108-110 E. 16th Ave. sits in the shadow of a nearby apartment construction project, displaying the various housing options. The Ohio Union on Wednesday. Credit: Daniel Bush | Campus Photo Editor
Throughout a student’s college career, a variety of living options will be available. From a central dorm surrounded by dining halls and lecture buildings, to apartments with various amenities and standard houses off campus, different living situations can make college feel like home.
Here is how on- and off-campus living compares.
For students who live on campus, amenities like Wi-Fi, meal plans, community lounges and proximity could mean all the difference. However, not all dorms are the same.
Ava Judy, a second-year in marketing, has had the opportunity to live in two drastically different dorms on campus: Morrill Tower and Busch House.
“[Morrill is] definitely packed with hundreds of freshmen, and there is a kitchen, but it was never clean,” Judy said. “There’s multiple study lounges, which were nice, but a lot of students just left their trash there.”
While Judy said she loves living in the dorm because of the convenience and proximity of her classes, dining halls and gyms, she also sees the obstacles.
“Your spaces are very small,” Judy said. “You share a room with one other person. And I think that also can be difficult at times.”
There is a two-year requirement for students to live on-campus. Once they are upperclassmen, students typically seek off-campus housing and look forward to the extra space that provides.
Kelsey Vollrath, a third-year in marketing, lived in dorms for the past two years and is enjoying her current living situation in a house.
“The more space you have to yourself and how you can [also] have people over whenever,” Vollrath said. “You’ve got your own room, your own backyard. I 100-percent love it.”
Vollrath said when compared to living in a dorm, amenities like having a living room, more space for herself and easier access to do laundry has made all the difference.
“I just walk down one set of stairs [to do laundry] instead of waiting hours,” Vollrath said. “I don’t have to wait on a washer.”
Even though all the other dorms have readily available laundry rooms, Judy echoed the excitement for a new laundry system when living off-campus next year, especially one that doesn’t involve strangers.
“Some people don’t set a timer, and some people do, and if you’re not exactly on it, people just throw your laundry,” Judy said.
While off-campus living may seem scary, distancing and grown-up, Vollrath feels the independence — and the responsibility — is worth it.
“You feel [independent] in the dorms because you’re new to college,” Vollrath said. “Then moving to the house, you feel it even more because you have to pay for your rent, buy your food, find time to cook for your food, you’re just on your own, even more.”
Vollrath said above all, the extra advantages and amenities, whether on- or off-campus, living with her friends and being able to just coexist with them is the best part.
“I’m living with all of my best friends, like, I got to pick them,” Vollrath said. “We’re all in the place, I can walk down the hallway and be right there.”
