Why Living In a College Dorm Is Important for First-Year Students

Dorm life has been a quintessential aspect of the college experience for more than 100 years. But it’s not always easy for first-year students to see the true value of spending at least their first year in a college dorm. That’s an issue for directors and managers of university housing departments tasked with keeping their school’s dormitories full.

This article covers why living in a college dorm is an important experience so you can share the information with your students.

Benefits of Living In a College Dorm

Living in a college dorm does more for first-year students than providing a place to sleep. It also offers each of the following benefits.

Built-In Support Network

One of the key advantages of living in a dorm is the availability of a built-in support network. Most colleges have residential advisors (RAs) who live in dormitories and provide a variety of support services to younger students.

RAs are always available to help first-year students with any problems they may experience in their dorm — from roommate issues to noise complaints. But the support they offer often goes beyond housing. 

Many RAs act as informal counselors to younger students who need help locating campus services, figuring out issues in classes, and getting acclimated to the college experience in general. Off-campus housing rarely provides access to a resident advisor, which eliminates a key support figure in a young college student’s life.

Access To Resources

Part of a dorm’s costs goes toward ensuring that students have various resources in the building, such as computer labs that provide a quiet place to work on projects, cafes, and gathering places to connect with new friends.

It’s also important to note that college resources are typically located on campus or very close to it. This makes it easier for first-year students to access other resources offered by the college, such as campus medical support, dining halls, and transportation.

Development of Social Skills

College isn’t just a time for academic growth. It’s also an opportunity to develop critical social skills that lay the foundation for life as an adult. Living in a dorm helps students develop these social skills by giving them more chances to engage with other students.

This starts with a student’s roommate(s). Dorm life ensures that, even if the first-year student doesn’t know anyone on campus when they arrive, that will change the moment they move into their dorm. From there, new students can expand their social circles easily by engaging with the other students in their hall and participating in dorm-based social events and campus activities.

Dorms give students more opportunities for interaction, which means more practice and growth in their social skills. Students in off-campus housing may not have as many opportunities to engage with peers and could struggle to build social skills as a result.

Independence And Responsibility

Some students who are considering moving into a dorm may be weighing it against the possibility of reducing their cost of living by staying at home. As a housing director, you may want to remind these students that living at home doesn’t foster growth like living on campus does.

Living in a dorm gives students their first taste of independence and the responsibility that comes with adult life. They’ll have their own space but still need to follow dorm rules. This ensures that students aren’t thrown into the fire of full independence immediately.

RAs and other resources will be available to support first-year students as they expand their horizons gradually. This may never happen if the student lives at home throughout their college experience without ever having their own personal space.

Immersion In Campus Life

Another key benefit of dorm life is placing students in the heart of college life. Since dorms are located on campus, students will always be just a few steps away from campus events, sports, and the other offerings that make college such a unique and wonderful place. It’s easier for students who live off-campus to show up to class, do their work, and get a degree without ever genuinely becoming part of the broader campus community.

Cultural Exposure And Diversity

Finally, dorm life helps first-years meet new people from backgrounds they may have never encountered before. Colleges are incredibly diverse and provide an excellent opportunity to learn about different cultures and places through peers. Dorms help to facilitate these connections by keeping students around their classmates and giving them more opportunities to connect with international students and others from different backgrounds than their own. 

These experiences can help student renters understand themselves in the context of others while giving them greater insight into what life is like outside of how they grew up. It’s another aspect of student life in dorms that helps individuals grow in ways that off-campus living simply can’t match.

Attract More Students To Live on Campus and Simplify Housing Operations

Part of attracting more first-year students to your school’s dorms is sharing the benefits of dorm life with them. But you also want to provide them with a great housing experience once they get there. Student housing technologies like Housing.Cloud helps with this by simplifying the administrative aspects of college housing for students and school employees alike.

Our easy-to-use student housing property management software includes features that can do everything from improving roommate matches to helping employees create custom forms based on your school’s unique needs. It could be just the student housing management system you need to simplify your school’s housing experience.

But don’t take our word for it. Request a free demo today to see Housing.Cloud in action and get the information you need to decide if it’s the right student housing software for your team.