Living in Dormitories or Renting Apartments

Emma Li & Vicky Yang        

Canada 3

Living in dormitories or renting apartments

Marx once said “the human creates the environment, the environment also creates the human.”(Berlin, 1939, p.4)  It shows that environment influence the development of people.  In college life, students have choices to decide which living environment to live in.  Actually, from the aspects of academic record, character building and security, living in dormitories is better than renting apartments.

Firstly, the higher academic record is an example why students choose dormitories instead of apartments.  If students choose to live in dormitories, their roommates will encourage them to study hard.  There is a saying goes, “keep good men company, and you shall be the number.” Apparently, an excellent roommate will stimulate students to chase better grades.  Besides, in the discussions with roommates, students can make progress quickly.  Meanwhile, it’s convenient to study in the school library for students who live in the dormitories.  The library can provide a positive study atmosphere.  On the contrary, if a student chooses to rent an apartment, without setting an example by roommates, it’s easy for students to be addicted to entertainment and indulge in comfortable life.  Also if students have some questions, no one can give them guidance and advice.  Although students who rent apartments can go to the public library, there are most people read extra-curricular books, and it owns less help on students’ academic record.

Secondly, the better character building is another instance why students should live in the dormitories.  For dormitories, with campus buildings only a short walk away, students can set their morning alarms a little later and take their time getting classes.  By this way, it’s easy for students to form a good sense of time.  Living in the dormitories is also an excellent way to help students to manage their cost.  The research from the website shows that the cost of living in dormitories is quite low because the students can use electricity and water for free. (Dorm vs. apartment: Which should you choose, 2015).  It is the reason why the students living in dormitories rarely waste of money.  Dormitory life also provides more campus social opportunities and improves the ability of interpersonal communication.  Meeting new people is also a great way for fresher men to get over homesickness.  As for apartments, the surrounding of the apartments such as supermarkets and parks will cause students to waste a lot of time.  Although the atmosphere is comfortable, the cost of living is really high compared with living in dormitories.  Notably, the meaning of living alone for a long time is giving up physical contact with almost every relationship which causes the students to feel lonely.

Last but not least, security is an important element why students choose dormitories but not apartments.  The dormitories have less security problems because the schools are responsible for their dormitories.  Besides, the rules schools set are strict like the restraint of time students for the students to return to dormitories.  The people who live with students in the dormitories are all their schoolmates, so they don’t need to worry about the threat from them.  Moreover, high power electrical equipment such as washing machines and electric hair drivers are forbade in the dormitories.  As a result, the probability of fire disaster is greatly reduced.  In contrast, most apartments, especially in China, lack management, and all problems should be solved by lodgers.  The liquidity of the neighbors is also a big problem which students are unsure about if the neighbors may threaten their property safety.  Students should also worry about the fire disaster from the incorrect use of the electrical equipment.