Graduate students can choose to live in many different settings on or off campus in private or public housing. Even with these many options, some graduate students tend to live in private housing that is relatively close to campus, said Jason Webber, graduate student.

Webber transferred to the University from Illinois Central College in East Peoria and has never lived in a residence hall or a fraternity house. He has lived in apartments in Urbana and Champaign and said he prefers his current apartment in Champaign to living in Urbana.

“Champaign is much closer to Campustown, so it’s easier to get to,” Webber said.

He also said that he does not mind walking or taking the bus to his classes. He said he would drive, but he can never find any parking.

Bobby Gregg, graduate student, said that many MBA students tend to live on campus, but more than half of graduate students live off campus. He also said a fair number of graduate students reside in Capstone Quarters, 1901 N. Lincoln Ave., in Urbana. He also said that graduate students in Engineering prefer to be near their lab stations.

Gregg currently lives in Urbana near the Illinois Street Residence Halls and he said he prefers the quieter atmosphere of his current residence to residence hall and fraternity life at the University of California in Berkeley, where he spent his undergraduate years.

“Now that I have my routine, I prefer to be on my own,” Gregg said.

Gregg said that he wishes he had gone into residence halls his freshman graduate year at the University so he could have gotten to know more people, but he said he enjoys his current home.

“I like the idea of still being in walking distance (of the Quad),” Gregg said.

Many of the students do not mind the level of sound either.

Jeff Skender, graduate student, lived in the Pennsylvania Avenue Residence Halls his freshman year and lived in a fraternity house his sophomore and junior years. He currently lives in Champaign with two friends and said he enjoys not having a resident advisor around. To avoid possible late-night distractions, he said he studies during the day so he can go out at night. Any loud parties usually do not affect him anyway, but it depends on the person, he said.