To live on campus or not to live on campus – that is the question. With room draw quickly approaching, students must pick their poison.

Room draw, an annual housing selection process, uses a point system to decide which students have priority when choosing a dorm. Class standing also factors into the process. This year’s room draw will take place April 3.

Angela Book, a management and marketing junior, likes the comfort of the dorms because of the proximity to her classes. She feels that with an 18-hour class schedule, living on campus makes life much easier. This year Book and her roommate live in Buddig Hall, but next year hope to make it into Carrollton Hall.

“Living on campus definitely beats a 20 to 30 minute commute,” Book said.

Besides being so close to classes, Director of Residential Life Craig Beebe said there are other perks to living on campus. Students who live on campus tend to be more involved, make more friends and have higher GPAs.

With all of these positive aspects of dorm life, there are also some negatives. When Beebe was asked what he thought to be the cons of living on campus, he argued that he couldn’t think of any.

“I would argue that there aren’t

cons, but challenges to master and learn from,” Beebe said.

For some, it might be hard living in a small room with a stranger.

“It can be tough to learn to live with a roommate, especially if it’s your first time. Learning to communicate, negotiate and compromise comes with a steep learning curve,” Beebe said.

Another issue that might steer students away from living on campus is the noise of other students and construction. For dealing with the noise, Beebe advises students to establish boundaries with roommates and neighbors. As for the noise from construction, it has diminished some.

“The construction on Buddig was something that was hard to deal with, but now that it’s over it’s a lot better,” Sofia Alvarado, psychology junior, said.

The main thing that people think about when trying to decide wither to live on or off campus is the cost. Some people say that living off campus is cheaper than living on campus.

“It certainly can be. Off-campus housing price ranges are cost based on many factors, including age of the residence, number of rooms and roommates and the neighborhood. On-campus housing does not attempt to compete with off-campus housing on price, but on value,” Beebe said.

It is understandable that dorm life is not for everyone; sometimes the

easiest thing to do is stay home and commute. Lauren Savoie, English writing sophomore, is one of those students. For Savoie, it was easier and more cost-effective for her to stay home in Gretna. The commute takes her around 30 minutes to an hour every day. Sometimes that can be hard because of early morning classes.

“I wake up around 6 a.m. or 6:30 a.m. to get to my 8 a.m. class,” Savoie said.

Even though Savoie has to commute, she does not regret her decision to live off campus. Savoie still gets involved with things that happen on campus and still hangs out with friends. After a long day of classes, she said it is nice to able to go home.

“Sometimes it’s nice to escape from campus. You have a sense of peace when you’re at home,” said Savoie.

If living on campus doesn’t interest you and staying at home isn’t an option, then students can opt to get a place off campus. Chantal Gainous, psychology sophomore, is one of the many students who lives off campus with other Loyola students. Gainous was lucky to find a place with an area to do laundry.

“I have a washer and dryer in my home, which I totally recommend to anyone thinking about living off campus,” Gainous said.

For students looking for a place to live off campus, it can be a bit difficult. Unlike on-campus residents, students who live off campus must also make sure they have accessibility to amenities such as a laundry facility and grocery store.

“You have this idea in your head and then you have to start compromising,” Gainous said.

On the flip side, students who want to stay on campus need to find a roommate that they get along with and get prepared to participate in room draw on April 3. Along with the three dorm buildings on the main campus, Cabra Hall on the Broadway campus will be ready to move into by next semester. Whatever their preference, students should to think thoughtfully and critically on where they want to reside next year.

Raquel Derganz Baker can be reached at [email protected]