I decided to live on campus because in high school my family wasn’t really financially stable, and I had to focus on working part time and going to school.  I took A.P. and honors courses so it was hard to stay focused on my grades and work. I knew I needed to solve the situation.  So when I was admitted to U of H I decided to look into living on campus.  I saw that SHRL offered Living Learning Communities and that the average GPA of residents was 3.2. Honestly, that sold me. I wanted to live somewhere that I could be academically focused and living on campus just made sense. 

After living on campus for almost a year I can say that my favorite part is the community. Everyone on my floor is always studying and working which has taught me that I can sit down and talk and do work at the same time.  My community has really helped me stay focused and pushed me to work hard.

If I hadn’t lived on campus I wouldn’t have met the Resident Advisor adjacent to my hall who helped mentor me and expand my horizons. When I came to college I wanted to only focus on my academics.  She helped teach me that it was ok for me to be a part of student groups and still focus on my school work.  If it wasn’t for her I wouldn’t have applied for the position I now have on the Frontier Fiesta Executive Board. I also probably wouldn’t have applied for the internship that I will be working this summer. And just yesterday I got the news that I was selected to be a Resident Advisor next year!

Overall, living on campus has exceeded my expectations.  When I got here I was aware of the stigma that UH is a commuter school and it’s difficult to have a social life. Living on campus has completely thrown that assumption out the window.  It has shown me that a social life is available here.

I would 100% recommend living on campus. For freshmen, college is a new environment and residential life provides you with a great support system. From RAs to peers, everything about living on campus motivates you to succeed.