The Pros And Cons Of Living Alone In College

By Elana Goodwin on July 6, 2014

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After living in the dorms freshman year, many students choose to move out already starting sophomore year into apartments or houses, with a roommate or a bunch of them, while others opt to live alone. There are real positives to living by yourself in school but there are certain downsides as well.

Here’s a breakdown of some of the pros and cons of living alone in college.

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PRO: The Privacy. Living without a roommate means you have complete and total privacy in the comfort of your own home, with nobody infringing on your space, stuff, or time. You can dance naked in the kitchen while you eat a snack. If you forget something in your room right before you’re about to take a shower, you can streak into your room to grab it without covering up or worrying your roomie will come home at an inopportune time.

Basically, living alone is especially great in regards to going without clothing (and not having anyone around to mind if you’re chilling in your birthday suit).

CON: The Responsibility. Living solo means it’s on you to keep the place clean, make sure the windows and doors are locked at night, be sure to turn off the lights when you leave, etc. Everything all comes down to you and juggling a social life, classes and homework with the upkeep of your apartment by yourself can be challenging and time-consuming.

Living with a roommate means shared responsibility for everything. Whether it’s the fact your smoke alarm needs a new battery, you left the light on in the bathroom when you left for class, or you forgot your key, having a roomie means someone else can help out with the apartment or whatever problem you have regarding it.

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PRO: The Quietness. If you live by yourself, coming home means you instantly have a space you can study productively in without having to plug in your earphones to drown out the sound of your roommate banging around in the kitchen or talking loudly in their room. You control your environment completely and can do whatever you want without having to be concerned about how it affects your roommate or impedes their study habits.

You don’t have to worry about your roommate loudly coming in late at night from a party or you coming in late and worrying about making too much noise. Your apartment is simply yours and can be a peaceful and quiet place for you to unwind in by yourself after your day.

CON: The Solitude. Living alone can be lonely. It’s really easy to just go home after a long day of classes and not go out again until you have class the next day, especially if you live further away from campus and don’t want to have to worry about walking home by yourself. While chilling solo and having “me”-time is important in college, coming home to a people-less apartment means you don’t have as much social interaction with others as you would living with even just one roommate.

Having a roommate of your choosing means you have the option of hanging out with someone whenever you’re both free right there in your apartment or house as well as someone to go grocery shopping with, grab dinner with, etc.

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PRO: The Freedom. Having a place to yourself means you don’t have to worry about your roommate’s schedule, be conscious of how loud your music is, or check in with anyone about whether it’d be okay if you have a bunch of people over.

You never have to wait for the bathroom, share the counter and storage space, or work around someone else in the kitchen. Living by yourself comes with a lot of freedom, much more so than if you still lived in a dorm or with a roommate, as you are completely on your own.

Plus, you can drink straight from the milk carton, leave your dishes in the sink until you finally make yourself do them without feeling bad your roommate can’t get to the sink, and you know whatever hair you find in the shower is yours.

CON: The Expense. Being the only person living in an apartment means full responsibility for the rent, WiFi, electricity, water, gas, and whatever other bills you run up. You can’t mooch food from or share a gallon of milk with your roommate, either.

As a broke college kid, living alone can be an additional expense on top of books, bills and more that isn’t necessary to take on at this point in your life. Living with a roommate can help alleviate that financial burden while still allowing you to have more independence than if you continued living in a residence hall.

So before you decide whether or not to live alone in college, carefully consider the pros and cons of each as deciding to live by yourself is a big decision and can really affect your life at school.

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