Results
Cost of Living
Cost of living was one of the themes that emerged from the focus group discussions. It was evident from the discussions that living off-campus had financial implications for the participants in the study. This was the first theme that emerged from the discussions. Contrary to the popular opinion that living off campus meant spending more, a number of participants indicated that it was financially cheaper to live off campus than living on-campus (Jacoby, 2015). When the moderator asked how the participants felt their residential proximity had affected their student life at UCI, Participant 4 indicated that it was financially cheaper for him to live off-campus than living on campus. Participant 4 stated “For my situation I live a mile and a half away from campus and hence financially it’s cheaper than living like directly on campus.” The participant further stated that the further one lived from campus, the more money one is likely to “save on rent and everything.” Participant further elaborated by stating that he lived with four other people and hence was able to split his rent and other living expenses. Participant 5 shared similar sentiments with Participant 4 by indicating that it was financially cheaper due to the fact that he shared a room. For Participant 3, living off-campus was relatively cheaper since she lived with the parents. She stated “And financially, because I live at home with my parents, it’s cheaper relatively cheaper as opposed to live on campus”.
However, the situation was not the same for everyone as the other participants indicated it was expensive living off-campus (Darling 2015; Jacobi, 2015). For Participant 6, the situation was much different as s/he felt like s/he was spending more living off-campus than living on-campus. The participant stated “Cause for me I’m living like probably a mile away too but cause seems that living by myself so the rent is not actually you know less than living on campus.” When asked by the moderator whether he was spending more money, he indicated that he actually spent more living off-campus. Participant 2 also indicated that she spent more money due to the fact that she lived by herself. When asked by the moderator to give a reason why she felt she spent more money off-campus than she could be on-campus, she responded by stating “Oh because I live by myself. so it is definitely like spend more money, yeah.”
There were also concerns related to the expensive costs of parking the students who lived off-campus had to part with. This was a concern that was raised by Participant 5. He stated that “a parking pass cause that can get expensive too.” This prompted the moderator to ask the question “Do the rest of you guys feel like you’re paying a lot in parking as well?” There was a resounding “Yes, Yes” answer from multiple participants. In terms of parking passes, tickets and gas among other factors, multiple participants felt like they were spending more than the students who lived on-campus. It was only Participant 3 that indicated that she spent less because she had factored in the parking costs before deciding to live off-campus.
When asked of their overall perception about the costs of living off-campus as compared to living on-campus, Participant 6 felt like the people who lived off-campus spend more than their counterparts living on-campus. The participant pointed out the utility costs that the students living off-campus had to pay as compared to the students living on campus who do not incur them. The participant pointed out that “all the utility is paid for by the school.” This concern prompted the moderator to ask the participants on the other aspects apart from rent that made living off-campus expensive. Participant 6 indicated that utilities were the sole reason why living off-campus could be more expensive. For Participant 5, he stated that he did not incur high utility costs because he shared them with his roommate. Participant 5 stated “I split my utilities with my roommate so I’m really not paying that much in utilities.” Further, the moderator asked the opinion of the participants on whether they thought the food costs were higher or less than those students living on-campus. Participant three indicated that it depended on the situation as sometimes she had to eat out rather than go back to her apartment to eat. Participant 5 shared similar sentiments by indicating that it depended on the situation. Participant 5 stated “I think people that well it depends on your situation because like for you guys you live alone so that’s pretty expensive but I think like for me, I share a room and I think I’m paying a less amount than someone that shares a room on campus”. He held the view that for people who lived alone; their food costs were pretty expensive as compared to those that shared a room.
Friendships and Student Engagement
Friendship and student engagement was another prominent topic that emerged from the focus group discussions (Smith & Weiten, 2001). The moderator asked the participants “Would you guys say that you guys have a lot of friends on campus?” Participants 6 and 3 indicated that they had no friends on campus. Participant 4, on the hand, indicated that it depended on the situation and what she was involved with in campus. She indicated that is the way of how she has her friends. Additionally, participant 4 indicated that she a mix of friends as some of her friends lived off-campus, even further than where she lived. This prompted the moderator to ask the question of how they felt distance affected their willingness to get involved in the school activities. Participant 5 and 6 indicated that they felt distance affected their willingness to get involved. Participant 4 stated that she did not feel that distance affected her willingness get involved since she had lived both on campus and off-campus. She stated “So I was able to meet friends and stuff just because I was there on campus and I’ve gotten involved and because of that. So now, now that I live at home it’s not too much of an issue just because I get to talk to them and see them when I do meet up with them.” However, she indicated that if she had not lived on campus, her “circle of friends would have been a lot less” than it was at the moment.
