Experience differences

maddyfeder

I currently live in an apartment because my school doesn't have a residence. It is quite isolated I suppose but I'm wondering how my experience would differ if I was in a residence.

What was/is your experience living in residence.

kelseystuart

Hey Maddy!

I really think it depends on the university/college and the actual residence itself. I go to Trent, and I lived on residence in my first year. There are four different "colleges" at Trent (colleges meaning they have residences and classrooms, and are all named differently), and each college has their own reputation. I didn't really know this when I was picking out my residence of choice, I was just going by how much I liked the rooms and the dining hall. My residence is seen as a quiet and timid one, and that was definitely my experience through the eight months that I lived there. Of course, you're always going to have people partying and being loud, but it's not nearly as bad as everyone makes it out to be (in my experience anyway). If I had lived in one of the residences that are notorious for partying 24/7, than this post probably would've been a little bit different!

Residence, either way, is such a great way to slowly get out on your own. I wouldn't have been able to go from my parents house to my own house/apartment at 18, so residence was an awesome way to bridge that gap.

Good luck in your schooling!
Kelsey

vpathammavong

Hi Maddy,

Like yours, my university did not offer a great residence program and I too lived off campus and quite far as well. In my first year I envied some of my old friends who went to schools like Carleton and Windsor - they could just roll out of bed and be slight minuets away from the lecture hall. While I had the experience of dragging my half-awake self on a crowded streetcar. However, commute time was the only real disadvantage to not 'living on campus' in my experience.

I went to OCADU, a strictly visual art/design university in the heart of Toronto. Our population was significantly smaller than most institutions, especially in comparison to our neighbours at U of T and Ryerson. Like most universities, OCADU fostered a tightly wound community of students all experiencing similarities in their academic paths. Essentially, we were all made to feel like we belonged regardless of how close we live, how much we participate, or even how many people we know. Always know your school is designed to be a welcoming community. My friends and I lived all around the city, so really it gave us more of an opportunity to explore our surroundings outside of the school setting. This is the great thing about living off campus - you become a part of a community that extends outside of your classroom. You become apart of the city, and not just your school. Making the transition into 'the real world' that much easier if you've already been living there.

I don't feel I missed out on a 'university experience' from living off campus - because really what did I miss? I guess some hours of sleeping in and a few dorm room parties, but thats a drop in the bucket to what I gained over the 4 years of living away from school. As many opportunities as there are in residence, theres just as many outside of the institution. I hope you find a way to feel less isolated, and see some of the perks of living off campus. Good luck with everything Maddy, and my only advice to you in this situation is to simply explore your surroundings!

All the best,

Victoria