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Before jumping into the pros and cons, the first thing to do is to have an understanding of the different options. Although the variety of types and styles of accommodation is great, in general they can all be classified as university residences (also called halls of residence), halls of residence or shared apartments.

You may be asking yourself, but isn't a residence hall the same as a college? Some people use the two terms in the same way, but it is important to distinguish between them. They actually correspond to two very different types of student housing. Let's start with residence halls.

University Residences

You can think of university residences as a kind of hotel for students. You sleep there, and you can eat there (full board is typical). For doing your laundry there will be a laundry room, or there may even be a laundry service where you drop off a bag of dirty clothes and they return your clothes clean and ironed.

The quality of the rooms and facilities may vary between "royal palace" and "shack", but the main purpose of all is the same: to keep you dry and warm when it rains. They also feed you, and provide facilities for cleaning your clothes and personal hygiene (very important especially if you share a room!).

University Halls of Residence

A college is like a university residence... with an important difference. While the typical student residence is limited to giving you a place to live, study, eat and watch TV, a college is also concerned with giving you "a cultural and often moral formation that complements the knowledge acquired in the career", to use a typical phrase.

If you are thinking uff what a drag! let me translate "cultural and moral formation" in more palatable terms. I'm talking about: sports competitions between schools, cinema cycles, theatrical plays, artistic and musical competitions, famous speakers, solidarity actions, among a long etcetera. And all organized, directed and participated by the students themselves. That is, by YOU!

All these activities together with your classmates, besides being cool, tend to make a lot of people. If you talk to students who live or have lived in a community college (and I recommend that you do), you will find that many of them love their community college like their own mother. You might even get a tear in your eye when they reminisce about their time there. And I'm not kidding. Well, hardly at all.

Now that I've explained the big difference between residences and colleges, you should know that the contrast is not always so clear-cut. There are residences that have the traits of a college, and colleges that lack facilities or organizational impetus and may resemble a residence. But in general they are quite different.

At this point, even if you were clear that you would prefer to live, for example, in a nursing home... you would still have to decide which one. Is it all the same? Wrong answer. No two residences, let alone two colleges, are the same. If you want to get the most out of your college years - and you deserve it - you're going to have to spend some energy researching residence halls and colleges to identify where you'll be happiest.

If your college is small or has an isolated campus, you may not have many options. On the other hand, if you choose a large university in a big city, there may be so many residence halls to choose from that you won't know where to start. The Complutense University of Madrid, for example, has more than 40 colleges and universities. But when you start looking at them more closely, you'll discover that each one is different and some will appeal to you more than others.

Here are some criteria you might want to keep in mind. Everyone has their own priorities, and you'll probably have some criteria that we haven't included. Make your own list of criteria, and keep them in mind as you research the different options.

Mixed or male/female?

Both the residences and the colleges can be: mixed, male or female. They are neither worse nor better, just different. And if you think the single-sex ones are necessarily more boring than the mixed ones, you're wrong. Talk to people who live there and you'll see.

The rules of the game.

Different residences will have different rules designed to facilitate coexistence and ensure the safety of residents. Yes my friend, there are rules. But we are free creatures, and you are free to choose the place whose rules you agree with the most (or, if you're a pessimist, the ones that bother you the least). What kinds of rules are we talking about? Some examples:

• Noise. Some residences and colleges have quiet hours. It may affect you if you like to play loud music, or play the trumpet, or dance flamenco.


• Guests. There may be rules limiting who can enter the building or rooms, and at what times. There is everything from buildings where no one who doesn't live there can ever enter, to places where you can let anyone you want in at any time of the day or night.


• Curfew. Some places go a step further, and limit when you can come and go. Do you want the freedom to come and go at any time, or maybe you prefer the peace of mind of knowing that your roommate will never wake you up at 3 a.m. coming back from a bender?


• Your stuff. Some places put limitations on the things you can have in your room. Of course those firecrackers should be left at home, but that electric heater? Your El Fary poster?


• Smoking or not? If you don't smoke, maybe you prefer a residence where no one smokes.


• The facilities - do you like them? Are the bathrooms individual or communal? Is there Internet in every room? What sports facilities do you have?


• Life. If it's a community college, the "clique" factor will make the difference between a dorm room and a life-changing experience. Is it the kind that inspires tears of joy or yawns of indifference? Are the residents close-knit, or are they a bunch of wimps? The best way to find out is to talk to the people who live there.

Shared Apartment

If in a residence you are immersed in the student universe, living in a shared apartment is like living on the border between the University and the dreaded "real life". One of the big differences is that in an apartment no one sets the rules. Or rather, the rules are the ones you impose on yourself and the ones you agree on with your roommates.

It may seem very cool, but it is also a great responsibility. Nobody is going to tell you what time you have to be home, but nobody is going to do the dishes for you. And it's not always easy to agree with your roommates. In an apartment there are many more things to disagree about than in a room in a nursing home.

One of the most problematic issues is cleaning: Who is going to clean the toilet bowl, and how often (recommendation: at least once a week, whoever it is!)? Do dirty dishes have to be washed immediately, or is it better to leave them for "tomorrow"? Another source of discussion that often arises is money. In an apartment there are common expenses. In addition to the rent, there is the heating, the ADSL line, the cleaning products and more. It is enough that one person does not pay on time, contributes less, or consumes more than the others and the quarrel is served.

That said, if it were impossible to live happily in a shared apartment, nobody would do it. It does require a great deal of responsibility and commitment on your part, as well as on the part of your roommates. You will learn a lot about living together, perhaps more than in a dorm, and the independence it gives can be very rewarding. But I'll give you my personal opinion. If you can, especially the first year, live in a dorm or college.

You will have realized that college life goes far beyond classes. An important part of what you will take with you after 4 or 5 years in college are the friendships you have made, and the experiences you have had outside the classroom. Freshman year is when you will forge some of your best friendships. There may be no other time in your life when you will meet so many new people your age, all looking to make new friends.

In a residence hall you are right in the middle of this cauldron of people, ideas and energy. Living in an apartment doesn't mean you're left out either, but you lose that immediate and constant contact.

How to get the accommodation of your dreams

Start thinking now about what your ideal residence would look like. While researching different universities, also research the surrounding residences. Ask the university for information, and also ask them if they are only giving you information about their own dorms. Many times there will also be private residence halls that you may want to consider.

If you are able to visit the university, take the opportunity to talk to students and get their opinions about different housing options. Keep an open mind. Maybe a student will tell you about an experience or give you advice that will make you rethink some of your criteria.

Whatever your preference is, living in an apartment, residence or college, my best advice for the search is the same. Look early! in March if you can, but in any case before you do the Selectividad. Every dorm and college has limited space, and you wouldn't be the first person to find their ideal place, only to find out it's full. The best places are snapped up quickly, and if you wait too long you'll be stuck with an expensive apartment, a miserable apartment, or both.

Where you live will make a big difference in your first year of college. Take the time to make a good choice and you will be grateful when classes start.