angela geiger spent her freshman year living in the dorm. and it gave her the chance to network within her major. >> if you live here you have more opportunities to get involved. to go to, like, the clubs that maybe their meetings are 7. if your class ended at 3:00 and you would go home and not stay around to go to some club meetings. >> it includes furniture and utilities and a mandatory meal plan is required for those living on campus. it will add more than $12,000 to tuition. sophomore sherry patio didn't qualify for freshman aid her freshman year. she said socially living on campus makes sense. >> you meet people and you can build your network. and everybody is experiencing the same thing. but financially i think that it's a really bad idea. >> reporter: as it stands now the university encourages people to live at the university for at least two years. in coming freshman from out 0 of town won't have the option to opt out of the dorm live life. >> there are some cities that are exempt from the on campus housing policies. a list of cities