Social Interaction: On Campus vs Off Campus Life
When transitioning from being a high school student to being a college student there is a change in a student’s social life. In high school, we are used to seeing the same people daily for the next four years. In the case of being a college student, the social interaction can be even less depending on the route the student has taken when choosing their classes. New students that attend class on campus will find that there will always be diversity in each class they attend. The flow of each class is ever-changing with the degrees each person is pursuing. Over time students can find their comfort zone while in their first year at the college. A student’s social interaction can be affected by whether the student is to be on-campus or off-campus.
On-Campus Social Life
Off-Campus Social Life
Being on campus can make a first-year student feel some normalcy when just starting college. The number of classes a student has taken on is how they will create connections and gain a social life in the classroom. Attending college on-campus allows new students to make friends and have face-to-face conversations. On-campus, students have more availability to become a part of a club or group on the campus. When it comes to assignments like group work. It can be much easier to complete when you are face to face with your colleagues. There is much more face time with your colleagues to communicate about the work at hand. As a student progresses through college, they can be with a change of course formatting.
If or when the time arises for a student to make the change to an online format of learning. This can be by the student’s choice if they have found their comfort zone being off-campus. The social interaction of an off-campus student is a completely different realm. Off-campus students sometimes find it harder to communicate with other students and/or the instructor depending on the availability of the person they are trying to work with. Instructors usually will have times and days listed when they are available. As were other colleagues do not which can prove to be a difficult situation to deal with when there is a group project at hand. On the other hand, some people prefer to use a virtual face-to-face method which has been a game-changer for off-campus students.
New and Current Students
In theory, it is up to the student to find their niche and where they can grow and learn as a college student. There are always pros and cons to each learning environment whether it is on-campus or off-campus. If social interaction helps someone grow in college then maybe being on campus would be where they are most comfortable and able to focus. On the other hand, some people prefer to face challenges on their own sometimes and learn to adapt to change which then being off-campus might not be so bad. When considering class choices take time to think about how social interaction will affect you and your college experiences.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Saralin Andrews
Student Author - Spring 2021
