<p>My friend and I are planning to hopefully dorm together this fall. However, my parents are firmly against me staying on campus since I'm instate and can commute by bus but I want to stay for at least a year. I'm currently doing a lot of scholarships to hopefully lower my tuition and convince my parents to pay for the housing. I know I can commute but I'm not a morning person and I want to experience living away from my parents. Are there any ways to help me pay for housing?</p>
<p>And if possible, can someone also tell me if I can still dorm with my friend despite having sophomore standing? I did Running Start and earned enough credits to be a sophomore but not get my associates degree.</p>
<p>Of course there are other options to help you dorm. Obviously, after you apply for financial aid (which every student should be doing in my opinion), then you are able to receive the Stafford Student Loan (subsidized/unsubsidized depending on financial need) from the federal government. The Stafford loan gives you around $5,000 each year for your 1st and 2nd years in attendance. Depending on what type of room you want, that in itself could cover a huge portion of the dorming cost for the year. I decided to get a triple in McCarty with two people I knew from high school (mistake). Anyway, that ended up costing me $1,420 per quarter, and around an additional $700 per quarter for the dining account, which UW requires you to at least pay for a minimum dining deal (lowest level is 1, which is about $60 per week). So in all, I’ll pay ~$6,360 to dorm this year, which is a pretty darn good price. Another option you have is to get a part-time job/work study (if you qualify for it based on financial need). I know many students that work part-time to dorm. Or, you could always just get a job over the summer; save up your money; and use the money you’ve earned plus the student loans to pay for your housing and food. The first thing I would do in this case would be to know WHAT dorm and type of room you will want with your friend. Then, figure out how much that’ll cost you, and go from there. Obviously, take into consideration that housing prices will and have already been subject to increases for 2013-2014, so be aware of that. Just do a bit of research on prices, and throw numbers at your parents. It really is an experience that you don’t want to pass up as a freshman. UW is a very affordable university to dorm at, assuming you don’t want a single in one of the newer dorms (Elm, Alder), which costs students well over $9,000 in a year. Of course, most of this is under the assumption that your student loans are not going directly towards your tuition, which would also make logical sense in this case.</p>
<p>To answer your second question, it doesn’t matter what standing you have; you can dorm with whoever you want. Heck, they could be a senior at UW, and it would be allowed. In fact, if you wanted to room with someone already at UW, then they would be able to put your name on their dorming application, which they get earlier, thereby securing a specific room far earlier than all other freshman.</p>
<p>I’m also an instate student and I plan to live away from home even though I live only 30 mins from UW by bus. I’m going to be living with my sister at an apartment. She currently lives on Capitol Hill but we’re going to find another apartment that is much closer to campus but not too far from downtown where she works. I too want to experience living away from home. I think it’ll benefit me in learning to be more responsible and independent even though I am living with an older sibling. My sister is a UW Alumni so she can help out a lot. </p>
<p>If dorming becomes too expensive, I’d suggest looking for an apartment with a few other roommates. It can be a lot cheaper depending on where it is and how many roommates you have.</p>