This paper reviews the literature on the role that campus residential life plays in the life of college students. While some researchers have concluded that living on-campus or off-campus has little affect on student academic achievement (Bliming, 1989; Bowman and Partin, 1993), others have expressed that on-campus living produces students with better critical thinking skills (Pascarella et al., 1993). Some investigators have examined the quality of life in residence halls (Hendershott et al., 1992), a special program for single mothers at Texas Woman's University (Chater and Hatch, 1991), and the retention of African-American students based on residency (Galicki and McEwen, 1989). The paper notes an interesting theme of the current literature base on collegiate residential housing is the lack of consistency in the findings. Also noted is the relative anonymity of housing programs and professionals in the field. However, the paper concludes that despite inconsistencies in the literature and in the body of research, residence halls can play an important role in the academic success of college students. (MDM)