Campus Dorms Aren't for Everyone
I have lived at Sahara Apartments for about a year and at the University dorms for two years. From my experience I would recommend living at Sahara over the on campus dorms for several reasons. First reason being the difference in noise. I had the pleasure of living next to people who spent every night at the dorms partying and blaring loud music every other day. If you're unfamiliar, the dorms policy of noise is that there are quiet hours from 10am to 10pm where you cannot be loud to allow those to sleep. However, the other hours of the day give students more freedom. This may be extreme from the majority of University students, but in my hall at the dorms there was techno music playing just about every day to ridiculous volumes. From my stay at Sahara, I have never once had a problem with noise, and I've been able to relax peacefully with no disturbances.
The next difference between the dorms and Sahara is the basic appliances you need everyday. Every dorm with the exception of Cornado has an entire hall (that's roughly 12-14 people) share two sinks, two bathroom stalls, and two showers. Its also not too uncommon for the entire building (500-1000 people) to share a single kitchen and stove. Also, at your stay at the dorms you are unable to adjust your thermostat because the building is controlled by a single device. After two years of that I decided to come here, where every room has a private bathroom, stove, microwave, and sink. I have no idea how I was able to live under such conditions.
Sahara has been a great place to live, and they offer many services that are friendly to those who don't have a car like myself. I take the shuttle to campus when I can, and I can easily bike there if I chose because its only about a 8-10 min bike ride. The only advantage from living on campus was that there was no travel distance to the University, but the trade off is having to deal with drunk students throwing parties every other day who you have to share a bathroom with. Sahara makes a strong effort to provide a safe and quiet environment that is student friendly, and I have enjoyed my time here.
