Apartment life v. Dorms

[Gwenevre]

Okay, so what are some of the pros and cons of both, or why would you choose one living situation over another? Or is there another suggested living situation that you've found or are looking into for next year as a vet student?

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[Cyndia]

Id say it depends on the school and area you'll be in. Where are you looking at?

For myself, unless there are major constraints with rent/location, I usually prefer apartments because they're more spacious, I'm more comfortable in them because I usually have some idea of what my flatmates are like if I meet them before deciding to move in, and sometimes the leases are a little more flexible. I also love cooking for myself, and I find apartment life more conducive to that than dorm kitchens (drove me crazy when they got really messy).

In my undergrad I absolutely loved the years I was in my apartment because it was cheaper, the location was still very close by, and the rooms were bigger (I like my double beds!). I also had great flatmates, which made it twice as fun. In my masters however, I had an apartment for the first month, but the commute took a while and was expensive, and anywhere nearby was too high in rent, so I ended up moving into the dorms. The rooms weren't the best, and my flatmates got on my nerves sometimes, but simply because of the location and price, it was much preferable. I did miss having an apartment though..

 

[deleted498041]

I rented a house with three other girls this year and had a horrible experience so I will be moving into the on campus apartments next year. It all comes down to what you're looking for. I can handle ****ty roommates. I can handle them not talking to me, falling silent when I walk into the room, throwing temper tantrums about me parking in the driveway, leaving crumbs and mess everywhere, not taking the trash out... But what I can't handle is when someone, especially a vet student, kicks my dog. There were a lot of problems this year that made me realize I should just find a place of my own.
Personally, I wouldn't live in a "dorm," although I am doing on-campus living. I much prefer to have a place of my own without roommates, and that's usually pretty expensive in a dorm setting. That way, when I want to go to bed at 10 PM, I don't have to worry about someone laughing and screaming on Skype with their boyfriend until 1 AM. I really like that the apartments I'm moving into have designated quiet times, something I really needed in my house this year!

 

[epivetlove]

I rented a house with three other girls this year and had a horrible experience so I will be moving into the on campus apartments next year. It all comes down to what you're looking for. I can handle ****** roommates. I can handle them not talking to me, falling silent when I walk into the room, throwing temper tantrums about me parking in the driveway, leaving crumbs and mess everywhere, not taking the trash out... But what I can't handle is when someone, especially a vet student, kicks my dog. There were a lot of problems this year that made me realize I should just find a place of my own.
Personally, I wouldn't live in a "dorm," although I am doing on-campus living. I much prefer to have a place of my own without roommates, and that's usually pretty expensive in a dorm setting. That way, when I want to go to bed at 10 PM, I don't have to worry about someone laughing and screaming on Skype with their boyfriend until 1 AM. I really like that the apartments I'm moving into have designated quiet times, something I really needed in my house this year!

Wtf? Are these students 12 years old? Also, I'm very sorry you've had a bad experience. I would probably go on a rampage if I found out/witnessed someone kicking my dog or any of my pets. That's just disgusting and I'm glad you're going to be a better situation soon.

 

[orca2011]

It definitely depends on the school. My undergrad had some of the top rated dorms in the country and you were guaranteed housing all 4 years while I was there and they were super strict about where you could live off campus (you also lost any school sponsored financial aid if you lived off campus). In freshman year, most people were in the standard dorm room with a few people having the apartment style housing if they did a specific freshmen year program. After that, everyone was in a 4-6 person apartment with a kitchen, living room and dining room. Some of the senior housing were even two stories.

If this is for vet school, I'd pick apartments. At this point, I feel like I want a place of my own and most own campus housing doesn't allow pets and since I have 3 now, that would kind of be a problem. But if I did live in dorms, I would want to make sure it's with other students who have a similar schedule or demand and not have to deal with people partying all the time right outside my door. As much as I like a good party, there just isn't time for it Thursday -Saturday like there was in undergrad.

