Dorming versus not dorming

Thank you Jbudd, that's what I was thinking, the one school that I wouldn't have to dorm with is only 13 miles away but the community college I'm going to now is 17 miles away and because of the fact that it's easy to commute to the county is HUGE so getting a study group together would be difficult I would think. & I was thinking that dorming would be a much more beneficial way of having that academic support. And I didn't even think about carpooling to clinicals, that's a good point!

& Thank you for answering that question :]

During my first stint in nursing school (1988), I lived at home and commuted to school. It was very difficult. I had some of the issues you worry about - harder time getting to know people, farther from class, much less convenience when you're even a few miles away. I didn't last long there for many reasons...I'm sure my distance from school didn't help my situation.

I didn't want to make that mistake again. After 1 semester in paramedic school, I entered dorm life..and it was awesome. No more fuss about getting ready for class early enough to drive across town, I just got up and went downstairs.

Living in the dorms cuts a lot of stress out of college life. And for me, anything that made college easier to deal with was exactly what I was going to do. Dorms are the way to go if you have the option, IMHO.

vamedic4

I'm living in the dorm right now for my first year of nursing school. For the most part, I really enjoy it. I don't have to deal with very much of "real life." No worrying about bills, or even if I have groceries in the fridge. I can just focus on school. It's a quick walk to class, the nursing lab, library or computer lab and I do carpool to clinicals.

Now, I do live in a 24-hour quiet dorm, and I have a single. I did this to ensure that I had what I needed to focus on school. It's more expensive than if I lived off of campus....but I think it's worth it.

Over all, I highly recommend it.

I do not know about being in the nursing program and dorming, but I lived in a dorm when I was in engineering. It was a definite plus. First of all I did not have to cook. I cleaned only a small 10x12 room rather than an apartment. Classes were a five minute walk rather than a 20+ drive. And I avoided the whole parking thing! Being on campus gave me the opportunity to participate in things that would not have been convienent otherwise. And my campus offer housing specific to certain majors, so that your study group was right on the same floor and your RAs were follow students usually a year or two ahead of you. It also gave me nearly 24/7 access to resources.

I lived in a dorm for a while while I was working on another degree, and while I did make some friends, and there were fun parts and the convenience of being on campus, there was gobs of drama. Everyone always imagines making BFF with their roommates, but way more people I know wind up on just-barely-speaking terms- it's a very little room for two people to share! I also got way less sleep than any other time of my life, and serious study absolutely required leaving and going someplace else, like the bookstore or library.

Now, in nursing school, I live off campus and oh man I wouldn't have it any other way. Peace and quiet are mine, and though I live with other people, they're people I chose and who I can ask to be quiet or be in separate rooms (rooms, yes, plural!). My commute is only twenty minutes or so and I value it as a nice transition between school and home- a few minutes to listen to music or collect my thoughts. I've made plenty of friends, and have no difficulty finding study partners. People who like to study in groups will drive to do it! My most regular study buddy drives almost an hour each way to meet, but it's worth it because we click and have improved our grades. Most everything our campus offers is also available online, and I make sure to schedule my days such that I get everything done before I leave for the day. It really cuts the temptation to nap in the middle of the day, heh.

I would be an absolute basket case if I was still living in a dorm. I can't even imagine having a good ol' roommate spat, say, in the middle of finals, or the kind of flack I would have caught from my roommates for setting an alarm for 4:30 AM for clinicals, and wanting the lights out at ten the night before. And I'll never voluntarily share a ten by ten room with another adult as long as I live!

I lived in a dorm for a while while I was working on another degree, and while I did make some friends, and there were fun parts and the convenience of being on campus, there was gobs of drama. Everyone always imagines making BFF with their roommates, but way more people I know wind up on just-barely-speaking terms- it's a veryh little room for two people to share! I also got way less sleep than any other time of my life, and serious study absolutely required leaving and going someplace else, like the bookstore or library.

Now, in nursing school, I live off campus and oh man I wouldn't have it any other way. Peace and quiet are mine, and though I live with other people, they're people I chose and who I can ask to be quiet or be in separate rooms (rooms, yes, plural!). My commute is only twenty minutes or so and I value it as a nice transition between school and home- a few minutes to listen to music or collect my thoughts. I've made plenty of friends, and have no difficulty finding study partners. People who like to study in groups will drive to do it! My most regular study buddy drives almost an hour each way to meet, but it's worth it because we click and have improved our grades.

I would be an absolute basket case if I was still living in a dorm. I can't even imagine having a good ol' roommate spat, say, in the middle of finals, or the kind of flack I would have caught from my roommates for setting an alarm for 4:30 AM for clinicals, and wanting the lights out at ten the night before. And I'll never voluntarily share a ten by ten room with another adult as long as I live!

Did your school not offer singles? I know I couldn't share a room at this point in my life, but living in the dorm (in my own room) in the 24 hour quiet hall has been wonderful.

Peace,

CuriousMe

Thank you all for responding, your replies were really insightful especially since I am someone who has NEVER dormed and I don't know what it would be like. I can say that if I do dorm I WILL be looking for a single and hopefully I could get a 24hr quiet hall like you had. I do like the conveniences that it offers which I'm pretty sure everyone has covered, however drama can be a big negative. Although that would be resolved if I could get the above mentioned things. I'm going to go check out the school's website now to see how the dorming situation is. & I don't think, no scratch that I KNOW that I can't afford off-campus housing.

Also, as mentioned in my first post I was looking at the school because of the fact that the original one I planned to go to didn't have a good percentage for the passing rate of the NCLEX-RN. But if I'll be going for my BSN, I guess it wouldn't matter then.. right?

That's what I'm afraid of, the whole "party" atmosphere, ya know? I don't want that to be an issue.

Having lived in a dorm room in a former life (and former degree) I can wholeheartedly agree with emmy27 that the whole "roomates become best friends," idea rarely happens. The risk you take at getting a room on campus is that you may have a roomate. Single dorms are challenging to get (apply super early!) and they're often claimed by upper classmen or RAs that live on campus. If that's the case and you don't sign up with a friend, you're going to get someone random you've never met before.

Its scary and let me be the first to say my roomate and I did not get along. Ironically though she was a big party girl...the handy part about that was when the big sorority rushes came in the spring semesters she was never around so I got plenty of sleep. And while I really disliked her I knew I could trust her (I wasn't going to wake up and find half my stuff missing) because she disliked me just as much :chuckle

You make it through though. With the party life you do learn to tune things out as you go along. Be wary though if you make friends on campus (which you should anyways!) your single room may become the party place because there's no other roomie to deal with. And that can become just as distracting. Quiet halls are sometimes a clever disguise for those who just want to party as well, I know the health conscious dorms at my old school were the place where people went to smoke and drink...don't always believe the titles.

I'd talk to someone that lives on campus if I were you. Usually there's at least one RA that can't afford to go off campus and they can give you the scoop on the high and low points of campus life. Good luck with it all!