by Vivian Chang, staff reporter

College – the universal word that causes stress for many teens all over the world. One of the big questions you need to ask yourself when choosing what college to go to is “Should I stay home or should I dorm there?”  

Although dorming at college is costly, you learn how to be more independent, whereas when you stay home, you tend to be more dependent on your parents. But, when you stay at home you get a break from school and you are not surrounded by school related matters all the time.

Here are five reasons why going away for college is a good thing:

You learn how to be more independent. You have to be independent this day in age because you are not always going to have someone to rely on. In college, no one is going to be watching over you like a little kid, making sure that you finish your homework. In college, you are really on your own, which will really benefit you in the long run because one day you will end up living by yourself and maybe even with a family of your own.

Your own rules. When you are away at college, and mom and dad are back at home, you get to make your own rules because no one is going to tell you “No”. You can do whatever you want whenever you want.

Meet new people. Obviously, you can meet people wherever you go, but at college it is different. At college, it’s a slumber party every night. You will have a sister or brother, who you can play video games with or go out to eat with. There are also sororities and fraternities that you can join that will help you to become more social and expand your social life.

Sororities are for girls and fraternities are for boys, but they are both club-like organizations. Each sorority and fraternity has their own Greek name. You have the option of living with your sorority or fraternity and then everyone in the sorority or fraternity can attend parties together. It’s like home away from home.

Open your eyes. At home, you don’t see a lot of things because you are sheltered by your parents. As a college student, you need to do everything yourself. You don’t really realize all the things that your parents do for you until they are not there to do it for you anymore. In college, you have to cook for yourself, and even do your own laundry.

Have fun. College parties are way crazier than high school parties. Attending a high school party is a good experience but college parties are stereotypically, over the top. Having fun does not only mean attending college parties. It can be a girls’ or boys’ night out, where you and your friends go out and eat or just go to the mall and hang out there.

“You’ll be closer to your family; there’s less travel time; and it’s usually less expensive, although when you dorm you aren’t staying in the same state. You grow up and become more independent faster,” senior Amanda Rosenblatt said.

There are so many opportunities that dorming provides, such as expanding your social life, and learning to be dependent on yourself. These are all things that will benefit you in the long run.