CORTLAND, NY- With the dormitory selection process for next semester quickly approaching, students who plan to live on campus will have to make a decision that will shape the rest of their college careers.
Living on Campus or Living Off Campus?
Roommate selection for next year’s dorm selections is approaching in early March, while official deposits to lock in rooms are due by May 1.
All students at SUNY Cortland need to live a minimum of four semesters or full two years to live off campus. Some may want to keep living on campus into their junior and senior years and for others, it might not be their cup of tea.
There is a wide variety of dormitories at Cortland, each offering a different vibe and experience. The campus has 15 dorms, with Cheney Hall – built in 1950 – being the oldest. Dragon Hall, completed in 2013, is the newest addition to the dormitory lineup. Each dorm has its own set of unique features, from the new look feels in certain buildings, to the old school boring feel of others.
For students like Alex Restales, a former Cortland student who transferred out after his freshman year, the experience of living in a dorm didn’t live up to his expectations.
“Living in Cheney [Hall] definitely was not the college experience I was expecting. Not just because it was not home but because of how unwelcoming the dorm felt,” said Restales. “I also went around other dorms to see if any could get me to stay but I guess after a year of trial, I realized the dorm life was not for me.”
Restales’s sentiments are not uncommon. While many students thrive in the environment of dorm life, others struggle with the lack of privacy, constant noise, and the challenge of living in such close quarters with so many people. For students like him, the lure of off-campus living is strong, offering more independence, a greater sense of personal space, and the opportunity to customize living arrangements.
“Transferring out of Cortland was all about me and my discomfort with my living situation,” said Restales. “I needed to be at a place where I could feel like myself without any restrictions.
Junior Rachel Reis who was once a resident of Smith Tower on campus but has since shifted to living off campus, has a much more positive view of dorm life.
“I loved living on campus,” Reis said. “I was right in the middle of everything – my classes, the dining halls, and the Student Life Center. The dorms were alive on the weekends and that gave me a great experience my first two years away from home.”
Still, Reis acknowledges that living on campus is not for everyone.
“If you like having your own space and you like to be more independent, then off-campus might be a better choice,” she said.
There are a variety of Off-Campus housing opportunities in the area, whether it is West Campus or Paradigm Properties, upperclassmen have options if they choose to pursue this route.
“Moving into a house off campus was for sure an adjustment in the beginning but now that I am settled into my house, it has made my experience at school that much better,” Reis said.
For students like Junior James Panetta, off-campus living offers the perfect balance of privacy and new opportunities.
“I’ve lived off-campus for 6 months now and it’s been great,” said Panetta. I love having my own room, a kitchen, and multiple bathrooms that are not shared with a boatload of random students. It’s also nice to be able to cook my own meals instead of relying on dining hall food.”
Living off-campus is not all sunshine and rainbows. Students who live off-campus must handle multiple responsibilities that otherwise were not required of them previously in dorm life. Maintaining the cleanliness of your place, grocery shopping and the commute to school offer the differences.
“It’s a lot more work than living on campus, but for me, the trade-off is worth it,” Panetta said.
As the dorm selection process comes to a head early next month, underclassmen will have to decide with whom they will be rooming with and where that may be.
Off Campus housing landlords like Emma Mitchell say all housing will be closed by “mid April”
Whatever students decide, it’s clear that living on campus or off campus will have a lasting impact on their college experience.