For first year, I lived with another random first year that needed a roommate from our facebook group and things worked out pretty well. We had some issues with our landlord and there might little annoyances here and there, but it's nothing major. We still live together, but now in a 3 BR house with another vet student who is a first year. The house is really working out for us, since we each have a dog and need the space. Plus it's just gorgeous and has a gated drive way (rare finding in Philly). It's more than I wanted to pay, but it's been well worth it so far just for the space and some of the luxuries.

 

[Cyndia]

I rented a house with three other girls this year and had a horrible experience so I will be moving into the on campus apartments next year. It all comes down to what you're looking for. I can handle ****** roommates. I can handle them not talking to me, falling silent when I walk into the room, throwing temper tantrums about me parking in the driveway, leaving crumbs and mess everywhere, not taking the trash out... But what I can't handle is when someone, especially a vet student, kicks my dog. There were a lot of problems this year that made me realize I should just find a place of my own.
Personally, I wouldn't live in a "dorm," although I am doing on-campus living. I much prefer to have a place of my own without roommates, and that's usually pretty expensive in a dorm setting. That way, when I want to go to bed at 10 PM, I don't have to worry about someone laughing and screaming on Skype with their boyfriend until 1 AM. I really like that the apartments I'm moving into have designated quiet times, something I really needed in my house this year!

Jeez, that's awful!! I've only had one roommate who had a massive falling out with everyone and would pull the cold shoulder/temper tantrum act, which was awkward but manageable, but actually abusing your dog? I would have been FURIOUS over that!! Glad to hear you're moving out, I really hope your next house is much better..

So yeah, the roommate aspect is the major thing against dorms for me, since you can't choose who they'll be. It's always going to be a bit tough your first year someplace since you'll probably have to make friends with someone online or pick an apartment after only a short meeting with someone, but I still think that's better than moving in with a completely random set of people.

 

[Gwenevre]

Thinking of the Purdue/West Lafayette area, if that helps!

 

[Dat Ass]

Apartment with no roommates , more expensive but I need my sanity

 

[deleted498041]

Wtf? Are these students 12 years old? Also, I'm very sorry you've had a bad experience. I would probably go on a rampage if I found out/witnessed someone kicking my dog or any of my pets. That's just disgusting and I'm glad you're going to be a better situation soon.

Jeez, that's awful!! I've only had one roommate who had a massive falling out with everyone and would pull the cold shoulder/temper tantrum act, which was awkward but manageable, but actually abusing your dog? I would have been FURIOUS over that!! Glad to hear you're moving out, I really hope your next house is much better...

Yeah, I was pretty appalled to find out about the situation. One roommate told me she saw the other one kick my dog, and I didn't think anything of it because they hated each other but then I saw her do it several times. It's been really hard to teach the dog about manners too because the girls let her jump all over them and bite at her feet... I'm very happy to be living on my own next year!

 

[epivetlove]

Apartment with no roommates , more expensive but I need my sanity

This. x100. I've had good, great, bad, and terrible experiences living with roommates. But I also lived alone for 2 years during my Master's program and omg, it's amazing. I absolutely can't wait to live alone again in the fall. An extra $200/month be damned!

 

[that redhead]

I think the biggest issues for vet students in dorms are (1) most if not all dorms do not allow pets and most vet students have some sort of pet and (2) dorms are usually a bit more rowdy than the typical vet student wants to deal with on a daily basis.

The roommate vs. living alone has been rehashed multiple times already and it seems to just come down to personal preference. I also love living alone but some people have found situations that they can tolerate or even enjoy for the lower cost.

 

[allieoop2714]

I only lived in the dorms for the first two years of undergrad, and that was only because it was required. I think if I lived in the dorms as a grad student, I would still feel like an undergrad. Having an apartment, to me, means having a lot more independence. I would much rather have my own kitchen/laundry room/bathroom than share. I also like my peace and quiet, and I have found that even living in apartments meant just for college students. Plus, fire alarms rarely go off in apartments, but they seem to always go off in dorms, especially during finals week

 

[Frozenshades]

Jeez, that's awful!! I've only had one roommate who had a massive falling out with everyone and would pull the cold shoulder/temper tantrum act, which was awkward but manageable, but actually abusing your dog? I would have been FURIOUS over that!! Glad to hear you're moving out, I really hope your next house is much better..

