At JumpOffCampus we know that every campus is different went it comes to housing. Some schools have housing for their students, some do not, and there are others in between.  But why do students want to move off-campus when their school offers housing on-campus?

In an article by RedandBlack.com (http://redandblack.com/2012/04/24/rising-sophomores-choose-between-on-and-off-campus-housing/), we got an idea on how to answer this question.  According to the article, 67% of freshmen students at the University of Georgia live on campus, while only 18% of sophomores and even fewer juniors and seniors actually live in the dorms.  However, one of the University’s biggest issues with keeping students on campus is space.  According to Carla Dennis, the Assistant to the Executive Director of University Housing, “The majority of our residence halls on-campus are filled with first year students because we have a commitment to first year students as part of the first year live on requirement . . . Unfortunately we don’t have the space to house all of the students who want to live on-campus after their first year.”

While space may be a consideration for some students, it is not the only thing drawing students to off-campus housing.  Other students interviewed at the University of Georgia suggested that the promise of independence, greater privacy, and more affordable living were especially appealing to students looking at off-campus housing options.  In another article in the Princeton Review (http://www.dailyprincetonian.com/2012/05/16/30980/), they added that students also are enticed by greater accommodations, more recreational opportunities, and more “bang for your buck” when they make the decision to move off-campus.  While there are some disadvantages to living off-campus, such as inconvenience in the commute to campus and parking, it appears that students seem to identify more of a benefit to this style of living.  So while it may be tough finding a parking spot or taking public transportation to campus every day, for many it seems to be well worth it.