Pros and Cons of Living Off-Campus!

Going to university is usually the first time students are moving away from their families and living on their own. While it is definitely a bit intimidating in the beginning, that feeling eventually goes away and it’s easy to adjust living away from home. Here at UC Merced, housing has been a major issue and source of complaints for many students. Generally, on-campus housing is only guaranteed for the first two years; however, an increase in admitted students has made it difficult for even second years to secure housing on campus.

As a third year, I currently live off-campus. I live very close to campus with a great group of other girls and things are going great! We’re a pretty chill group and we’re not into the wild party life, so our house is usually quiet and organized.

Though I haven’t been living off-campus for too long, I thought I would share what I enjoy about living off-campus and what some drawbacks may be.

#1 No rules… (almost)

The good thing about living off-campus is that many of the strict rules applied in on-campus dorms, don’t apply when living off campus. You’re allowed to bring a rice cooker, a grill, and most appliances! Also, you now have a kitchen to stock and prepare food in! So, waiting for the dining center to open is a thing of the past! If you’re hungry at 3 am, just head to the kitchen and whip something up- just as long as you don’t wake your housemates! Also, you can bring more personal items from home- whether it’s your bed or posters or even a pet (if you’re allowed to own one)! The one new thing to take into consideration when living off campus is the idea that you now may have neighbors. You should definitely try to be respectful and kind to your neighbors so that no issues arise. There are also some neighbors that can be a bit annoying and inconsiderate, so be sure to keep an eye out for that as well (my housemates and I know from experience). Though I’ve only been living off-campus for only a few weeks, I can definitely say that it’s a lot better and definitely allows me to be more independent!

#2 It’s Cheaper!

During my first two years at UC Merced, a lot of my friends who lived off campus would gloat about how inexpensive it was compared to living in the dorms. I didn’t really believe it, since in San Diego (where I’m from), rent is ridiculously expensive and outrageous! However, Merced proved to be a totally different story! When I applied for FAFSA and I listed that I would not be living on-campus, I knew that my aid would reduce significantly. I was initially worried that I would not be able to afford the upcoming school year, but I was mistaken! For the first time ever, I actually got a refund check from the school! Though it was not much, it definitely helped since all of it went to paying for my textbooks. Financially, living off-campus was the best choice for me!

Now on to the cons…

#3 Transportation

So, as everybody knows, the transportation services for UC Merced isn’t the greatest. In fact, I would be so bold to say, they are inadequate and fail to provide satisfactory service for the growing community of UC Merced students. I have heard firsthand from my peers how the buses are so full, they have to turn students away, resulting in many of them being late to class and some even missing class altogether. So, if you live off-campus and have to rely on the bus services, I would say that might be an inconvenience since the buses often reach beyond capacity and you may be forced to wait for a later bus.

Many off-campus students have a car to commute to and from campus. Unfortunately, this is not really that much better compared to the bus services. While it is incredibly useful to have your own car, the parking situation at UC Merced is also complete garbage. I would say that if you’re not on campus by 9, then you will definitely struggle to find a parking spot! I have late classes 2 days out of the week and I still get to campus around 7 in the morning just so I don’t have to deal with the mayhem. Some of you may think I’m crazy for getting up that early every day, but I say it’s worth it since I easily find parking and have no issues whatsoever! Also, I take advantage of the time by heading to the library and getting some extra homework in or studying for one of my classes.

So, whether you rely on the bus or you drive a car, the struggle of trying to get to classes on time may be a major issue if the school continues to not provide a sufficient number of busses and limited parking spaces. So, that’s definitely one con of living off campus.

#4 May be more difficult to meet up with friends

If you’re like me, you definitely depend on your friends and spend quite a lot of time with them. When you make friends on campus, it’s so easy to meet up and set up a study time and place since everyone lives on campus and has equal access to studying rooms. However, that tends to change when you’re no longer on campus. It becomes a bit more difficult to arrange a time to meet up and do homework since everyone may live far from one another, have completely different schedules, and may not have a ride to go places. Because I personally have a car, I usually have no issue meeting up with friends to hang out; however, I know that not everyone has that privilege and it can be upsetting when you can’t go and hang out with friends due to transportation issues.

Overall, I would say that living off campus has been a new and pleasant experience for me! Though parking at school is still awful, I manage to make it work for my schedule and I make it to and back from campus easily. I am saving money, which is also awesome and helps out my parents a bit since they’re paying for my education. Lastly, I definitely love the group of girls I live with! We’re all pretty chill and get along well, and we keep our house looking organized and presentable for whenever we may have company over. I would say getting along with your housemates is a somewhat major factor in how you will enjoy off-campus living since all of you live under the same roof and share a common living room area and kitchen area.