<p>So, I'm kind of confused as to what I should do. I'm a freshman and I still haven't applied for Fall housing and I know it's already pretty late to do so if you want a suite-style. I was considering joining an LLC since I heard you have more of a chance to get a suite style like that but the cost is killing me. I hate that we have to purchase a meal plan especially after all the bad things i'm hearing about the dining hall food.
So what do you guys think i should do? Apply for housing and hope for the best? What halls do you guys recommend? Should I apply for an LLC and not worry about the cost? Or should i just find some place off campus? If so, what off-campus community do you recommend?
I'm a CARE student, I heard that FSU is generous with us with financial aid but I'm not sure how much they will give me. My EFC is 2129 and I have Florida Prepaid, but it only covers tuition. So with all this given information, I hope you guys can help me I'm really not sure what to do.</p>
<p>Whoa, slow down. Lots of incorrect information in your post.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>If you haven’t already applied for Fall/Spring Housing, you’re running out of time. Priority numbers are already well over 6000, which means that you’re going to get the least wanted rooms on campus- basically, you’re getting the leftovers. If you want a suite-style dorm, you’re pretty much out of luck with just the regular housing application. </p></li>
<li><p>An LLC guarantees you a room in whatever dorm the LLC is housed in. If you haven’t applied for housing yet, an LLC is pretty much your only option at this point. I’m not sure what you mean about the cost killing you, though. Can you elaborate on that point? Unless I’m mistaken, there’s no extra cost for the LLCs…</p></li>
<li><p>Meal plans aren’t required in all of the dorms. Only the renovated east side dorms require one. [See</a> here for a list of which dorms require meal plans and which do not](<a href=“http://housing.fsu.edu/housing/ungrad/mealplans.html]See”>http://housing.fsu.edu/housing/ungrad/mealplans.html). Only four of the LLCs are in dorms that require meal plans, and they are located in only three of the housing buildings. </p></li>
<li><p>At this point, if you’re wanting to live on campus at all, you need to apply for Fall/Spring Housing now. If you apply now though you are almost guaranteed to get a room in Smith or Kellum, as those are typically the last buildings on campus with rooms available. If you want to live in a suite-style dorm, then you are pretty much going to have to apply to an LLC and get accepted. </p></li>
</ol>
<p>As for whether to live on campus or off campus, that’s really a decision that you have to make. Since you’re in FSU CARE, it would likely be best to live on-campus, though.</p>
<p>I’m sorry if i may have confused you. What i meant about the cost killing me is the fact that the LLC i would have to join has one of the most expensive housing rates + they require a meal plan. I calculated and its about $10000 for housing with the cheapest meal plan available. It’s too much :/</p>
<p>Would you consider living off campus? Chances are that since you haven’t applied for housing yet, you might not even get any. I’ve heard there are about 6,000 spots in dorms, but I could be wrong. Living in an apartment is way cheaper, but it might be hard to meet other students unless you join some clubs or something! </p>
<p>Personal note: my apartment (Bradford Oaks on Ausley Rd, 4 bedroom 2 bath) is $322.50 per month (per person, plus utilities; so about $400), and food is whatever I want to spend. When I lived in Reynolds, I was paying about $650 per month just to SHARE a room with 2 other people (yeah, I was in a triple, it was terrible), and on top of that the meal plan which cost about $472.50 per month. </p>
<p>Bottom line: on campus I was spending $1,122.50 on housing+food per month, now I spend half that (and I have my own room, don’t have to share a bathroom with a ton of people, have a living room, kitchen, etc.)</p>
<p>Edit: Forgot to mention I was in the LLC in Reynolds. My housing number had been about 5,4xx so I applied for it and got in. Even though I was in a triple, it was still expensive :/</p>
<p>I honestly don’t mind where i live. Most people tell me to live on-campus my first year but it’s just seems so expensive.
I wouldn’t mind living off campus. I would just need some place close to FSU or on the bus route because I don’t have a car.</p>
<p>I heard that every hall on campus has a kitchen on each floor for the students personal use, is this true? Because I think i rather cook for myself than eat dining hall food every day.</p>
<p>I believe there is a kitchen on each floor, but not sure about every dorm. Reynolds had one, and you have to check out kitchen tools from the front desk using your license (unless you have your own pots and pans, etc!). Also note that you get 1 fridge per 2 people in a room, and it’s pretty small. My room had 2 fridges since we had 3 people, and even that was a stretch at times. </p>
<p>The place I live literally has a bus stop right outside the place; it takes me maybe 10 seconds to walk there, and if I miss it by a minute, I can just walk down the street to a stop (it’s about 3-4 stops after mine, so it gives me a few minutes to get down there and catch it).</p>
<p>My experience living on campus 2010-2011 pros and cons:</p>
<p>Pros: everything’s right there, easy to meet people in your dorm if you’re social, pretty safe</p>
<p>Cons: expensive, had a bad roommate experience with one of them (she brought a friend in who stole my iPod, would get drunk, would stay up until 3-4 am and sleep until 4pm the next day, and at times was just not respectful of other roommate and I)</p>
<p>I’d say that if you join clubs on campus, you’re set to meet friends if you decide to live off-campus. Living right by a bus stop definitely helps a lot!</p>
<p>I think then that you have one of a couple options:
- Apply for housing now, and live in one of the community-style dorms. This is something you seem heavily against.
- Apply for an LLC (or multiple), and either live in a dorm which requires a meal plan, or pick an LLC you aren’t as interested in and not have to pay for a meal plan.
- Live off campus. According to others on here though, living off campus and being in CARE often don’t mix well.</p>
<p>My next question is have you filed your FAFSA yet? If not, you really need to do so ASAP. With an EFC around 2100, you will get (or at least, should) sufficient aid to cover nearly all of your costs of attending FSU.</p>
<p>My bad if this seems out of place. I wrote the reply and thought I submitted it, only to come back and see it still sitting here. So if torioreo helped you (and torioreo has more experience than I with LLCs!), just ignore what I wrote that no longer makes sense :).</p>
<p>I have filed my FAFSA already for both summer and fall. I have also applied for scholarships but i dont hear back from them until April.</p>
<p>Thank you so much for your help guys i really appreciate it :)</p>
<p>Did you list on your FAFSA whether you would like to be considered for work-study or not?</p>
<p>i think i answered “not sure” >.<</p>
<p>My daughter lives off campus and is in CARE. She definitely preferred that option and it was cheaper. It worked out well for her but she is involved in other things on campus including her sorority.</p>