College student with a Dell Inspiron — worth getting an eGPU for dorm gaming?

I’m a college student and I’m constantly moving around campus, studying in different places, bringing my laptop to class, etc., so I don’t really want a full desktop setup right now. But when I’m back in my dorm or hanging out in the basement with friends, I still like gaming and want better performance than my laptop gives me currently.

I have a newer Dell Inspiron 16 2-in-1 with:
Intel 12th gen Core i7 Evo
16GB RAM
Intel Iris Xe graphics
512GB SSD
2x Thunderbolt 4 ports

I mainly play games casually but I’d like to run stuff smoother and maybe play more demanding games without my laptop struggling. The portability aspect of an eGPU sounds really appealing since I could just dock it in my room and unplug it when I leave.

My questions are:
Is an eGPU actually worth it for someone in my situation?

How much performance do you realistically lose over Thunderbolt 4?

Would it make more sense financially to just save for a gaming laptop or small desktop later?

Are there any major downsides with dorm life + eGPU setups? (noise, space, disconnect issues, etc.)

Any recommended eGPU enclosures/GPUs for a setup like mine?

I’m not trying to become an ultra competitive gamer or anything, I just want solid performance while still keeping the convenience of a lightweight college laptop.

I am also incredibly new to this, I don’t know anything about EGPU’s any help is greatly appreciated. Thank you so much.