<p>I'm planning to rent a house , maybe share it with a friend after the first year living on campus because room and board are just expensive. Unfortunately, my college says all international must live on campus, unless they have relatives. I don't have any relatives in my state. What should I do to help my parents minimize the fees. Why can't they let students live outside? :(.
I thank you for your advice!</p>
<p>Do you mind sharing which college you are attending? Many residential colleges have a blanket “everyone has to live on campus” policy, but I have never heard of a college that lets domestic students move off campus and requires international students to stay.</p>
<p>I once wanted to move off campus for the same reasons you are citing, only to discover the following:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>Off-campus housing within walking distance of the college was no less expensive than on-campus housing. </p></li>
<li><p>To get a rent contract at all, I would have needed a stable income or an American co-signer with a stable income. </p></li>
<li><p>I didn’t really want to have to furnish an apartment. Nor did I want to pay rent during the summer when I was not in the area. (My college doesn’t even offer summer classes, so I had little hope of finding a subletter.)</p></li>
</ul>
<p>My solution, and the preferred solution of many of my classmates, was to stay on campus and move to a place with kitchens (e.g. the co-ops or the apartments). We still had to pay standard housing charges, but at least we got exempted from an otherwise $5,000 meal plan (for only 7 months of meals…).</p>
<p>Wesleyan college. Maybe you’re right, I should find an apartment with kitchen to minimize the fee. Also, my college lets domestic students live outside campus only if they have a family or relatives just like international. Thank you! I have to find all ways to decrease the fee for my parents.</p>