At the moment we see that parents generally want their children to stay in a campus when going to college. It is easy to understand why since we are faced with more control and an overall safer environment. While that cannot be denied, any responsible parent has to also think about off campus housing. This is an opportunity that is often dismissed but that brings in some advantages that have to be considered. We will focus on the most important ones to help you make a good decision.
Decreased Distractions
One thing that is not realized by many parents is that in a campus there are so many students that do not really think about learning. They just want to party. They got rid of the supervision of the parents and this makes it so easy to be distracted. There is an automatically increased freedom to go to parties and the rules are actually quite relaxed when referring to opposite sexes. Dorms are so often just a party that never finishes. It is so difficult to focus on studies when various activities are going to distract you.
Lower Costs
Parents believe that campus stays are going to be cheaper. That is not actually the case. Dorms are so much more expensive than what you may think. Prices are included in tuition fees. That is why it is so easy to just miss the expenses. Off campus housing will be pricier than the dorm at first glance but if you do the math and you do conduct a good research, you quickly figure out there is a simple way to save money for housing when going for the off campus option. To make matters even more interesting, when you will opt for off campus housing you have thicker walls, an increased privacy and increased responsibility.
Getting Used To Adult Life
Staying in a dorm means responsibilities will be similar to what happened when the student stayed at home with parents. If you want a child to better and quicker get used with adult life, the off campus housing option is the one that should be considered. The student will need to buy food, cook and be careful with finances. This increases responsibility. It basically teaches a highly important life lesson. In a dorm you do not have to worry, for example, about utility bills. You pay everything in one place. With off campus housing you need to focus on all the utility bills and they have to be paid on time or problems will appear.
Conclusions
As you can so easily notice, the truth is that off campus housing is something that has to be taken into account. While it is not something that will always work, it is an alternative to the regular campus housing that will need to be taken into account because of the advantages mentioned above. See if this is what would be the best option for the child. It is one thing that will help in various different situations.
