I have never understood this… If I live off campus (after freshman year), does the total cost of a certain university lowers considerably? For example, University X costs:
Tuition: 28,500$
Room and Board: 8,200$
Books and supplies: 1,100$
Personal expenses: 1,300$
Transportation: 1,500$
For a TOTAL of: 40,600$
I suppose I don’t have to pay room and board IF live off campus, taking 8,200$ out of the total cost. That means that University X would cost 32,400$ living off campus right?
Is this how it works with most universities? Or I still have to pay room & board living off campus? I don’t really understand this because many college sites (such as COLLEGE BOARD) don’t state a difference in $ between in-campus and off-campus Does the total cost lower (considerably) at all living off campus?
Most universities require that you live on campus freshman year unless your home is within a certain distance of the campus and you will live at home. Upper class men may live at off campus. It may reduce what they deem to be your COA a bit thus affecting your financial aid. The key is that you have to live somewhere. Whether you pay it to the school or pay it to a landlord and a restaurant or a grocery store you still have to pay.
Your room & board off campus would be whatever your rent and monthly expenses are for having an off-campus apartment. Unless you mean staying at home and living with your parents.
Many schools would have a different CoA if you live off campus or commute. My nephew moved to an apartment after freshmen year trying to save some money. It turned out that the CoA from FA office became lower and he received less financial aid because of that. At the end, he did not save any money.
Agreed, it depends on the area, and of course the school. Some schools will base aid on “resident” vs. “commuter”, but they may consider an off-campus apt the same as resident, depending on your permanent address.
And in some areas, the supply of off-campus housing is limited, or not subsidized, so the cost or availability may be a challenge.
However, if you get evicted from an off-campus apartment, you might qualify for more aid as a homeless person
this just made me think of a guy we know who lived in his van during grad school; taking showers at the campus rec center. He saved a lot of $. He’s a very successful engineering firm owner now. (that was in the early 90s). Carry on.
Rental housing other than the college dorm plus food other than the college dining hall may cost more or less than the dorm and dining hall. So the overall cost for students living off campus may be higher or lower than those living in the dorm.
Students commuting from their parents’ place usually have cheaper costs, since food and utilities at the parents’ place plus transportation usually costs less than living in the dorm or on one’s own near the campus.
I read an article a few weeks ago about a student in Milwaukee who lives in a senior retirement center. He teaches art classes and activities to the residents in exchange for the R&B.
At my daughter’s school, one can live in a traditional dorm for about $2200 per semester, so $4400 for the year. They also have to buy a meal plan, and the cheapest is about $3400/yr. It is quite easy to find an apartment or shared house for about $500/mo, with another $80 for utilities, and of course you can spend anything you want on meals, but the lease is also for the entire years, so you are paying an extra 3 months of rent if you don’t stay in the city for the summer. Not easy to sub-lease as there just aren’t enough students who go in the summer…
No one wants to live in the traditional dorms. Everyone wants the suite style dorms which can run $4000 to $5000/sem. Most kids who live off campus have cars, so that costs more.
A lot depends on the location. If you wanna pay less, pick a school in a low-cost-of-living area.
My school charges ~$8-9k for housing for the year (not including board). For freshmen dorm types, prices vary only by a couple hundred; univ. apartments fluctuate by $1000-1500/year.
Decent/comfortable (furnished, restricted entry kind) off campus housing costs about the same; many go for the lower quality but cheaper rentals.
If you live on campus you will pay the room & board costs. Remember the room and board is estimate for the cost of living on campus and meal plan. For example at my college, some dorms may cost more because they may be apartment style vs. a residence hall. Your meal plan cost can vary from the type of meal plan you choose. If you don’t live on campus you won’t have the room & board cost. But are you planning on being a commuter student that lives with their parents or a student that lives in off campus housing? As a commuter student, you won’t have to pay cost for your housing and no meal plan unless you want to. As off campus housing student you will find apartment or house for rent and pay to live there. With off campus housing there is the cost of the deposit, application fee for the apartment, electricity bill, water bill, gas bill, cost of transportation, and etc. A student that lives off campus may save money vs. living on campus. The situation varies and depends on many factors. Off campus housing can be cheaper or more than $8,200. Most of the time off campus housing is expensive . Most of the time you need a parent to cosign with qualifying credit score if not you will have to pay all the rent from August to June.
So to answer your question,…Yes living off campus saves money and you don’t have to pay room & board. You will save more money as commuter student if you can commute.
Also, check if your school decreases your financial award if you are commuter or living off campus.
A school’s Cost of Attendance is an estimated number used to help students and parents see how much it could potentially cost to go to school there. Financial Aid uses that number to help calculate you aid based on your living situation.
With the exception of some schools that make you stay on campus the first few years, the Cost of Attendance is NOT your bill. You bill is generally dictated by your classes that you sign up for and your residency status.
Even for those schools that require students to live on campus, the Cost of Attendance is not the amount billed, because COA includes things like books, travel and miscellaneous personal expenses which will not appear on a college billing statement. COA is broken up between direct costs, which do appear on a college billing statement (tuition, mandatory fees, room, board), and indirect costs, which do not (books, other academic supplies, travel expenses, personal expenses).
