Living Conditions - Essay Example

When students reach their senior year of high school, it is time for them to begin considering their many options following that day in the spring when they walk across the stage and receive their high school diploma.  Those who plan on remaining a student as they pursue a college education have a variety of choices to make, perhaps one of the most important being where they will live as they attend school.  There are many options available for college students including living at home, living in a single apartment or renting a house or apartment with a group of friends, each of which has its own advantages and disadvantages.

The general living conditions of each type of housing must be taken into account if a college student wants to be successful in achieving his or her goal.  It cannot be argued that living in a single apartment, with no one around to disturb you or interfere with your plans is a desirable situation.  The peace and quiet of your own space cannot be measured in concrete terms and being master of your own time and space is an important psychological element of growing up.  It is often a necessary step in distancing yourself from parents who are accustomed to treating you as a small child rather than recognizing your adult status.  There is also no one inviting their friends over and making loud noise during these times as might happen when living with friends.  However, there is also no one around to do your laundry for you or to cook dinner for you and make sure there is food in the house, all of which is normally taken care of when you live at home.  There is no one around either to help you with homework or difficulties or to keep you company when you’re alone as there would be with a number of roommates.

With no clear-cut answers provided in considering living conditions, it is also necessary to consider the likelihood of your college success in terms of available study time.  When you live on your own in a single apartment, you have all the time you could want to study in peace and quiet.  There are no parents coming in to bother you with other responsibilities and no friends bringing over other friends to encourage you to push the books aside.  At the same time, parents are often helpful in encouraging you to take time to study, which can make the difference between college success and college failure and friends can sometimes be very helpful in understanding work that you just don’t get. 

In considering both living conditions and study time, the concept of support emerges as an important element in determining your probable success in college.  When you live on your own in a single apartment, you often have to work in order to pay for that apartment.  You can probably pay for a room with roommates on just a part-time salary, but this will not work if you are trying to go to school full-time.  Parents will often allow you to stay at home, though, free of charge, which enables you to devote more time to both studying and playing while going to college.  Although you may miss out on some of the social activities, you would be more likely to pass your classes because of the support the parents provide in all three areas of consideration – living conditions, study time, and material support. 

As the three conditions of living conditions, study time, and material support are considered in terms of the best living arrangements while attending college, it seems the best option is to continue living with your parents if this is at all feasible.  The parents provide a free place to stay that doesn’t require you to work part or even full-time in order to have a roof over your head and food in your stomach.  They also provide a quiet place for you to study with no unexpected loud parties or an echoing space that distracts from its mere emptiness.  They can sometimes help with college work and can encourage you to get your work done before you play.  While they may sometimes get on your nerves, there is no single living situation that doesn’t have its drawbacks and the wise option is the one most calculated to give you ultimate success in pursuing your educational goals.