<p>A group of friends and I were accepted into UW-Seattle as the class of 2018, and one contacted me asking if I would like to rent an apartment with them. Currently we're a group of five (me + 3 friends + a current UW freshman). We all live in-state and live about 20ish minutes away from Seattle.
I don't have that much knowledge on apartments for UW and dorming.
I asked my dad for his opinion, and he seemed very reluctant to let me go into an apartment with my friends. They're interested in renting an off-campus apartment and they said it would be cheaper than dorming. However, my dad said that if we go into an apartment then the grants the UW gave to me via financial aid won't count or something since off-campus means it's not connected to UW (is this true??)
I don't know, I'm just really confused, and my friends would like a definite "Yes or no" response from me ASAP so that they can reserve spots if we do rent an apartment, on-or-off campus.
Overall, they seem set on renting an apartment rather than dorming, but I'm conflicted because my dad is concerned about prices. What are the pros and cons of dorming vs. apartments for freshman year? What are the costs like for the two? Which option (dorming vs. on-campus apartment vs. off-campus apartment) is better for freshmen?</p>
<p>I'd like to add that my family did apply for financial aid since we're not really in the best financial shape, so my dad's being very picky about housing stuff. He initially assumed that I would just be dorming with a single roommate.
My older brother, who dormed his first year and is in an on-campus apartment this year, said that dorms are more expensive BUT I'd receive financial support or something from UW since it's directly on campus.</p>
<p>Any additional info about housing stuff is greatly appreciated! (I'm just confused to the max right now agghhhh)</p>