This is a true story about two strangers picked to live in McElwain Hall and have their lives condensed into closet-sized rooms.

College life isn't exactly The Real World. But it does seem surreal at times, especially when searching for a place to live.

Now that we're seniors, we don't have to make this decision again, so we thought we'd share our wisdom.

Kelly: I lived in McElwain Hall for almost three years. The three months I did live downtown weren't horrible, but I was ready to move back to campus.

Beth: I lasted two years on campus, but the last two years of living downtown have been among the best of my life. Sure, having my landlord deduct $50 from my roommates' and my security deposit for tape on the door wasn't great. But the only good thing about living in the dorms was the shower-power. Living downtown, I can decide when I want to have dinner. I can make my own schedule.

Kelly: But I missed the dining commons option — and weekend brunches.

Beth: Brunch was awesome. But you still had to bundle up on cold days to walk to Simmons for it. Now, I put on slippers and stumble into my kitchen. Or I walk a block to Manhattan Bagel.

This brings me to my next point: location. I am a block away from the Sports Café, across the street from a sub shop and a 10-minute walk from Willard.

Kelly: Now that I'm living in Nittany Apartments, it is a long walk to everything. But there's always the Loop, and it is nice being in a quiet, neighborhood setting. I lived downtown last summer and it was so much louder than on campus.

Beth: There's a reason for that. You get in trouble in the dorms if your radio is on past 10 p.m.

Granted, the time the guys in an upstairs apartment decided to pitch their empty beer bottles off their balcony at 4 a.m. was annoying. But my roommates and I can come home late and dance to '80s music, which makes up for it.

Kelly: It is nice not having quiet hours. And I guess I can't say our living environment is totally tranquil, considering our upstairs neighbors drop large, heavy objects at all hours. But it's much better than the Beaver Avenue chaos.

Beth: But when you live on campus, you have to deal with all the freaks on the floor. My room was at the intersection of a hallway.

For some reason, the girls in that hallway loved to bowl with frozen fruit. They would roll it down the hall and suddenly my door was covered with splattered raspberries and oranges.

Kelly: I can't really think of a comeback for flying fruit. But that sort of thing happens in apartment buildings, too (see balcony reference above).

But it is rough when you can't choose who you share your bathroom with -- especially when there are 20 other girls involved and the smell of puke is wafting down the hall.

Beth: I must concede that one never escapes the smell of puke. Someone threw up in the washing machine in my building. Understandably, the janitor refused to clean it up. So there it festered for nearly a month.

Kelly: Ewwww. Time to change the subject. Let's talk about my absolute favorite thing to whine about: PARKING.

When I lived in the dorms, there was good old Lot 80 and the flower gardens, a.k.a. "Egypt" among my friends. But the permit wasn't that expensive. The options downtown were way too pricey, so when I lived there I ended up getting a permit to park on campus.

Beth: Kelly wins here. Parking is horrible. This is the first year I have a car up here, and I have to park more than three blocks away.

But while parking is Kelly's pet peeve, mine is privacy. If I wanted to talk to my boyfriend when I lived in the dorms, my roommate had no choice but to listen.

While apartment living doesn't guarantee privacy, it increases your odds. Plus, I never got used to brushing my teeth while about four people peed in the same room.

Kelly: So I wasn't wild about hearing everyone's phone and alarm (especially when they weren't in the room to shut it off).

But living off campus doesn't necessarily mean you have more solitude. I lived with two other girls downtown, and we shared a bedroom and phone line. I put my desk in the closet.

Beth: That is a classic example of the most important off-campus living lesson — unmediated compromise. I share just about everything. My roommates and I depend on each other to pitch in and buy toilet paper when we need it and take turns scrubbing the kitchen floor.

And it's up to us to work it out. There isn't an RA next door, and my landlord could care less.

Kelly: But you don't have to live off campus to learn to compromise. My current roommates and I have cohabitation issues, too. Some are neater than others. We have phones ringing and modems crackling at all hours of the day. But we work it out.

Beth: Maybe living on campus is not all that bad. Yes, dorm living means supervision, pre-ordained schedules and lots of rules. But it also means pre-cooked meals and proximity to classes. Even so, nothing beats living in your own space.

Kelly: And maybe living off campus isn't all that awful, either. So it's loud and inconvenient at times. But there's more space to live in and more independence.

We agree that regardless of where you live, you have to compromise. Even if it means wearing shower shoes.