Further, the moderator posed the question “are any of you guys in any organizations or clubs on campus?” Participant 5 indicated that he was not a member of any organization or club on campus. Participant 3, on the other hand indicated that she was in a community service organization. Participant 6 stated that “I use to be in uh TSA - Taiwanese Student Association.” This prompted the moderator to inquire further by asking her the question “Use to be? So you’re not in it anymore?” To that question, Participant 6 stated that she was not in the club anymore and had only been in the club for only a month. Further, she indicated that she was no longer involved with the club and was not friends with members of the club. Participant 2 indicated that she did not join the clubs Hong Kong Su and TSA, but she is still associated with the club and talks to the members. Participant 2 indicated that one of her friends brings her club activities on her regular basis and hence she can be able to know someone and get involved. For Participant 4, the situation was very different as he was active in clubs and organizations. He stated “I’m active in Liwanag Filipino Catholic Community and so I’ve been active since my freshman year.” Participant 4 had not only been a member of the organization for four years but also indicated that he had a lot of social ties with the organization.
In pursuing the topic of friendship and student engagement further, the moderator asked the participants whether they felt they could make good friends during lectures. This question was met with mixed responses from the participants. Participant 2 indicated “Yes,” Participant 5 “Maybe” and Participant 3 “Kinda.” For Participant 5, he indicated that he worked full time and hence this prevented him from getting involved much in classroom activities. However, he indicated that he has “met people in class before.” For Participant 3, she indicated that it depended on the situation as she sometimes takes classes that her friends do not take. Also, she indicated that she likes studying all by herself to avoid the constant distractions. Further, she indicated that during group projects, she will talk to the other students but will not hang out with them after such projects.
The moderator further asked the question “Does anyone else feel strongly about not or meeting a lot of friends in classes?” In his response to the question, Participant 4 stated “I feel like um the people I meet in class are just for class like if it’s a group project or anything. Then after that quarter I never talk to them or see them again. Additionally, he indicated that were it not for his involvement in the Catholic community, he would not have a solid friendship. Picking on Participant 4’s response, the moderator asked whether friendships made in class ended with the class. All participants agreed except for Participant 2 who indicated that class presented her with the only chance to make friends. She stated “I do not live in campus so I only have chance to make friends in class so maybe just yeah.” With regard to engagement in group activities, all participants indicated that they had to put in extra effort to be involved. This was because of the distance involved and the time constraints.
Academic Performance
Academic performance is another prominent theme in relation to residential proximity and student life (Lopez & Wodtke, 2010). The moderator sought to find out whether the participants felt their residential proximity affected their grades, especially study habits. Participant 5 stated that studying has become harder given that he now lives further from the campus. As compared to when he lived close to campus, he now has to travel longer to the library to study when distracted at home. Participant 3, on the other hand, indicated that she tends to be more focused when she drives to school and also allocates more time for studying. She stated “I feel like I focus more and like I tend to allocate more time.” Participant 6 also shared a similar opinion by stating “I like to just study at home.” Participant 2 indicated she did not like studying in the library because of the quietness that would make her feel nervous. Participant 4 stated that he felt studying habits on campus were worse than off-campus given the many distractions from hall mates and friends among others. He indicated that when he lived on campus, he was frequently distracted but now that he is off campus, his study habits have gotten better.
References
Darling, R. A. (2015). Creating an Institutional Academic Advising Culture That Supports Commuter Student Success. New Directions for Student Services, 2015, 150, 87-96.
Jacoby, B. (2015). Enhancing Commuter Student Success: What's Theory Got to Do With It?. New Directions for Student Services, 2015, 150, 3-12.
López, T. R., & Wodtke, G. (2010). College Residence and Academic Performance: Who Benefits From Living on Campus?. Urban Education, 45, 4, 506-532.
Smith, R. A., & Weiten, W. (2001). Instructor's resource manual for Wayne Weiten's Psychology, themes & variations, Fifth edition. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Thomson Learni
