As colleges invest more money into their campuses, dorms become significantly nicer. Many colleges are beginning to turn away from traditional style rooms by replacing dorms with suite style rooms. I was lucky enough to live in one of these new style dorms my freshman year at my university. However, this year I have decided to live in a more traditional style room. Although this was a big shift, which can often be seen as a downgrade, living in this style room has already been such an amazing experience in my short time on campus. So here is five reasons why living in a traditional style dorm room can be beneficial to college students.

1. Cost

The saying “you get what you pay for” is completely true in this case. Although suite style dorms are nicer, they are much more expensive. With the rising cost of college tuition, this money can be saved by living in a cheaper, traditional style dorm. This saved money can be used for food, investments, textbooks, and more thus reducing the amount of loans students must take out for college.

2. Bathrooms

From making shower schedules to dealing with hair all over the floor, communal bathrooms can be quite irritating. However, these bathrooms are often cleaned by campus workers. This saves you the time and effort you would have to put in to maintain your own private bathroom during the semester. Additionally traditional style dorms are equipped with multiple stalls which reduces the chances that you’ll have to wait to use the restroom.

3. Sharing

Living in a traditional style dorm nearly forces students to interact and become friends with one another. However, the benefit does not end here. As friendships grow stronger, students become more comfortable around one another and begin sharing more: stories, clothes, food, chargers, medicine, shoes, etc. Whatever you need, someone in the dorm has it leaving you fully equipped for whatever college throws your way.

4. Community

With traditional style dorms, students are more likely to leave their room to hang out in larger common areas. This allows students to meet one another thus leading to more friendships. Whether it’s something as boring as doing math homework or something recreational like playing cards, students become closer with one another thus resulting in a stronger feeling of community among the residents.

5. College Experience

Living in a traditional style dorm is truly a once in a lifetime experience. The friends you make in your dorm freshman year could be the ones dragging you to class for the next four years, living with you in an apartment, or standing next to you on your wedding day. The struggles you go through in a traditional style dorm is part of what unites all students. It’s an experience people reminisce on for years beyond their college days. Living in old traditional style dorms may present some problems but it’ll leave you with stories and memories that’ll last a lifetime.