So yeah, the roommate aspect is the major thing against dorms for me, since you can't choose who they'll be. It's always going to be a bit tough your first year someplace since you'll probably have to make friends with someone online or pick an apartment after only a short meeting with someone, but I still think that's better than moving in with a completely random set of people.

Though I think moving in with people you know still has limits to its benefit. Nice to know you will be with someone who -to the best of your knowledge- isn't crazy, but you still never know exactly what it will be like to live with someone until you do, and friends can sometimes make just as bad roommates as any other.

I've never lived in dorms (my undergrad uni is huge and doesn't have enough housing on campus for all the freshman alone, so they can't require it) but have always had roommates and never had any issues. I think I'm fairly easy going so as long as I'm not with someone who is a total barbarian it's worth saving the cash to me. I like living with people in different classes; it's nice when not everyone has the exact same class/test schedule.

 

[pinkpuppy9]

If you choose dorms, see if your school has upperclassmen only halls. Michigan State has a hall like that, and I think that's the only way I'd be able to handle dorm living with such a rigorous school life. Dorms with meal plans might be a time saver (rarely a money saver...).

If a dorm single (plus meal plan) was as cheap as my current 3 bed/3 bath apartment, you bet your sweet bippy I'd be living on campus right now! I miss the convenience of the dorms, but cannot justify $10,000+ in order to avoid sharing a room, especially when I will need my peace during vet school.

 

[WhtsThFrequency]

Why the hell would anyone live in a dorm during vet school. Good lord. Nothing would drive you more crazy. Incredibly small, cramped space surrounded by tons of other people? You'll get enough of that in school. No need to have it at home as well.

 

[WhtsThFrequency]

It definitely depends on the school. My undergrad had some of the top rated dorms in the country and you were guaranteed housing all 4 years while I was there and they were super strict about where you could live off campus (you also lost any school sponsored financial aid if you lived off campus). In freshman year, most people were in the standard dorm room with a few people having the apartment style housing if they did a specific freshmen year program. After that, everyone was in a 4-6 person apartment with a kitchen, living room and dining room. Some of the senior housing were even two stories.

WTF. The school could deny you where you wanted to live? Seriously? Wow. That's......completely asinine.

 

[WhtsThFrequency]

Apartment with no roommates , more expensive but I need my sanity

Agreed. I have never lived with roommates my entire adult life. It was the one major luxury I have allowed myself during school (and even then I also lived in super cheap places, no cable TV, etc to make up for it). I simply could not deal with people sharing my living space who were not my SO or family.

 

[orca2011]

WTF. The school could deny you where you wanted to live? Seriously? Wow. That's......completely asinine.

I'm honestly not sure they could technically deny you (I never went through the process...just heard it was difficult through others). I guess I should have said that housing was kind of limited and many of the residents in the area didn't want students living near them.

 

[Kyoht]

WTF. The school could deny you where you wanted to live? Seriously? Wow. That's......completely asinine.

My undergrad is like that as well. I went there because it was the closest school to the place where I had been living since I was 22. I didn't have to pay much to live there (my family owned it) so I wanted to stay there. When I went back to college, after working for many years, I had all kinds of problems. Their policy is to have all students live on campus unless you are living with your parents or married. I laughed at first and told them that I was 27 and that I had no desire to live in a dorm. They were really difficult about it and then I had to fill out a paper saying why I couldn't live on campus and crap like that. Every fricking year I had to fill that out and apply for off campus housing. Stupid IMO.

 

[equineconstant]

WTF. The school could deny you where you wanted to live? Seriously? Wow. That's......completely asinine.

My undergrad had some sort of application process for living off campus, but I never went through it so idk how difficult it was/whether they actually did deny anyone.

 

[WhtsThFrequency]

Wow. Huh.

When I was in college (a decade ago FML ), you were required to live on campus for your first year, and then all bets were off. You could apply for housing but you weren't 100% guaranteed it and your chance of getting it decreased with your status (i.e. sophomores had a better chance than seniors).

 

[that redhead]

Wow. Huh.

