There is that dilemma that underclassmen have to face when mapping out the rest of their college years: where are they going to live next year, and what are they going to eat?

Alex Hristov, senior in LAS and a resident advisor at Weston, decided to stay in the residence halls throughout his entire college career.

“My RA just made (the residence halls) a very welcoming place and it just felt like home,” he said. “After that I decided to become an RA, just to help freshmen have a good experience and have as much fun as I did during my freshman year.”

One of the main challenges that face upperclassmen living in the dorms, though, is being in a room full of people that are all younger than you.

“It’s a little strange sometimes,” said Hristov, “because in Ikenberry Commons, pretty much everybody is a freshman … When you’re a senior, it’s very apparent who’s a freshman and who’s not, and sometimes it makes me feel really old.”

Other university students choose an alternative living situation.

Annie Kim, junior in Engineering, said she enjoyed living in the residence halls for her freshman year, but decided to live in an apartment for her sophomore and junior years.

“At the dorms,” Kim said, “the RAs are watching what you do during the night and if you have friends over. In your apartment, you can do whatever you want.”

Some students that tried apartment living, however, decided to go back to living in the residence halls.

Dennis Ly, junior in Business, transferred to an apartment for his sophomore year, but is now currently living at PAR.

“It’s just a little more convenient for me right now, because I’m so busy with classes and interviews and applications,” Ly said. “And it’s nice to just be able to go downstairs and grab whatever I want to eat.”

Hristov believes that students don’t learn to appreciate the benefits of living in a residence hall until they’ve lived in an apartment.

“Living in the residence hall, everything is taken care of,” Hristov said. “When I was subleasing this summer, it was just a shell-shock for me, because there were all these bills and the power and the electric and cable and everything.”

With pros and cons to dorm living, each student has priorities to sort through when finding their ideal living situation.