<p>So next year I want to move off-campus and get my own place in a permanent residence for the rest of my time at CMU since I'd rather live alone by myself and it would be cheaper and I hate having to move all the time. However, from my cousin's friends' past experiences at Case, they had trouble moving off-campus because it greatly cut down their financial aid package, taking about 10k off their grants since it was determined since their bill was lower, their need was lower. Does anyone have any experience with this? Will this happen to me? I'm going to contact the financial aid office too, of course, when I get back to school, but I just wanted a head start thinking about where to live next year since I need to figure out all of that stuff soon.</p>
<p>Yes, it is standard for colleges to assume that one has a lower cost of attendance if living off campus. It will depend on the school if the estimated cost of attendance for living off campus is realistic.</p>
<p>It really varies by individual school. My daughter’s school only has one COA. It is the same whether you live on or off campus. So her FA is identical living off campus to what it was living on campus. She uses her FA refund to pay her rent, bills and food.</p>
<p>Other schools have 2 COAs. One for on campus. One for off campus. Some schools even have 3 COAs. On campus, off campus not with parents, off campus with parents (which is usually much lower). </p>
<p>Your school should have COA information available. Look at that and talk to the FA department to see if you would lose money by moving off campus. As I said, my daughter’s FA is exactly the same and she is actually better off living off campus (it is cheaper). Plus she actually lived closer to her classes than she did when she lived in a dorm (being able to walk to school was a priority for her). And she is much happier - has space, privacy, it is quieter, and she can have a cat. Plus this is her 3rd year in the same apt she does not miss having to move in and out every summer.</p>
<p>Swimcatsmom, D is struggling with some off-campus/FA issues and I was wondering if we could borrow a bit of wisdom from you? Tried sending you a PM but your mailbox is full! If you’re willing and would rather, you could just PM me an email address and I’ll lay out her strange dilemma…I’m at my wit’s end with it right now!</p>
<p>COA for off campus (not living at home) was the same as on campus for both of my kids’ universities. They were located in expensive urban areas. YMMV so you need to check CMU’s website for this info.</p>
<p>COA off campus is lower than COA on campus. How this affects your financial aid depends on your package, though. What is your current award package? If you are not awarded with need based aid up to COA-EFC, need might not be affected by a drop in COA. If you weren’t awarded scholarships/grants/sub & unsub Stafford loans that totaled COA, your awards might not be reduced by the drop in COA.</p>
<p>^Interesting, thanks! I will definitely have to look into it. I was awarded 35k in grants, and additional 5k in loans+work study so the only reason I’m at CMU is b/c it ended up being cheaper than even my instate public, OSU.</p>
<p>From kelsmom’s post –
note that the difference is only $810 per year (at most - only $500 if you are currently in your sophomore year or above) - nothing even NEAR the $10K difference that you said your friend experienced.</p>
<p>^That $10K does sound like other than a change from on to off-campus, doesn’t it? Maybe he was reclassified as living with parents? That’s happened to two of my nephews and it did put a big dent in their COA until it was corrected. I have seen grants at some schools that are tied to on-campus housing too, though not specifically at Case, or your cousin’s friend may have had other factors affecting his aid that year.</p>
<p>The cost of an apartment in many areas of Pittsburgh is actually less expensive than the cost of the dorm/dining plans at CMU. This is especially true if you share the apartment with a friend or two. Yes, the COA for an off campus student is less…but so are the costs if you plan well. It should all balance out.</p>
<p>I can tell you…both of our kiddos moved off campus as juniors. We gave them a budget…told them it could NOT cost more than living ON campus would cost.</p>