I am a little concerned about a certain subject that I thought I would get some opinions on. I'm 22 yrs. old, and am a transfer student. Within a year I am planning on transferring to USC(Univ. South Carolina). My question is, at that age, would I be too old to live on campus(dorms)? is there a cutoff age for this? Or would I be better of living off campus? Any feedback would be great!

Greg

 

Greg,

Are you asking whether the school will allow you to live on campus, or whether you would feel odd living on campus? If you're asking the former, then I dunno. If you're asking the latter, then nope, I don't think you'd feel odd.

I lived on campus during my 1st and 2nd year of college. It was a very fun experience. I met a lot of people and had a lot of um, interesting times. Most of the dorm residents were younger folks of age 18 or 19, but there were older students living there as well (they tended to buy beer for the rest of us ). People in the dorms lead all kinds of different lifestyles, so there's something for everyone. If you wanna party, then you can party. If you just wanna study, then you can always find a quiet place to hang out.

The one thing I can think of that might suck is the living quarters. I lived in a triple my 1st year and a double my 2nd year. The double was okay, but the triple sucked. The room was small as hell, and we had communal bathrooms. If you're used to living in apartments and houses, it can be uncomfortable. It's also inconvenient since you don't normally have your own kitchen in the dorms.

Beyond that, it was a great experience, and I'm happy that I had the privilege of going through it.

 

At 22 there is no way I would live on campus but it may be appropriate depending on your situation. Don't forget everything but Bates closes during breaks, that USC is a "dry" campus, and most housing has visitation policies regarding the opposite sex--all are easy to get around, but who wants to deal with it if you don't have to?

There are tons of places to live close to the University. Shandon is full of places to rent. Do a bit of research and you'll find a place and even a roommate if you want one.

Edit: I lived in Bates West once upon a time and had a blast. FWIW, I agree with the poster above that said you won't feel out of place. I just wouldn't want to put up with the hassle of univ housing. Good luck!

USC housing

 

Wow, does this university have same sex housing only? I had always thought that most university housing is co-ed. Same sex housing would kill a lot of the social fun of living in dorms.

 

I wouldn't say you'd feel out of place... 22 isn't old to begin with.. and although most dorms consist of primarily first year + second year, that's still 19-20 year olds, not much of a difference.. Plus, the "Dons" are usually 3rd and 4th year people, so shouldn't be a big deal..

I missed out my oppurtunity this past year to live on-campus (applied late, everything was filled), but I always regretted not having the on-campus experience.. For the mostpart, I've heard nothing but positive things..

Off Campus of course is also not bad.. If you have some roommates you can rent out a house, and that's always more convenient.. more room, make your own food, etc..

 

Cyber--No, USC has co-ed housing. But even so, there are policies regarding visitation. (Or at least there were when I was there.) It varies from dorm to dorm and varies from strict to anything goes. I was really thinking about the possbility of him having a gf who isn't a student or isn't a resident of the same dorm, but depending on which dorm he ends up in, it might not matter.

Edit

 

Ok, gotcha. USC's housing policies sound a little bit more restrictive than where I went (UCLA). At UCLA, anyone can come and go as they please, regardless of sex. The only restriction is that after certain hours, you need to check your guests in. But once you check them in, they can stay indefinitely. I figured it was similar everywhere but guess that assumption was wrong.

 

^^ USC is close to that. Some freshman dorms have virtually no visitation. Some dorms allow guests until 2 am. The halls that allow free access can be hard to get into. Generally there's something to make everyone happy--except for the poor freshman in the "No Guests For You!" dorms.

 

Here, for visitors, you have to sign them in if they're staying overnight, and you only get a limited number of those per month.. But if not staying over, I don't think there are any restrictions..

 

Thanks for the responses! I dont think I would feel out of place, but would hope for some other people to be there that are my age. I wont be there for a while anyway, so I have some time to think about it. I do have a girlfriend so I hope visitation wouldn't be a problem. I need to look into off-campus housing as well.(roomates too)This will be a major move for me, S2k will most likely be gone , and I will have to quit my job,(which I had for 2 yrs.) if I cant transfer with them. But I hear there are lots of places to work there. But it will all pay off at the end. At least i'm getting my act together now instead of 3-5 yrs. from now.

Greg