curriculum that allow our own residents to understand the five learning outcomes that they will get from living and learning at NIU. Each CA is trained professionally to understand the residential curriculum and is there to use the curriculum with each resident.
9. There is time when you can be loud and quiet.
Quiet hours happen everywhere in each residence hall that allows the time for the residents to chill out and wind down from their tiring days. And with that, it makes you able to sit back and relax from your day and enjoy the quiet moment on the floor.
10. It is a home away from home!
Your room, your bed, your desk and just you live in the amazing residence hall! And yes, you live in a home that is far away from home.
