#LiveLifeOn is a Tag that the school uses to promote living on campus. So, the school wants you to stay on campus, but what does it have to offer?
Jessica Bently, the coordinator in Residence Life, brought up the studies that show students living on campus tend to have higher GPAs and complete their degrees and graduate with more frequency. Also, the accessibility to the community, if you are on campus, it is easier to get involved in everything that is going on.
There are three housing options that the school offers. First, traditional residence halls, this includes Sweetland Hall, Foundation Residence Apartments (FRA) and finally Living and Learning Communities (LLC).
Traditional halls are the ones seen around the courtyards on campus. The different room options are doubles, a designed single, and a double as a single. This being the cheapest option with the price ranging from $2,626-$3,867 per semester. They have public restrooms and heat in the rooms.
Kait Sharpe, a freshman who lives in a designed single said, “Traditional dorms are kind of outdated although they are clean and pretty quiet.”
A more recent traditional hall is Sweetland which is suite-like but like the other traditional halls you can get a single suite that only has one suitemate or a double which has 4 suitemates. The complex has two elevators, vending with heat and air in the rooms. Leaving the price at $3,169-$4,082 per semester.
A fourth year who lives in Sweetland shared their opinion on this hall saying Sweetland was pleasant the first two or three years but the last year they saw many annoyances among them being laundry theft and people picking on emotional support animals. They said the room conditions are clean.
Living and Learning Centers (LLCs) share the floor plans and price range of traditional halls but are more exclusive as they group students with similar interests. There are centers for culinology and fine arts among many others. Jess Bently said, “Both the department relationship and the programming provides additional learning opportunities outside of the classroom.” Meaning that there are more ways to get involved with people in your major field while learning. Jess also reported that there tends to be more study groups formed in LLC’s, with the upper classman taking on tutor-like roles. She ended with saying, “An LLC can provide a strong sense of community.”
A second-year student who lives in Lincoln Center, the fine arts house, said “I like how it is reasonably peaceful and calm with the ability to do your own thing but it’s nice to have to the people around to talk to.”
Finally, the Foundation Residence Apartments (FRA). Can be found across the road from the campus. It has over 30 2-to-4-bedroom apartments with room for 141 students. This complex displays a wide selection of amenities including a fully furnished kitchen, living room and bedrooms. It also has internet and laundry facilities. For these rooms, it costs $3,258 per semester.
Alec Ashby, who is a third year, about the conditions of the FRAs, of which he lived in his second year. He said, “The rooms were spacious and very isolated” and that the AC was nice. Yet the building had its setbacks; according to him it was expensive, loud and often smelled.
SMSU offers a wide range of living arrangements and accommodations for students who are encouraged to check them out to find a space best for them.
