What is generally a better choice for a first year, living off campus or on, and why?

I agree with every points above. Live in first year. You won't regret it. After first year, you end up moving off campus anyway, so in the end you get to experience both personally.

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I've been told residence is better in first year cause you get to meet people easier and they have activities to help you meet people

It's abit more convenient and there is the opportunity to meet more people first year. However if you know you are the type to just sit in your room and not interact I'd advise against it.

I would advocate living in residence first year. I lived in residence first year and it was a unique learning experience. Living away from your parents for the first time in your life is a pretty significant change. I think it helps students build their independence- which will be important if you decide to live off campus in later years (and living independently after school).
A word of advice- make sure you don't party too much. Myself and others I know were guilty of this and our grades suffered; a few people I know ended up being kicked out of University. Party and have fun in residence; it's a one time opportunity, just don't forget about school completely. Bottom line: residence will test your commitments to school.

Feel free to ask me any questions.

For first year, I would say residence is the better option. You get to meet more people that way and it's much more convenient to get to class or anywhere on campus. Also, you want the experience of living in res.
After first year, I would not recommend residence because I personally didn't like it that much. It was too loud, I got sick so often, and I always stayed in my room because the excitement was draining me lol

Originally Posted by Leeoku

It's abit more convenient and there is the opportunity to meet more people first year. However if you know you are the type to just sit in your room and not interact I'd advise against it.

If you are the type that sit in your room and not interact, you should definitely be in resident first year. Get out of that shell. Unfortunately, you going to need to be a social network in order to be successful, might as well start it immediately in first year.

Originally Posted by applesnapple

What is generally a better choice for a first year, living off campus or on, and why?

you should live on rez as others have already pointed out. But, financially, off campus is much better

Hi~

Just as an opposing view. I am going into 1st year myself but I am more so against residence if any of the following conditions apply.

1) You have huge student debt already and would be able to commute in everyday. Living in residence is nice if you can afford it. However, some of my friends are in a very tight financial situation and cannot afford to drop another $5000-7000 (for res and food) a year. So I would say to look closely at your financial situation before you decide.

2) You are more introverted and need your own space. I completely fit this category. Not to say that I don't like company just that as an introvert I NEED my own space. People coming into my room all the time or wanting to party would get on my nerves somewhat.

3) You have a hard time getting along with anyone. Doesn't apply to me, but there were some roommate stories I've heard where the roommate would pick fights with the other one, come in drunk/with someone, play loud music at 2am and refuse to turn it down, etc.

At the end of the day, it is your decision. I am not saying that residence is a horrible option or anything, I just wanted to show the other side of the argument. Personally, since I am quite an introvert I will be living at home and commuting in.

^brings up a good point. Sometimes you have the 1/10 chance your roommate is an absolute bitch.

Originally Posted by MoyashiSerena

Hi~

Just as an opposing view. I am going into 1st year myself but I am more so against residence if any of the following conditions apply.

1) You have huge student debt already and would be able to commute in everyday. Living in residence is nice if you can afford it. However, some of my friends are in a very tight financial situation and cannot afford to drop another $5000-7000 (for res and food) a year. So I would say to look closely at your financial situation before you decide.

2) You are more introverted and need your own space. I completely fit this category. Not to say that I don't like company just that as an introvert I NEED my own space. People coming into my room all the time or wanting to party would get on my nerves somewhat.

3) You have a hard time getting along with anyone. Doesn't apply to me, but there were some roommate stories I've heard where the roommate would pick fights with the other one, come in drunk/with someone, play loud music at 2am and refuse to turn it down, etc.

At the end of the day, it is your decision. I am not saying that residence is a horrible option or anything, I just wanted to show the other side of the argument. Personally, since I am quite an introvert I will be living at home and commuting in.

That isn't a fair comparison since you are using living at home versus living on campus. The original question ask living off campus versus living on campus. Its a bit more costly to live on campus versus off campus, however the convenient factor need to be convert to dollars value in order for the comparison to be fair. This along side the numerous social opportunities you would have by being on resident.

So continue with the comparison for off vs on campus, you would still have the same problem with housemates if you lived off campus. If anything, its easier to mitigate the problem on campus than off since most landlords are very passive and won't intervene. McMaster on the other hand is different, if you can show that the student is having a negative influence on your living space, or if they are breaking the rules, then the person in question can be remove.

If you're an introvert, live off campus. Seriously. This school's welcome week activities only serve to make introverts feel uncomfortable and the residence experience can therefore be very draining. It was not a good experience for me... I met a few people, but all in all the experience felt like high school 2.0/kids who'd never had any freedom in high school living it up for the first time since they didn't have a babysitter.

I had a much better experience living off campus. No arbitrary rules like guest sign in, quiet hours, move-out date or their stupid alcohol policies or CAs breathing down your neck. It's cheaper and you have more control over your expenses (like food and hydro), learn how to pay bills/budget/shop/cook/live, and have more of an opportunity to be independent. You get your own room, and you still get roommates. I met WAY more people living off campus than on (and attended way better parties and had way more fun -- but that's me).

Originally Posted by Kudos

If you're an introvert, live off campus. Seriously. This school's welcome week activities only serve to make introverts feel uncomfortable and the residence experience can therefore be very draining. It was not a good experience for me... I met a few people, but all in all the experience felt like high school 2.0/kids who'd never had any freedom in high school living it up for the first time since they didn't have a babysitter.

I had a much better experience living off campus. No arbitrary rules like guest sign in, quiet hours, move-out date or their stupid alcohol policies or CAs breathing down your neck. It's cheaper and you have more control over your expenses (like food and hydro), learn how to pay bills/budget/shop/cook/live, and have more of an opportunity to be independent. You get your own room, and you still get roommates. I met WAY more people living off campus than on (and attended way better parties and had way more fun -- but that's me).

I found the opposite to be true. As an introvert, I thought WW was really good at getting me out of my shell, and I never felt super pressured to do activities if I really didn't want to. It was really easy to meet people that I otherwise never would have.

You have the rest of your years at Mac to live off-campus and gain that experience. It doesn't need to be done in first year.

Sorry, I may have misunderstood OP's question. By off campus, do they mean that they are considering living at home with their parents and commuting or renting an apartment instead of residence?