Home is where the heart is. Actually, home is where your parents are. OK, so they provide hot meals and free laundry service, but as an adult it can be hard to deal with the constant presence of one or both parents questioning, advising, handing out chores and watching television at volumes that remind you of your first rockconcert.

Your heart may no longer be at home with mom and dad, but as a struggling student that might just be where your budget lands you.

“Before you move out you should at least try to get a degree,” says history major Alexis Dejesus. “With the economy the way it is, I think people should stay home longer. When you move out, you only put yourself in a bigger predicament.”

Dejesus also pointed out that there is far less time to keep up with school when there are more household responsibilities. The tedious tasks of living on their
own are likely to horrify students who are used to being taken care of by their parents.

“The social forces of establishing independence are significant. It’s very much a cultural issue. There are many societies where the young men or women do not move out of the parents’ house until they are married,” says biology professor Brian Gillespie. “As a biologist looking at humans as a social species, I would consider college students moving out to be atypical. Our natural reaction would be to stay in family groups rather than break them up.”

Students who do decide to live on their own don’t dispute the various benefits they leave behind at their parents’ house. “They cook and clean and even let me use their car,” Beka Chan says. “I definitely have a lot less to do at home, as opposed to living independently, because at home everything is taken care of.”

However, since most college students are over the age of 18 and legally adults, many feel this should correlate with increased personal freedom and independence. Even if freedom means working two jobs and living on Top Ramen and Ritz crackers.

“It is very hard to live in a house with three adults, two of which think they are the boss of everything,” says Ashley Poston, cosmetology major. “You just end up stepping on a lot of toes as an adult child living at home.”

Dealing with the push and pull of parental authority can create more tension than an empty bank account or a messy roommate and some students hope to get out sooner rather than later.

“I find it easier to live on my own because everyone else is not around, there are less distractions,” says Tiffany Burgos, a nursing major. “When I turned 18, I already knew I wanted to live by myself, because I didn’t want to live by my parents rules anymore. I wouldn’t want to move backing there either, I like being independent.”