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Full-time Students who are accepted on the Dahlonega campus of ÌìÃÀÉçÇø and who have not earned 60 semester hours or lived four semesters in University housing must live on campus. Students may live off-campus if:

1. they live with and commute daily from the permanent legal residence of parent(s) or grandparent(s) within a fifty-mile radius from campus;
2. married or divorced;
3. 21 years of age or older;
4. have completed two years of successful active military service;
5. have internally transferred from another ÌìÃÀÉçÇø campus with more than 30 hours.

Requests for a waiver of the Residence Policy should be based on a unique hardship and not simply on a preference to live off-campus or perceived affordability. The request should outline the unique hardship and should include documentation that would support or verify the hardship need.

Examples

• A student requesting a waiver based on a medical need should include appropriate medical documentation from a physician or appropriate student disability documentation.
• A student requesting a waiver based on unique financial hardship will have their financial aid eligibility reviewed per their FAFSA information.  Changes to financial circumstances after FAFSA eligibility is determined must be documented.

Benefits of Living On Campus

Compared to students who live at home with parents or who commute from other locations, residential students demonstrate:

• A higher level of interaction with their faculty members (Kuh, Gonyea, and Palmer 2001)
• A higher level of involvement in co-curricular activities including clubs, service projects, internships, and study abroad (Kuh, Gonyea, and Palmer 2001). 
• An increased sense of belonging and affiliation with the University (O’Toole, Peterson and Wetzel, 1999 ; Newbold et al., 2011)
• Greater access to counselors, advisers, peers, and other resources designed to support student’s academic success (Newbold, Mehta, Forbus, P. (2011
• More social connections, (Kuh, Gonyea, and Palmer 2001)
• Increases in personal development (Kuh, Gonyea, and Palmer 2001)
• More academic commitment and focus (Nonis, Philhours, and Hudson, 2006)
• Greater academic success, i.e. higher GPAs (Nonis, Philhours, and Hudson, 2006)