<p>Like, my friend says that he's moving out of the dorms once he's a junior with a few friends he'll make at Cal and move out to an apartment or some outside housing.</p>
<p>Is that really a viable option for saving money, or is moving out mostly just a personal choice rather than a financial one?</p>
<p>Thanks in advance.</p>
<p>Well, think about it – if you’re in the dorms, first off – dorms aren’t that cheap at all. Pretty expensive, and to top it off, you might be wasting a bunch of what you spend. A lot of people I knew, including myself, got sick of the meal plan, and the first thing I did when i moved out was forget all possibility of getting a meal plan. </p>
<p>I think I’m saving quite a significant amount by not spending so much on food, still probably enjoying my food more, and ultimately spending less for rent. The only downside is that it’s probably around a 20 minute walk to most classes from my place. But I don’t care so much about that. I like walks anyway.</p>
<p>yeah, i couldn’t relate to that cause I live in Los Angeles, and the real estate here is still pretty damn expensive, enough for my friends there to stay in the dorms.</p>
<p>so then you do save money doing that? do you live alone or with a small group of friends?</p>
<p>You will save money when you live off-campus unless you get very expensive housing and/or live by yourself. Even if you live by yourself, it is comparable to living in the dorm. Everyone I know that lives off-campus pays between 600-700 a month for rent.</p>
<p>depends what you buy.
dorms are close (except for unit 2 apparently) to campus and meal points definitely save money for food, though the con to it is that the food gets pretty gnarly rather quickly. (If you’re not picky like me though, I’ll just wolf down whatever and eat my daily fruits and salads)
apartments though, you get the freedom that is kinda restricted in dorms. additionally, hopefully you get more space as well. apartments will be a little less expensive in the end i think, but you have to supply yourself with internet and such if you like working at home. (the kicker may be that people want you to rent out beginning in the summer, and if you don’t take summer school, well that’s 3 months rent you have to pay which essentially adds up to a little less than the dorm.) </p>
<p>what my friend found from living in an apartment with 2 other guys is that no one wants to clean up, meaning dishes don’t get washed and stuff’s everywhere. so, freedom might not always be the best thing to have haha. (I would rather prefer an apartment just for myself…space is important for me hehe)</p>
<p>is it acceptable to live in the residence halls (apts) if you’re a junior because it’s more convenient and financial aid will cover it all?
a lot of people are giving me crap about it but they just dont understand!</p>
<p>good question: will my financial aid be reduced if i move out of the dorms?</p>
<p>like say i’m estimated at getting a lil over 10k this year. will they reduce it if i move out the next year?</p>
<p>^
i heard it’s proportional to off-campus living expense</p>
<p>Let’s see!</p>
<p>The cheapest option is a Triple in the Units. $11,600 for the year.</p>
<p>The year is late August through mid-May – about 9 months.</p>
<p>11,600 / 9 = 1288.89</p>
<p>That’s your rent cost per month.</p>
<p>The off-campus living allowance is ~$750/month.</p>
<p>So. Yeah. They EXPECT it to be cheaper, even when you factor in the additional cost of utilities.</p>
<p>750+ food. food is expensive. lets see. 20 bucks a day? 20 x 30 days = $600.
so like 1350 a month.</p>
<p>i emailed the FA office before asking how much my aid would be reduced if i live off campus, and they said around 4000. but it probably also depends on how much aid you get to begin with. if you don’t get that much to begin with, i can’t imagine them lowering it by that much.</p>
<p>not everyone would save money by moving off campus. again, that has to do with how much aid you’re getting. if you don’t get a lot of aid to help pay for housing, then it would make sense to move out because dorming is pricey. but if you get a lot of aid, and are not having to pay the 1000+ per month on CARS for housing, then it may not be advantageous to move out.</p>
<p>Yes, it is cheaper to live off campus</p>
<p>So, what if you finaid covers the dorm? Well, is the package grants for everything or is their a loan in the mix? Not many people get grants for the entire COA- pell + CALgrant + SMART grant + Byrd + Alumni would not cover it all. Maybe a full regents??? Most people will have a gap in grants that is filled with loans, why borrow more to live in an over priced dorm?</p>
<p>And on that cheaper triple, you have no control over possibly being put into Clark Kerr at a much higher price :(</p>
<p>My kid lived in a Greek house one year for $3800/term, so less than $8k for the year including food. Other years she has done an apartment or room in a house on a similar amount.</p>
<p>
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<p>You really spend $20 a day on food? Really? Every day? I can understand on Friday/Saturday night when you’ll want to take your date to a restaurant for dinner. But can’t you just eat cheap cereal and homemade sandwiches and pasta during the weekdays? Do you really have to go out every day?</p>
<p>Even assuming that you did spend that ridiculous amount of money, the amount I quoted before is ONLY for the dorm room and ONLY for a triple in the Units. Once you add in the meal plan and the chance that you’ll be roomed in ANY other arrangement anywhere else in on-campus housing… it’s STILL cheaper to live off campus.</p>
<p>20 is reasonable… is it not? breakfast around 3-4 bucks lunch 6-7 dinner 6-7. comes out around 15-18 bucks. + sometimes u buy snacks + other goodies…
i say 20 is on the lower end of the scale…</p>
<p>11600 is with the standard meal plan. i’m pretty sure… (and standard’s really all you need unless you’re looking to get big. hehe)</p>
<p>~15-20 bucks a day is reasonable. But I hope you don’t eat out everyday. haha. Either way, I think living off campus is going to be cheaper, but not by a mind-blowing amount. The only reason I don’t like living on campus is because there are too many dang rules. Irksome</p>
<p>I don’t know what to say…
I usually only eat breakfast and probably a small snack for dinner, so it’s not a really big deal for me…but $20 bucks every day is crazy…again, for me. We all have different eating habits! [:</p>
<p>small snack? for dinner? I don’t mean any offense or anything, but I don’t think that’s healthy. haha…</p>
<p>Over Spring Break here living in the dorms, I had to spend nearly 7-9 bucks a day for dinner. Slept past breakfast and had Cup noodles for lunch. Needless to say, I am now sick of cup o noodles.</p>
<p>i know telegraph commons is a bit cheaper than living in the dorms…does anyone know how the quality of the rooms compare?</p>