The impact of first-year students' living situation on the integration process and study progress

Abstract

Students in different living situations are the central issue of this study. Large groups of first-year students not only transfer to a new educational system, but also start to live independently in rooms. The questions we answer, in this paper, are whether the students' living situations affect the integration process and how it is related to study progress. A total 782 first-year full-time students responded to questionnaires. A remarkable conclusion was that a positive effect of living independently on integration was not found. The students living in rooms experienced more personal problems than students who stayed at home. Students living in rooms spent several hours less on their studies, which negatively affected study progress.