During the spring, students face the difficult decision of where to live for the upcoming school year.
A common dilemma is choosing between living on campus or off campus.
Kayla Westmoreland, sophomore majoring in accounting and real estate, lives and works at an
apartment complex in Starkville. Westmoreland said both options have positives and negatives, but
she believes apartments have more positives than dorms.
“It’s convenient to live on campus, but I like living in an apartment more,” Westmoreland said. “I lived
in Griffis last year, and it was pretty noisy. My apartment is definitely quieter.”
Cori Webb, sophomore animal and dairy science major, agrees living in an apartment has been quieter
than her experience living in a dorm last year. ”I really don’t miss my dorm at all,” Webb said. “I
did not appreciate being woken up at 3 in the morning to the other girls yelling at each other down the
hall. Nor do I miss the late-night fire drills. I enjoy the privacy and quietness of my apartment.”
Webb said the best thing about apartment life is the freedom.
“You don’t have an RA or RD telling you about the rules of dorm life and the consequences for not
following those rules,” Webb said. However, many students believe living on campus
has more benefits than living off campus. Shane Turnage, sophomore majoring in kinesiology, plans
to live on campus again next year because of the convenient location for classes and the community
atmosphere. ”I love living on campus,” Turnage said. “I can wake up 15 minutes before class and not have to
worry about being late because I couldn’t find a parking spot. Also, you get a real sense of community
and friendship when you live in a dorm. My friends who live in apartments now say that’s something
they really miss because everyone in more isolated in apartments.”
Many students choose to live on campus for more opportunities to get involved with campus activities.
Ye Ji Lee, sophomore majoring in biochemistry, said this was a big factor when she chose to live on campus
again after her freshman year. ”I’ve been in the Residence Hall Association
since my freshman year,” Lee said. “In order to be a member of RHA, you have to live on campus. I love
doing things for the residence halls, such as having different hall programs for the residents and doing
volunteer work.” Anne Bailey, Director of Housing and Residence
Life, said in addition to being a true rite of passage, living on campus can actually benefit students academically.
“Research has shown that students who live on campus are more closely connected to the academic
community,” Bailey said. “They tend to perform more fully academically, pursue involvement in
extracurricular and leadership development opportunities and cultivate a long-term commitment to the
institution itself.” However, Bailey pointed out since freshmen are
guaranteed campus housing, upperclassmen are encouraged to explore multiple options, both on and
off campus. MSU has recently created an off-campus housing
guide to assist students. The guide can be found at offcampushousing.msstate.edu.
For students interested in living on campus next year, the Student Housing Renewal Process (SHARP)
began Monday and ends Feb. 22 at 8 a.m.