On-Campus Versus Off-Campus at James Cook University — Townsville.
Introduction
You are about to come to James Cook University (or any other universities) for the first time and you are not sure where to stay. The question is, should I go on-campus or should I go off-campus? And if I do, how long should I stay for? The same can be applied to international students who are coming on an exchange or to mature students who may have done a degree somewhere else.
Before you choose on/off-campus you need to know and think of a few things. I hope I will be able to enlighten you a little on your decisions, but your experience varies greatly as it is more about how you make the most of it and the way you cope in an environment. Sometimes you get lucky and everything suits you and other times it may not be for you. Unfortunately, you won’t know until you try but that’s part of the experience.
On-Campus / College
Being on campus is also known as being in residence or “res”. At James Cook University Townsville campus there are five on-campus college. Three belongs to JCU and two are affiliated colleges. Update: it has been a while so the residences may have changed.
What is is about
At JCU Townsville there five on-campus accommodation options which house up to 1,200 students. Living on-campus can be fun and JCU definitely offers a few activities throughout your stays such as social and cultural activities, orientation activities, block functions, concerts, valedictory balls, international food nights and themed events. These events depend on how much you want to get involved and what you want to do.
There is support from the Residential Assistant (RA) who are senior students that have past experience of being on-campus and their role is to help out whenever they can. About 12 to 20 students have 1 RA which is a pretty good ratio, and the RAs are supported by the Senior RAs and the head of the college. The head of the college is a person that is in charge of everything about that college.
All on-campus accommodation have similarities and differences so do look it up and make sure you choose the college that suits you the most. The colleges are in high demand so do apply early if you want to be part of it. Have a look at what they offer and how much it cost. They are all at walking distances to any lecture theatres, so distance is not a problem.
Types of On-campus / College
JCU Halls of Residence
On-campus accommodation provides a safe environment and brings social skills development by living with other people. They are three different halls that are slightly different from one another but all of them have strong support structures that tick all the boxes. For example, these are catering to all dietary requirements, security, quiet areas and female-only floors/units. Here are the JCU halls of residence:
University Hall (I went to this one but it burnt down so who knows what is there anymore),
George Roberts Hall,
Rotary International House.
Affiliated Colleges
There are two Affiliated Colleges which are located on the grounds of JCU. Again, they provide strong support structures and make sure that there is a supportive environment for any student’s needs.
Saints Catholic College,
John Flynn College.
Disclaimer: some these accommodations may not be available anymore for example University Hall had a fire accident (no students were harmed) and hence the main building may not be available. Saint Marks College shut down a few years ago and may or may not come back.
Advantages and Disadvantages of living On-campus
It is difficult to classify what is advantageous or not. Sometimes the same thing can be advantageous and disadvantageous depending on the person. This varies a lot between individuals.
Advantage
Easy life: there is a pretty chilled and slow vibe, and everybody is very friendly.
Food availability (unless if you live at Rotary International House), you don’t have to cook but that may be a disadvantage. There is also a wide range of variety of food type. This is pretty easy as all you have to do is line up for your food and sit down. You don’t need to do dishes or prepare anything which may save you a lot of time.
Meeting new friends: easy to make friends and I recommend to go on-campus if this will be your first year or your first time at JCU.
Easy to integrate with lots of spirit for sports or any on-campus activities. Although, this may not be totally true. My college really tried with the spirit, but I felt most of the time it fell short.
Distance is very close to your course and to library as well as the little IGA supermarket. There is also a bus stop that is pretty near (about 100 meters away from the college).
The rooms are nice and comfortable, and they may be cleaners if it is available. They usually come every 2 weeks, but the job is not very well done.
You can get/share a lot of information more easily about your course as there is a higher percentage of people that are in your course that would be living with you.
Lots of internationals especially University Hall which is nice if you want to discover different cultures.
Disadvantage
Food: the food can repeat itself really quickly and some of my friends who were vegetarians had a really bad time eating the food as for them it barely changed. Most vegetarians and vegans moved off because of that reason. After 1 year I also had enough. It did start great at the beginning of the year but degraded throughout the year.
It is a lot more expansive than living off-campus.
Some residence really tries with the spirit but it falls short such as University Hall. There was a poor participation ratio and I felt there was a huge drinking culture. Yes, I am aware universities have a drinking culture. At least there was no bullying or pressure for me to drink alcohol and mind you I like to socialise.
Sometimes it feels like there are always rules or too many rules and less freedom. This is important as some people live like animals and unfortunately, a lot of rules needs to be put in place. At the end it becomes tedious.
Noise: depends on where you are but some people can be very noisy and makes learning difficult. There is always the library or you can find other quiet places.
Bullying or intimidation can occur and sexual harassment could happen, unfortunately being at university these things can happen. Learn the signs, how to prevent it and report it.
Being on-campus can be too much distraction to some students.
The community can be seen as a disadvantage if you struggle to integrate or if there is drama (depends on you).
My say for On-campus / College
I enjoyed it and I had a good time. I made friends and I got involved in sports. The food was good and then tolerable later during the year. I got helped from second-year medical students and I had no problem living there. I am glad I went to college for my first year but I am equally glad to have left college.
