Heya!
I hope all of you are staying safe and indoors. Today I will be talking about living On Campus Student accommodation in Dublin. I will also be highlighting the pros and cons of staying on campus compared to off campus and how my experience has been with living on campus at UCD Smurfit as an international student. The On Campus option is offered by almost all universities in Ireland. Most of the times you also have various options to choose from depending on the cost and amenities offered by each. Below I am going to Highlight some positives and negatives about choosing on campus residency.
Pros -
1. Easy Booking Procedure:
The process of booking an on campus accommodation is fairly simple. it involves selecting your room on time and making the payment, Thats it. This completely removes the hassle for searching for listings, having references and following up with the landlord.
2. Super Safe:
There is less risk involved with booking an on campus accommodation as the university itself is providing it. This is a major benefit from off campus as here the landlord is a stranger which increases the risk level. Even while living on campus you benefit from high security levels and a safer environment.
3. No Travel Required:
My personal favourite plus of living on campus is this one, there is no hassle of travel from your room to the university building. In my case its hardly a two minute walk! This also saves you the transportation cost which you would incur otherwise.
4. Personal Space:
Most of the On Campus options offer a personal room with varying situation in terms of washroom. The living room and kitchen are usually on shared basis. This allows you to have your own personal space which is a major benefit if you like me prefer to study at home.
5. Multi Cultural Environment:
When living on campus you are bound to have students from other nationalities as your neighbours and flatmates. This is a great experience in itself and you also tend to make a lot of friends from other courses which you wouldn't have met otherwise.
6. Events:
Usually all of the on campus students get to enjoy exclusive festivals and events meant solely for students living on campus. Events usually are like pizza and movie night, game night, Run with the RAs, Food Festivals etc.
Cons -
1. High Rent:
The major disadvantage of choosing on campus accommodation is that it comes at a higher price than what you would usually pay for off campus houses. Off campus student accommodations will end up costing the same.
2. Unknown Flatmates:
I didn't get an option to choose my flatmates and I believe most on campus residencies don't offer this option either. Unlike off campus where you can choose your flatmates n roommates beforehand.
3. Restrictions:
Living on campus always comes with a very strict set of rules which are outlined in the contract. This means no house party, non registered guest staying over, No smoking, noise level restrictions etc.
4. No space to have overnight guests:
This personally annoys me at times because you can't invite friends or family members to your place to stay over. In case of family visit a hotel room or Air bnb is an additional cost which you will incur specially for international students.
5. Lockout & Laundry Charges
Believe me this is one expense which every on campus student has incurred. It happens to me quite often that I leave my room key card which is also my University ID card in my room and get locked out. In order for your residential assistants to open your room with the master key you will be charged some minor amount which in my case is 3 Euros before Midnight or else 5 Euros. I also have to pay for laundry which comes up to about 4.5 Euros which includes one cycle of wash and one cycle in the dryer.
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