Here at High Point University we do things a little differently. At most schools, people live off campus after their freshman or sophomore year, but here at HPU almost all students live on campus throughout their entire college career.
People that don't attend High Point University might think that this is a weird concept, but for those of us that do attend HPU and live on campus we get to enjoy these perks:
1. Free Laundry
At High Point University, the laundry rooms and machines are free of charge. This might not sound that exciting but if you think about how often you do your laundry (or don't, whatever) it adds up over time. Doing laundry is annoying of a task as it is, but being able to do it for free at HPU makes it a little bit more bearable.
2. Central Air
This is by far my favorite part of the housing at High Point. For three years I've lived in Centennial (similar style to town homes), and now I am living in Centennial 2 and having central air is the best thing in the world. Not only do you have control over the kitchen and living room, you have control over how hot or cold you want your individual bedroom to be. There's nothing worse than being too hot when you sleep, so having central air on top of a fan in my room is something I do not take for granted.
3. Free parking
Although HPU does this thing where they take more and more parking away every year, they don't make you pay for having one car on campus. They do however, charge you if you decide to bring a second car. Why would a college student need two cars? You may be asking yourself. I ask myself the same question all the time, but here at High Point some people are hashtag blessed enough to have multiple cars that they bring to campus. Having a car free of charge is definitely a perk because at some schools you have to pay a ridiculous fee to register a vehicle.
4. No monthly bills
Living on campus also gives students the benefit of not having to pay monthly bills for rent, electricity, cable, etc. All of these things are included in our tuition once we choose and are placed into our housing. This gives students that live on campus more of a piece of mind during the year by not having to worry about these bills and taking that money and spending it on other important things, like cherry bombs at After Hours.
5. Meal Plan
When you live on campus here at High Point University, this means you also sign up for a meal plan. The meal plan is mandatory for all students to have, but with all the food places we have to choose from it makes it worth it. From a standard cafe, to two Starbucks, a diner, to a 5-star steak house, and many more; we have a lot of options.
(Prime Steak House, located in the Wanek Center)
6. C-Store
If you feel like making yourself something but don't have a car to go to the grocery store, the C-Stores are always an option for you. The C-Stores located around campus are HPU's version of a mini grocery store that have everything from toiletries to ingredients to make yourself a dinner. The C-Stores are also open late at night so when you're walking home from a party you can stop by one of the C-Stores and grab yourself a drunk snack before bed, or you can accidentally break the nacho machine and drink queso from it (you know who you are).
7. Full furnished housing
It's also really beneficial that when you live on campus at HPU, you don't have to worry about bringing your own furniture. All rooms at High Point come with a bed, a desk, and dresser or drawers for extra storage space; if all your clothes don't fit into your closet. Also if you have a kitchen, it will come with a full-sized refrigerator, along with plenty of cabinets and counter space. And for those of you that live in places like Centennial or Greek houses, you'll get a dishwasher, dryer & washer, and a common room bathroom just in case the other 4 are occupied.
(Greek Village pool)
8. Friends are all within walking distance
Our campus is like a bubble, the whole thing being enclosed by high gates and security patrolling the gates 24/7. Living within this bubble is convenient because walking to friends houses if they live on the main campus is always just a short walk away. The longest walks you'll ever have to endure is if you're walking from Freshman Land (Blessing, Belk, Women's Complex) to a party in Centennial. This walk takes about 10-15 minutes, but that's the farthest walk you can partake in at High Point.
9. Classes are all within walking distance
This bubble is also convenient because all of our classes are close to us too. It makes it a lot easier when you live on the main campus because all the buildings and housing options are all placed next to each other. This also makes getting to class a lot easier than having to walk 30 minutes, or take a shuttle or some other type of transportation that you might have to take at a really big school.
(Plato S. Wilson School of Commerce)
10. Free transportation
There is transportation offered if you do live off of the main campus, but still campus housing. There are trolleys that run all day bringing you to and from the main campus for free. High Point University also has shuttles that run to and from High Point to 3 different airports located in Greensboro, Raleigh and Charlotte. Two of these airports are over an hour away but if you wear HPU apparel, you get to take a roundtrip for free. These come into play during any of the breaks we have; October break, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Spring break. If you are going somewhere for a weekend trip you also can make a reservation for someone to take you to the Greensboro airport, again for free of charge.
11. The Libraries
There are a few different options when it comes to where you can study at High Point University. There are two main libraries but also conference rooms on buildings around campus as well as Learning Commons in both Centennial Squares. The most impressive place to study, however; is located in President Qubein's school of Communication referred to as the "Red Room." It is filled with expensive furniture, rugs, tables, and decorations. This room makes me think of something I would've been hours on creating in the Sims.
(Study room in Nido R. Qubein School of Communication)
12. Housing is brand new
This school was basically torn down and completely redone when Nido Qubein became President of the university. Almost every building on campus is no more than 10 years old, meaning that everything is relatively new and extremely nice. Freshman year I lived in a suite in the Blessing building and had my own bedroom, that's unheard of for freshman housing. Now I'm living in Centennial 2, which was just built over the summer. President Quebein keeps expanding our school and keeps adding new housing that just gets nicer for his students to live in.
(Centennial Square 1 pool and clubhouse)