Why You Should Stay in Residence

I’ve heard tons of students talking about, whether on tours or when everyone was here for our Spring Open House. Now there are a few ways to look at this problem, firstly if you’re a student that lives outside of Ontario, or you are coming directly from high school you’re in luck because you will be guaranteed a bed in Residence. That being said, in both cases this guarantee applies only if the residence application and the $600 deposit are received by the June 2, 2014 deadline. Now if you’re not guaranteed a bed don’t panic because there are usually plenty of spots that open up, and there’s a good chance you’ll be in residence. If you wanted to take a virtual tour of the residences on campus, click here!

So, the big question: why should you stay in residence as opposed to living off-campus and finding a spot by yourself’ Well, for one living on residence takes away a lot of the pressure of moving away from home. From my experience, I thought that residence was a good stepping stone for living by yourself. For example, if you’re in a traditional style residence here at Brock you will have to buy into the meal plan which means that the incredible here at Brock will be making your meals for you, which means that you don’t have to worry about doing your own cooking. For me, it was a huge transition to go from living under Mom and Dad’s constant care to living by myself, so having a meal plan took off some of the pressure of having to go get groceries weekly, and then making meals in addition to dealing with the stresses of school, and the inevitable stresses of not having Mom and Dad around to help you out.

As well, as opposed to living off campus the residences become like a community, and there are always people looking out for you and your friends are right there when you need them which may not be the case if you live off campus! AND living in residence is fun!! There are tons of new people to meet and there are always things to do. In fact, one of the main requirements of the people working in residence is to plan activities and facilitate social interaction between people within their building. So, if you’re at all worried about making friends here at Brock, living in residence is pretty much a sure way to do it. Everyone in residence seems to be in about the same place in that they’re in a new place, and they don’t know anyone else. While that may seem intimidating, just remember that everyone else is feeling just as awkward, and wants to make friends just as much as you do. PLUS if you don’t have the fund$$ to live by yourself, many people find potential roommates in their first year. It makes it way more affordable to find a place in your budget when you have someone else to split the bill with. I’ve actually lived with one of the girls that I met in residence ever since that first year here at Brock!

Finally, you cannot get closer to campus than living on residence. All of your classes will be at most a 10 minute walk away, and if you’re anything like me you will love that. I can honestly tell you, I miss rolling out of bed at 9:50 for my 10am classes, you just can’t do that when you live off campus!