I think student housing is common because university takes up a lot of time and it's convenient to live on campus. One often goes to university away from where they were previously living, and often plans to live somewhere else afterwards, so it's easier to join a community of transients, than to transiently enter a community apart from the university. While there are certainly some issues with lack of outside perspective, living with a community of your peers that are relatively well aligned in daily activities can be a really positive vibe. Of course, it can also be a negative vibe if you're feeling out of sync with the rest of the community and it feels like the rest of the community is in sync.
I transferred to a small engineering school to get my BS, and it was easy to meet people and share common interests and experiences in a way that wasn't possible when I went to a larger, non specific school, without residences and where people had vastly different courses.
I think a lot of schools force (or at least strongly push) for on-campus living during the first years because it makes it easier to build a network of relationships that will hopefully help students navigate the institution. You're not going to spend nearly as much time with as many other students if you're living off campus and only commuting in on days you have classes.
I think student housing is common because university takes up a lot of time and it's convenient to live on campus. One often goes to university away from where they were previously living, and often plans to live somewhere else afterwards, so it's easier to join a community of transients, than to transiently enter a community apart from the university. While there are certainly some issues with lack of outside perspective, living with a community of your peers that are relatively well aligned in daily activities can be a really positive vibe. Of course, it can also be a negative vibe if you're feeling out of sync with the rest of the community and it feels like the rest of the community is in sync.
I transferred to a small engineering school to get my BS, and it was easy to meet people and share common interests and experiences in a way that wasn't possible when I went to a larger, non specific school, without residences and where people had vastly different courses.
I think a lot of schools force (or at least strongly push) for on-campus living during the first years because it makes it easier to build a network of relationships that will hopefully help students navigate the institution. You're not going to spend nearly as much time with as many other students if you're living off campus and only commuting in on days you have classes.