<p>I am a little confused about how students are taking a semester abroad with typical yearly leases/housing contracts. Do most students sub-lease or just pay for their apartment PLUS the abroad living expenses? Ouch.
Do some colleges allow students to sign single semester housing contracts if they are going to be abroad?
I feel very uninformed in this area and would love to hear any of your experiences.</p>
<p>Usually if a student lives on campus this isn't a problem. When they sign up for housing the year before, it is notated that the student will be abroad for a semester.</p>
<p>If the student lives off campus, I would assume they would need to find another student to sublet while they are gone, or be stuck with the payment. With so many students going abroad, your child should be able to find someone to sublet. I guess it will depend on where the student lives, but most landlords will require a year lease. Don't forget if they sign a lease you will also have the summer to worry about.</p>
<p>The way the housing contract at NYU works is that the student is allowed to terminate the contract for the semester that he or she is studying abroad. I know that for my D's study abroad program, the choice is either a homestay or an apartment, and it's only for a semester, but NYU makes the arrangements for the student ahead of time, so it all works out.</p>
<p>I'm going to echo snowball here. At my school, the residential life office will let you sign a housing contract for a semester if you go abroad, but if you go off campus, you'd be signing a 12-month lease. The tough part about off-campus housing (and I'm not sure if this applies elsewhere or is unique to my school) is that there is an uneven number of people going abroad during the spring semester (vs the fall), so that makes finding subletters more difficult. With summer sublets, it can be even harder, so many students charge subletters less than the full rent amount and eat up the costs.</p>
<p>I guess we should have planned better. My d moved off campus already. We probably should have had her stay on campus sophomore year and study abroad sophomore spring.
At this point she won't be moving back on campus and it irks me to have to pay for rent on top of living abroad expenses. I think we will look into a Maymester or summer abroad trip because it may work out better for other reasons as well.
Thanks for your responses!</p>