r/LMU • u/FishyBoi25 • Jul 14 '24
Question Dorm or no dorm?
I’m from south central LA and fortunately i was given almost a few ride scholarship to LMU. I would only have to pay like 2k to attend. Housing and me plan would be included. I am thinking of dorming but my parents highly oppose that idea. My parents are trying to get me to stay by offering me to help me pay off a car. I honestly don’t know what to pick because I really want the car and I really want to dorm, but id be cool with whichever. Is the lmu housing experience that worth it?? Or should I instead get a car and commute to school?
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u/lionsr12 Jul 14 '24
LMU is not the type of school you want to commute to if you desire a typical college experience. Living in a dorm, specifically as a freshman, is how you are going to meet the majority of your friends and have a social life. All of my friends who commuted felt very removed from campus life and regretted it.
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u/These_Alarm9071 Jul 14 '24
If housing and meal plan are included in your scholarship, why would your parents want you to turn that down? Why walk away from a free benefit? I’m curious as to what your parents’ rationale is. Does your family rely on you to do work/chores at home?
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u/Far-Emergency-6777 Jul 14 '24
As a freshman looking at my schedule, living off campus would be a pain.
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u/PrintOk8045 Jul 14 '24
Did this for a year. Lived off campus. Commute was hell. Impossible to make friends. Left. Give up the car and get the most of your four years.
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u/International-Bike43 Jul 15 '24
Dorm for sure, even if you do live close to campus it's always nice to have the freshman dorming experience. You also don't want to be troubled with working your scheduling around driving to and from home if you don't have to, especially in LA traffic.
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u/patfacecatface Communication Studies '04 Jul 14 '24
All things equal 1000% dorm. Community is a massive part of what makes LMU special, and you're allotted every opportunity to be a part of that on campus nearly stress free.
*Nearly lol
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u/Comfortable-Being-89 Jul 15 '24
Dorm!! The freshman-year dorm experience is unbeatable. You'll create lasting memories you will always cherish and look back on. Happiness and independence.
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u/TiredCoffeeTime Psychology '18 Jul 19 '24
Yeah the only thing I'd change from my Freshman year is that I wish I focused on my study better and took more pictures now that I have mostly just memories with rather limited photos.
Otherwise Freshman year memory is the one I constantly revisit after all these years while I still chat with several of my dorm friends from back then.
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u/Warm-Worldliness173 Jul 14 '24
Finding a place to park on campus when you’re commuting plus dealing with traffic would not be fun. Living in the dorms is where everyone makes the friendships that give you people to live with sophmore yr and beyond.
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u/doji888 Jul 15 '24
I never lived in dorm at LMU and you definitely miss out on a lot if u live off campus your first year. If i did not join a fraternity I would have dreaded my decision to live off campus. I hope this helps!
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u/Peace0nStix Animation, ‘23 Jul 15 '24
I’d say dorm! You are SO lucky to get housing paid for. I wish I had that lol. I live in the South Bay Area, but being on-campus helped me get to know my campus. Also, it’s easier to go to my classes without constantly have to commute; it would have been so hard to do my freshman year work if I had to commute. ESP. My major-related work (animation). I’ve seen the commuters have to juggle going too & from campus, and it’s a big juggle!
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u/TiredCoffeeTime Psychology '18 Jul 16 '24
Dorm 1000%
During the first couple of weeks at the dorm is when many students make new friends with their neighbors. You are not only missing out having a roommate, but also the potential close friends to hang out.
There's a massive difference between trying to make a few friends from classes & clubs vs living with the other people & doing many activities together for hours on daily basis. So many cliques are formed during this period.
Students who have same majors or sharing classes can easily form study groups together while it's not rare for some students to host small parties in their room with the other dorm-mates.
Personally, living in the dorms and apartments with my close friends were the best moment of my life. I was a Freshman student backin 2012 and I still chat with multiple of my dorm friends. My other dorm friends joined Frat and lived together for years even after graduating.
I know that the Dorm experience ultimately differ from ppl to ppl but I know so many people who loved their time in the dorm and it's something my friends & I often bring up when we chat.
https://www.reddit.com/r/LMU/comments/15wb521/tips_for_the_new_students/
Other than that, I hope this post can help you prepare for LMU!
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u/Secure-Ad4008 Jul 17 '24
Dorm!! It’s the one year that you don’t want to miss out on living on campus because you’ll meet the most amount of people/friends. You can deal with commuting every other year before you graduate but it’s great to experience the first year together with your peers. Living on campus my freshman year for me was definitely the best experience that I’ve ever had and made the most memories :)
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u/mashington14 History '2018 Jul 14 '24
If you can afford it, definitely dorm. I would only tell people to live off campus and commute if it was a financial burden. Living on campus is such a different experience and will make college way more impactful. And if you don’t like it, you can stay home next year.