When I was in college (a decade ago FML ), you were required to live on campus for your first year, and then all bets were off. You could apply for housing but you weren't 100% guaranteed it and your chance of getting it decreased with your status (i.e. sophomores had a better chance than seniors).

I think it's more dependent on the school, not time. When I applied in what, 2005? some schools that I visited required you to live on campus first year, some wouldn't allow you to have a car (?!) and others left it up to you entirely. I ended up at a school that let you decide but as you got older, there wasn't enough on-campus housing and I got "kicked out" when I was a junior. (The thing that really got me mad was that you were entered into a housing lottery...which didn't take into account alcohol/noise/drugs/etc violations or anything else for that matter; so I had no hope of getting a place on campus while my partying friends who'd be written up multiples times did. I know they've added more housing on campus since so you aren't forced off campus but we had a tent city on the mall for a while in protest, heh)

 

[pinkpuppy9]

For the schools that made it difficult to live off-campus, were the prices actually comparable to off-campus living? Right now, I'm saving at least $2000 a year living in an apartment. I was only required to live in the dorms for my first year since I lived more that 30 miles from campus. Actually, rumor has it that my school is having a heck of a time trying to fill the dorms for next year since they are so darn expensive.

 

[orca2011]

For the schools that made it difficult to live off-campus, were the prices actually comparable to off-campus living? Right now, I'm saving at least $2000 a year living in an apartment. I was only required to live in the dorms for my first year since I lived more that 30 miles from campus. Actually, rumor has it that my school is having a heck of a time trying to fill the dorms for next year since they are so darn expensive.

Don't actually know. My undergrad was within Baltimore City limits and the area around it (well three sides of it) had super nice houses, so I can't imagine anything was cheap. There also was really only like one apartment option near the school, everything else were decent sized homes. There were a few other complexes a mile up or down the road by Towson and Johns Hopkins, but then you were competing with their students for housing and I'm pretty sure neither or those schools guarantee's housing after the first year.

 

[DVMDream]

Odd that there are schools that don't allow you to live off-campus.... my undergrad had the opposite issue where they didn't have enough dorms for everyone at times, especially freshman.

You still had to show the school that you had housing if you lived off campus, but there weren't any restrictions really, just as long as you lived in the area.

 

[neocia]

For any of ya'll in vet school now, do you live with fellow vet school students (if you share an apartment)? Is is helpful to live with other people in your classes and such? I am looking to live alone during vet school just because of roommates being terrible in the past but if it's helpful to live with other vet students (studying together, quizzing each other, etc), I might think about that, too.

 

[orca2011]

I live with one classmate and another vet student from a different year. I did it mainly for cost as a lot of studios/1BR I looked at in Philly were expensive, especially for the amount of space you got. My rent itself is still kind of expensive, but I have the master bedroom in 3 BR/2.5 bath house that was recently renovated and has super nice appliances so I can't complain. Utilities have been super reasonable though between the 3 of us. I also just don't like being alone and get freaked out by silence.

It's annoying sometimes when it comes to cleaning, but for the most part we don't have issues. I don't really study with my one roommate as we study differently, but sometimes it's helpful for asking questions. It's really just going to come down to whether or not you can put up with a potentially bad roommate for a year if things don't work out. I've had some good and bad roommates and for me, it was worth the risk first year since Philly has such a high COL. If things didn't work, I would have just studied at the school and only been in the apartment when I needed to.

 

[Filly Bay]

For any of ya'll in vet school now, do you live with fellow vet school students (if you share an apartment)? Is is helpful to live with other people in your classes and such? I am looking to live alone during vet school just because of roommates being terrible in the past but if it's helpful to live with other vet students (studying together, quizzing each other, etc), I might think about that, too.

I've seen it work well, and go horribly wrong. In my case, it did not work out at all. If you prefer living alone and can afford it, I would go for that. Roommate issues are not something you need to be dealing with on top of the stresses of vet school. Your roommate being your classmate makes that even worse b/c you are around them all day everyday and cannot escape them. Some people may be able to study elsewhere every day, but I have pets that I did not want to leave home alone all the time. I think we studied together for maybe the 1st two weeks of school. I don't think it really helped me and when our problems began we definitely kept to ourselves. I still made time to study with friends living elsewhere. I think that might be better because you get a change of environment, meet more people, and when you need to study on your own with peace and quiet, you will have that too. I may be slightly bitter an biased still since my roommate just moved out yesterday but it ended with a fight over stupid things... I for one CAN'T WAIT to get my house in 3 weeks with just me and my fiance!

