Another aspect to consider includes food, along with the financial and time constraints it may bring.

With off-campus students not being able to rely on dining halls for every meal, how do they ensure they eat balanced meals?

Digital storytelling senior Lottie Moorehouse said figuring out what works for her took time and was "more difficult" during her first year living off campus.

"I think how I balance it is, I've kind of gotten into routine of picking out three, four or five quick, easy meals I can make, and I just kind of keep those in rotation. I buy the same groceries for them," Moorehouse said. "Also, I eat a lot of frozen meals — those are really easy."

Economics senior Muhammad Sharull said purchasing a meal plan has helped him save time.

"I buy an off-campus meal plan, because even though I live off campus now, I still go to the campus every day to attend class and everything, and dining halls are, like, 100 meters at least, like all of my classes are close to the dining halls," Sharull said.

Communication leadership and strategy sophomore Alayna Cornman said she tries to think ahead about what she’d want to eat during the week.

"We usually just get meals each week that we think we want for dinner or any type of snack, and then we usually try to cook it throughout the week when we're home and when we're not doing anything else," Cornman said.

However, on top of schoolwork, many students are also juggling extracurriculars and jobs, which can take time away from preparing, cooking and cleaning up after meals. 

Because of this, many students may resort to purchasing and eating takeout instead.

Moorehouse said eating out is "more convenient and easier than having to cook a meal." However, the financial aspect is what keeps her from continuously purchasing takeout.

“I like, force myself. I say, 'If I just got groceries, I am not letting myself buy any more food, because I just bought a ton, and I need to use up all the food that I already bought,'" Moorehouse said.

Cornman said continuously purchasing takeout often can "really put a dent in our wallets."

"We live across from Bowl Above, so me and my roommate, we're always trying to, like, you know, like, 'Let's go get this because it sounds so good,' but then we have to remind ourselves that we need to save money and we need to eat in, because there's all this food that we want to try to cook," Cornman said.

With busy schedules and many easily accessible food options in East Lansing, choosing to eat balanced, home-cooked meals can pose a challenge.

Moorehouse said she personally understands how difficult it is, noting financial factors as hindering students from consuming balanced meals.

"I think that it's tough, especially when a lot of healthier options are a little bit more expensive. I try to eat as balanced as I can. I eat like, a lot of eggs, and I try to get protein and vegetables," Moorehouse said. "It is tricky to try to balance, I think, price with convenience and nutrition in your meals."

For Sharull, eating balanced meals is his "top priority."

"... With healthy meals, I could put more hours on my study … if I have a more balanced meal, because I realized that if I eat all those junkies, all those Five Guys and McDonald's or Burger King, like I become more lazy, I become more sleepy with all those harmful contents that I eat," Sharull said. "Putting a priority on my meals, eating more healthy meals really makes me, I don't know, put more time in the library, I think, to study for my final year now."

Purchasing ingredients and creating balanced dishes may not come easily to all off-campus students, especially those who are new to living away from dining halls.

For students who will be living off campus in the near future, Moorehouse said understanding personal food preferences is important.

"I'd say, figure out, with groceries specifically, figure out quickly what you're going to eat and what you let go to waste, because it's hard when you're just buying stuff for yourself," Moorehouse said. "My other piece of advice is to buy a lot of eggs, potatoes and pasta, because they're cheap and they come in bulk."

Cornman said planning out what meals to make for the week is helpful.

"I would say, kind of make, like, a meal plan of … if you want to start to eat healthier, eat better for yourself, then maybe put a meal plan together and [things] like, what you want to buy when you go to the grocery store and what you want to prep for that week. Then it's, like, you stick to a stricter schedule, and you could just stay on top of it," Cornman said.

Sharull said to take the challenge one step at a time, because "everything is a process here."

"... Don't be overwhelmed with this transition period, like, yeah, I used to be overwhelmed, scared, like, 'Oh my God. What do I need to eat? I cannot walk anymore to Case to get some food' and everything," Sharull said. "But then, I started to buy all those groceries. I started to look up a lot of YouTube videos. I started imagining all the recipes that I could eat at Case, just like the orange chicken, those pizza and everything — and I started making them at home. Even though it tasted horrible the first time, we improvise, we improvise. We know what we like. We put more of the things that we like in there."