Miss Kaelie asked: "What exactly are the dorms like?  Are they really better than being off-campus and commuting?"

My answer...Well, let me start with the latter.  I really believe that being on campus is better than staying off-campus, and this is not even just a plug for USC Housing.  I really think it's the better option of the two because on-campus housing is very convenient for multiple reasons. 

One, you only have to pay once in the beginning of the semester while you are paying your tuition fees.  This means that you will not have to worry and fuss over monthly bills for rent and utilities.  No missed payments!  How horrible would it be if you forget because you get too busy with exams, papers, and what nots.  YIKES!

Two, convenience also comes with regards to your schedule.  If you're unlucky and your classes are all spread out with big gaps, if you live on campus you can easily just go back to your dorm and do things like homework, hang out, grab lunch, etc.  If you live off-campus, you are even more unlucky, and you will be forced to find a place in the University to spend your time because going back to your place will require driving time, gas, and parking space.  (I'll talk about the whole driving issue in a sec.)  For most of my off-campus friends, they try to get in touch with me so that they can stay in my dorm while waiting for class because the only places they can really otherwise go to would be the library (who can spend more than a couple of hours there unless you have exams?!), the Russell House (which can be quite loud when there are lots of things going on), or the Horseshoe (if you're luck on a nice day, it's quite nice but what about winter and those rainy spring days?!).  Really, you can go about your daily business much easier when you live on-campus.

Three, a continuation about the whole scheduling issue...It's much easier to join organizations when you live on-campus.  Not that there's a preference to students who are on-campus but more so on the fact that it's much easier to attend meetings, events, and functions that are school-related when you are already here.  Most weekly meetings take place in the Russell House building around 5-7PM.  Generally by that time, most classes are over and students are pretty much ready to just kick it.  If you're living off-campus and you've already gone back to your place after your morning/afternoon classes, it's such a hassle to come back to campus for an hour of meeting.  There are still lots of off-campus students that do join extracurricular activities.  Being off-campus has not stopped anyone from being involved; it is, however, just a little bit more inconvenient.  This is the main reason most universities require freshmen to live on-campus on their first year.  It gets first year students to be more engaged at an earlier stage.  It's been shown that those who begin extracurricular activities early in their college career tend to have better networking skills!

Last but definitely not least: THE DRIVING ISSUE.  Being off-campus means that you definitely need a car (although there are some apartment complexes that provide shuttles).  You'll have to calculate in driving time, which does not only mean getting to campus from your apartment but also possible city traffic AND finding a parking space.  Parking spaces can be tricky on campus since it is right in the middle of the city.  Sometimes students have to park in the Coliseum parking lot which is quite a walk to the center of campus.  If you're already on campus, you won't have to worry about this.  I'm not going to lie, but on some days, I wake up about 10 minutes before a class.  I brush my teeth, comb my hair, and get some clean clothes.  I hope to God that I look decent, and well walk on over to class.  Now, from Preston to PSC, which is a couple of blocks over, I can do all of that getting ready and get to class still on time within those 10 minutes.  Try that for on-campus housing!

There are perks to living off-campus (like your own room, your own visitation hours, a kitchen, etc.), but the perks to living on-campus has made it quite the attractive choice for me.  I've enjoyed living on campus for these two years, and will be doing so again next year (and probably until I graduate!)

NOW...as to the other question...What are dorms like?  Can I make this one into a cliffhanger for now, guys?  I promise to get on this tomorrow or Friday.  I have to get ready for a leadership retreat, which I'll also write about in the next few days.  It's another great community service and leadership opportunity on campus!  I hope this answers some of y'alls concern about deciding to live on or off-campus.

Well, catch y'all later on the flipside, Gamecocks!