 

[equineconstant]

Odd that there are schools that don't allow you to live off-campus.... my undergrad had the opposite issue where they didn't have enough dorms for everyone at times, especially freshman.

You still had to show the school that you had housing if you lived off campus, but there weren't any restrictions really, just as long as you lived in the area.

My school had that problem too...not for freshmen, more with on-campus apartments for upperclassmen.

For any of ya'll in vet school now, do you live with fellow vet school students (if you share an apartment)? Is is helpful to live with other people in your classes and such? I am looking to live alone during vet school just because of roommates being terrible in the past but if it's helpful to live with other vet students (studying together, quizzing each other, etc), I might think about that, too.

I live with a third year student and another student in my class. I really like living with an upperclassman; she's been through all this before and has been really helpful to me with everything from what instructors to watch out for to passing down her toxicology flash cards to me (which reminds me, I still need to get those from her...). Also since we're not in the same class we don't see each other all the time. I thought living with another first year would be awful and we would get sick of each other, but we pretty much just keep to ourselves. We certainly don't study together (I do frequently study at a friend's house, though). In general I wouldn't advise rooming with a classmate, but we were also talking about a different classmate moving in with us when the other first year moves out, so...whatever that tells you. I never really considered living alone as an option, mostly because of the cost but also partly because it means I definitely have some contact with other people even when I'm cooped up studying.

 

[DVMDream]

My school had that problem too...not for freshmen, more with on-campus apartments for upperclassmen.


.

Yeah, the apartment style dorms for upperclassmen were difficult to get into. You had to either know someone already there (i.e be friends with a junior that was in the apartments so that they could pull you in during their senior year and your junior year) or you had to win the random name drawing they had. Your chances of getting in where greater if you put your name in singly than in a group. A couple of friends put their name in for a place together and I put my name into the single draw... I got into the apartments, they did not. It was so incredibly nice living in those apartments compared to the shoe box dorm rooms.

 

[WillowLeaf]

I've heard of some schools having graduate-only housing, which might be better than regular dorms. But when I was in a dorm for part of freshman year, it was too loud for studying, not really any cheaper than an apartment, and frustrating because of all the irresponsible freshman there. My room smelled disgusting because people liked to throw fruit and other food down from the higher windows, and my dorm window was right above a little shelf that was hard to get to and didn't get cleaned up as often as the food that landed on the grass. Other students thought 3am was a perfect time to hang out in the hallways, throw things, and screech at each other. There was drama between other freshman, and even though I wasn't involved in the drama, it was stressful to listen to. The fire alarms went off quite a few times. I don't want to deal with that stuff during vet school.

I have two cats and several fish, so dorms aren't an option for me anyway, but even without pets I would avoid dorms, especially ones with undergrad students. I'd love to find a house to rent with 2 or 3 roommates. I like the idea of having more than one roommate, but I've never done that before so I don't know if it's a good idea.

 

[deleted498041]

For any of ya'll in vet school now, do you live with fellow vet school students (if you share an apartment)? Is is helpful to live with other people in your classes and such? I am looking to live alone during vet school just because of roommates being terrible in the past but if it's helpful to live with other vet students (studying together, quizzing each other, etc), I might think about that, too.

I live with a VM3, VM1, and a pharm student. Aside from my other, many, issues with my roommates, I really wouldn't advocate living with a vet student in the same year. It kind of sucks to come home from school and have someone that wants to talk about school. Not to mention the VM1 roommate, when she'd still talk to me, thought studying consisted of just talking about anatomy or physiology or whatever for hours while I much preferred to, y'know, read the book. That was kind of annoying. The VM3 was somewhat helpful but she wasn't really a good student when she was a first or second year so she didn't understand why I studied on the weekends and would always try to distract me or get me to go out and do other things instead.

