Plenty of studies have shown that students who live on campus tend to do
slightly better academically. But a recent study out of Indiana
University-Purdue University Indianapolis found that not only did
on-campus students do significantly better academically, but that living
on campus was a big reason why they did better.
“The big question is causation. Does living in the dorms cause you to do
better? Previous studies were just looking at those that live in the
dorms versus those that don’t,” explains Dr. James Murray, who
co-authored the study with Dr. Pedro De Araujo. “The problem is that
students that care more about school may be more likely to want to live
at school. So, they may perform better, because they happen to be the
better students anyway. But we actually found that living on campus
caused students to do better, at least in terms of GPA.”
The researchers also found that campus life had a positive effect even
after the student moved out of the dorms. “Students who once lived on
campus were more likely to study with their peers after they moved off
campus, but not necessarily while they lived on campus,” explains
Murray. “So, if you’re a freshman living on campus, you’re not more
likely to study with your classmates, but you formed those relationships
in the early years and were able to make use of them later.”
