One question we get asked a lot by athletes and their parents, is how housing works at colleges in the US? One thing that almost all colleges and universities have in common, is that for your freshman year, schools will make it mandatory for you to live in campus. And that is a great thing! First of all, it makes your first few weeks of college much easier as you don’t have to worry about how to get to class in the morning and you do not need to allow for extra time when you are trying to make it to school or to practice. Besides that, it also means that you most likely will not need a car as you can comfortable walk everywhere. On top of that, your bigger schools will have on campus trolleys or buses that you can use as well. So living on campus definitely has its advantages and especially for sports such as tennis, swimming and soccer, a majority of your daily routine will be happening on campus. For those sports (as well as for certain other sports) your practice facilities should be located on campus, which means that as mentioned above, a short walk will get you there fairly quickly.
Depending on the school and campus, for your first year, you will either live in a dormitory or in apartments. Some universities might offer both and you might be able to stay in an apartment with a private bedroom if you are willing to pay a little bit more. Other schools might only have one option available, so either a dormitory or some sort of on-campus apartments. From our own experience and from the feedback that our athletes give us, most students tend to prefer staying in dorms as it gives you more of a college vibe and it will allow you to make friends faster. Either way, your college coach will always try to find the best possible living arrangement for you and the university will do everything they can to make your first year as enjoyable as possible.
Now, when it comes to the second year, most universities will start giving you the option of continuing to live on campus or to move to an apartment or house off campus. We have seen our clients do both, so there is really no right or wrong decision there. However, typically moving off campus and sharing an apartment or house with a friend or with several teammates will end up being considerably cheaper. So it is a good way to save some money as most colleges inflate the prices for their on-campus housing. So keep that in mind for your last three years of college, as most schools will give you the option to make your own decision about where you want to live.