Off Campus
Also known as “digs”. A lot of students move to the Douglas suburbs as it is walking distance to the university. I use my bicycle as it is a really enjoyable ride to the university.
What is is about
Living in a house, flat or anything else that is outside of campus, hence the term being off-campus. There is a lot of disadvantage and advantages. Again, these experiences are really based on you and it is difficult to gauge what is an advantage/disadvantage to you as my experience may be very different.
A golden rule: choose your mate wisely. A best/good friend does not necessarily mean a good housemate. Do you like cleanliness and order (like me)? Others may not be, actually you will be astounded how people can live and behave in a home. I also learnt that girls can live like animals which ruined my innocent perception about them.
A few things to note. My friend had to take her landlord to court as he was not giving back her bond (description of words below). A few landlords will try to exploit you and use the contract against you but that is where, for 50 Australian dollars, Queensland advocacy or law firms can help you. So, do not be scared or shy and fight back when something is wrong! The outcome of the law case? She won and got her whole bond back and he did not even show up to the judge.
Landlord: the person lending you the house/flat.
Tenant: that is you, the person living there and renting.
Rent: money you owe per week/fortnight/months to live at the house or flat (or wherever).
Bond: generally, it is about 1 month’s worth of rent. It is used if anything goes missing or is broken. Be careful as it may be taken away if your housemates break something or do not clean the house at the end of the year (a fee would be charged but you might get 90% of your bond back). It is basically a deposit for an “in case scenario”.
Read the contract very carefully and very slowly. If you are unsure ask your parents or a lawyer! Most of the time all is fine and well.
Advantages and Disadvantages of living Off-campus
Advantage
There are fewer rules and more freedom.
A lot less expansive.
You get to choose your housemates and spend time with your friends. For example, I know a friend who is sharing a house with a total of 3 tenants, all from nursing and they are having a wonderful time.
You get to make your own food. This is especially important for vegans and vegetarians as they have the food they want to eat.
You can own pets but have a look at your contract if you are allowed to.
You have your own place and it feels like a more mature space.
House parties: if you have really cool friends and you get along, you can throw a house party or have a nightcap with a few friends over a fire or a BBQ/braai.
The communal kitchen
A typical 5 bedroom house that had a total of 6 tenants living in the house. We have a system of who cleans the benches during the week and a “you clean after yourself” policy. It works just fine.
Disadvantage
Housemates: sometimes you may not choose all your housemates and end up with people you do not know. This could be good, but it depends on who you end up with, again it is like playing Russian roulette.
Distance: if you live far you may need a car or use the Townsville public system. You could live in the Douglas area or any suburbs close to JCU. If you do not have a car, carrying your groceries which could be heavy may be a problem. There are ways you can do this such as buying a little by little, order straight from Woolies or Coles or order Hello Fresh or any of those food companies. I ordered Coles once and it was very reasonable as it was a big shop. I tried Hello Fresh once as it was half price, the food was really good, but it is expansive (if you have funds go ahead - you learn a lot about cooking).
You may fall into a bad eating pattern. Where you cook bad food because it is cheap and easy to make - just don’t be lazy. Cooking food may waste a lot of your time and doing dishes may also be a bother.
Living off-campus can be lonely if you live alone.
Sometimes there is only one garage with either one or two space in it. Most of the time your car will be parked outside.
Disagreement between housemates may be a bit awkward.
Some housemates are not doing their duties such as moping, doing their own dishes or taking out the rubbish and the house can become filthy.
Some housemates will bring in their partners and try to make them stay “illegally” without the landlord knowing about it. There is nothing wrong bringing friends over or having someone stay for the night but if it becomes every night then it is a breach of contract. Some still do it to save money.
Sometimes the landlords/agency is useless and does nothing or when they do something it is not well done. Just don’t get ripped off, stand your grounds and learn to say something when it is wrong.
Some housemates don’t buy the cleaning or any common products and hence relies on other people to buy things. Bring it up and mention it when they do not.
Conclusion
I recommend you stay a least one year on-campus so you can experience that feeling of arriving somewhere new and meeting new friends. After a year, have a look if you want to carry on or move off to off-campus and if you really don’t like being off-campus you can always come back to on-campus. It is all based on your experience!
Confrontation, especially off-campus, will occur and that may be a bit awkward, so you need to know how to deal with it. Remember to deal with issues you have to deal with them directly, immediately and discreetly. Leaving passive-aggressive messages around is immature. Normally a house has a facebook page between all housemates.
Don’t be thrown off or scared of some of these suggestions. These don’t happen often, but they may occur as I have heard similar stories from different people. being on-campus is about how you make the most of it. You will have the most fun time if you get along with people, try to integrate and try social activities. Off-campus, it is about your accommodation and the people you live with. If you are with people you click with then you going to have the best time!
I hope I have enlightened you a little and if you have any questions don’t be shy to ask me!
Published 30th June 2019. Last reviewed 10th January 2023.
