The majority of students come to college with intentions to live on or near campus. Some choose to live at home and commute if they live close enough, and the rest decide to live around campus.
NC State offers many on-campus housing options. According to the University Housing’s website, living on campus is not a requirement for NC State students, but research suggests that students who live on campus have higher GPAs and graduation rates over those who do not.
There are many on-campus dorms offered through NC State’s University Housing. After freshman year, a student may decide that he or she does not want to live in a dorm anymore and there are many rentable apartments and even houses all around campus that are within walking distance.
Madison Moss, a senior biology major, has lived on and near campus every year since coming to NC State as a freshman.
As a freshman, Moss lived in University Towers, right next to the Dan Allen Parking Deck. Her sophomore year she lived in Valentine Commons. She lived in the Sigma Kappa Sorority House off of Avent Ferry her junior year, and as a senior she now lives in a house that she and two other girls rent out.
Moss shared her experience as to why she chose to live on campus and how it has affected her.
“I wanted to live on campus so that I could meet more people and become more involved with things and events that are going on,” Moss said.
Moss said that living on campus makes her feel closer to everyone at NC State. In addition, she said she never feels like she misses out on events around campus since she lives so close by.
Moss’ typical weekday consists of waking up and walking to her class, which are mainly on North campus. Then she comes home, eats a meal and gets ready for work. After work she attends any meetings she may have for her extracurricular organizations, such as her membership in the Sigma Kappa Sorority at NC State. She then goes home in the evening to spend the rest of her night working on homework and relaxing with her two roommates.
“I like being able to walk to class. I like that everything is so close because it is so convenient,” Moss said. “It makes me want to go to class more and I like that everyone is close by. I feel like I have a lot of resources around me, too.”
Moss said that she really enjoys having the library so close by. She loves that she does not have to use her own gas or take the bus to go to class.
When Moss lived in the sorority house off of Avent Ferry, she was about a 10-minute drive away from her classes on campus. She found this to be inconvenient, and she felt more distant than when she was living closer to campus the previous two years.
“I like being near everyone that I associate with,” Moss said. “I feel like it helps with my education because the library is close by or I could get a friend or tutor to help me with my work by explaining the material to me.”
Moss has received many benefits from living on campus. She was able to highlight some of the downfalls of living on campus, however.
“Sometimes it can be a little hectic or crowded,” Moss said. “There is a lot of traffic at times. You’re also always around the same people and do not really ever get time away from that.”