 

[that redhead]

For any of ya'll in vet school now, do you live with fellow vet school students (if you share an apartment)? Is is helpful to live with other people in your classes and such? I am looking to live alone during vet school just because of roommates being terrible in the past but if it's helpful to live with other vet students (studying together, quizzing each other, etc), I might think about that, too.

There's a lot of discussion in previous threads you might want to read, but my own opinion is that it isn't inherently helpful to live with other vet students. I study with two other classmates regularly and I just come in to school to study with them. It helps me to concentrate too (separation of school and home and such). I haven't found that vet students living with classmates have had any advantage. Plus I haven't had to deal with the drama of the fall outs that have happened, either.

 

[KCgophervet]

Anyone mind if I hijack this thread and ask if anyone's purchased a house while in vet school?

Been looking for a house to rent with my roommate lately and the price of rentals is fairly steep, and its been hard to find a place that will allow big dogs (honestly, you have a fenced in back yard, why if not for dogs??). Someone suggested that I look into buying a house instead because if you're smart about it you can get a decent place with a mortgage payment lower than paying rent. They also said that it was better to buy while still in school because they won't look at your student loans while you're still a student but that once you graduate all that debt will work against you (not sure about the validity of this statement - purely hearsay from someone who bought a house while she was in undergrad).

Anyone have any experience with this? Is it actually a feasible option to buy a house while in vet school? I feel wary in taking on even more debt, but then I realize that I'm paying rent right now that is disappearing into thin air so it's a slightly different situation. Any advice or thoughts are appreciated!

 

[Minnerbelle]

For any of ya'll in vet school now, do you live with fellow vet school students (if you share an apartment)? Is is helpful to live with other people in your classes and such? I am looking to live alone during vet school just because of roommates being terrible in the past but if it's helpful to live with other vet students (studying together, quizzing each other, etc), I might think about that, too.

I've lived with a classmate for the past 2 yrs and it's been awesome. It's more of a personality compatibility than anything else really. There are people in my class I would not be able to live with (even people i like). We for the most part stay out of each other's way, and there are like days at a time I don't see my roomie. We don't study together as a general rule of thumb. But it's nice to be able to knock on each other's door and ask each other about things that don't make any sense, confirming what material is on exams, and reminding each other about when stuff's due. It's nice to also have a default cat sitter. And it's nice to have a roomie who understands when poop is hitting the fans during bad exam periods and is going through the same thing. So neither of us mind when the apartment becomes a mess when we're super busy. It might not sound like it since we're both pretty independent people, but we're actually pretty good friends and I consider my roomie a great confidante. It was great having each other to lean on during the most stressful part of vet school that was the job search. We're very similar in our outlooks and opinions about a lot of things, so she's also fun to gossip with. I've lived with 7 different roomies in the past 6 years after graduating college in 4 different addresses, and there were only 3 that I minded the least bit (only 1 that I couldn't stand), so in general I'm a pretty easy going roomie to begin with. I would say things were prob easier living with my current roomie than it would have been to live alone. After all these years of sharing space with strangers though, I'm ready to have my own place with my SO.

 

[JaynaAli]

Anyone mind if I hijack this thread and ask if anyone's purchased a house while in vet school?

Been looking for a house to rent with my roommate lately and the price of rentals is fairly steep, and its been hard to find a place that will allow big dogs (honestly, you have a fenced in back yard, why if not for dogs??). Someone suggested that I look into buying a house instead because if you're smart about it you can get a decent place with a mortgage payment lower than paying rent. They also said that it was better to buy while still in school because they won't look at your student loans while you're still a student but that once you graduate all that debt will work against you (not sure about the validity of this statement - purely hearsay from someone who bought a house while she was in undergrad).

Anyone have any experience with this? Is it actually a feasible option to buy a house while in vet school? I feel wary in taking on even more debt, but then I realize that I'm paying rent right now that is disappearing into thin air so it's a slightly different situation. Any advice or thoughts are appreciated!

There's a thread about this towards the top of the veterinary forum. People that only come here probably have opinions too, but several of us have posted about this over there.