Con: Disconnected from the social scene
Living in a rental can complicate meeting up with friends or keeping abreast of events and social functions on campus.
"It's a lot harder to hang out with my friends than walking down the hall and knocking on their doors," says Ms. Torres. She adds that the dorms are plastered with fliers about parties that she may miss out on.
Jeff Brunello, a senior at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, Calif., agrees that when you live off campus, you don't spend as much time at school, mingling with friends. However, social-networking Web sites like Facebook help keep him connected with the college social scene, he says.