After living in on-campus residential halls for a year, living off campus may seem like a dream. No more residential adviser-enforced quiet hours. No more campus food. No more roommates who stay up until 4 a.m. playing Halo.
“You may think you’re on your own in the dorms since your parents aren’t around, but you aren’t really free until you move off campus,” mechanical engineering senior Ryan Boughey said.
Many students dream of the day when they pack up and move from the dorms to a house or apartment with their friends. But living off campus isn’t a yearlong party. Students often find that they have new responsibilities and must make adjustments in order to succeed.
“It’s definitely different than the dorms,” Boughey said.
One of the major differences between on- and off-campus living is the food. Cal Poly residence halls and off-campus dorm Stenner Glen provide meal plans for their residents. Once off-campus though, students are on their own.
“I love to cook and got really tired of dorm food. So it’s nice,” nutrition junior Hillary Vogue said. “But I remember my roommates in Cerro Vista standing in front of the pantry trying to figure out what to eat for dinner. One girl lived off frozen turkey pot pies.”
Another issue is getting to campus. Students accustomed to waking up 20 minutes before the start of class and getting there 10 minutes early are in for a shock. While there are many popular apartment complexes within walking distance of campus, such as Mustang Village and Murray Station, many students choose to live in houses and apartment complexes farther away. Vogue, who lives off Los Osos Valley Road, finds that living five miles away from Cal Poly has its ups and downs.
“It’s nice living far from campus, but you have to get up a lot earlier to get to class, and since it’s hard to get back home between (classes), I end up spending a lot of time on campus,” she said.
More responsibility is another problem. Students accustomed to free cable, high-speed Internet, and unlimited hot water must now sign up for such services, and pay for them every month.
“I get students coming to see me at the start of the year, wondering how to get Internet or cable,” said Jamie Moreno, property manager of Murray Station.
Boughey, who moved into a house his junior year, had this problem.
“No one ever told me how to get those things before,” he said. “Apparently, utilities don’t magically appear.”
But Moreno thinks that the lack of supervision is the biggest difference between on- and off-campus life.
“Some students think they are still being supervised. When they have roommate problems, for instance, they come to me for help. But I’m not their RA. I can’t get involved,” she said.
Students who need help adjusting to off-campus life have several options. Cal Poly offers free counseling services Monday through Friday where students stressed about their living situations can go for advice. Another option is Creative Mediation, a San Luis Obispo-based service that works with Cal Poly to help students resolve relationship problems, whether romantic, platonic or roommate-related. Cal Poly Peer Health Educators can help students learn how to stay physically healthy.
Living on your own is a big step after leaving an environment that provided food, cleaning and even a resident advisor. While exciting, leaving that behind can require students to make adjustments in their lifestyle. But with a little common sense and, if needed, some assistance from one of Cal Poly’s free advice services, students can successfully make the transition from dorm life to real (or almost real) life.