<p>Alright, so I posted the thread about making friends a couple weeks ago. summed up, I don't have many friends here at all. I am finding my self becoming quite depressed b/c of the lack of interaction, which is showing on my work habits. I am on Student Senate and I am slowly building some contacts through that, however I digress. I am seriously considering living on campus next year, rather than commuting. I live about an hour away from the campus and just the whole driving to and from school and living with my parents I am simply fed up with. The driving part i salright for me, since if I lived on campus I would still have to drive to my jiob 2 days a week. But, it is the living at home thing I am done with. I want to be able to meet roomates, drop by and hang out in other people's dorms, go out late at night, you get my drift. But living at home completely limits how I can meet people and to a later extent form a relationship. </p>
<p>My point to all of this is, should I take out the loans to love on campus, so that I can make more friend easier? (as well as be closer to my second job and my classes). Is it worth the risk of borrowing out an extra nearly 10k on top of the 7k tuition just so that I can live on campus? <em>note</em> I am also looking for an apt. with a friend across the street from campus. </p>
<p>So, I would llike some other people's inout on this. Have you faced a similar delemia such as mine? Did you take the financial risk and later regret it, or was it a good decision? </p>
<p>10k just to live on campus?? That seems quite excessive to me. </p>
<p>But i think you answered your own question, it seems like you are ready to live away from your home, which isn’t that far away so if really wanted to visit you could</p>
<p>Well 10k includes the meal plan. So broken down it ends up being between 6-8k for the year for the dorm and between 2-4k for the meal plan, depending on the residence hall you choose and the meal plan you choose.</p>
<p>Yes, I am very ready to live away from home, but does it make sense to borrow all that money to live away from home, when I can stay at home for free?</p>
<p>If it would involve a lot of debt then maybe not. You have to consider what you can afford. However I think living on campus is really great and it helps your social life immensely. You just have to decide if it’s something you want enough to pay for (and pay a lot for). We all have to run this cost-benefit at some point. You will hear from people who say it’s worth it, and people who will say it’s not. But you have to decide what’s right for YOU.</p>
<p>I think that it is worth it. I am not big on getting in debt, but the benefits outweigh the cost. After one year, you will probably make more friends and then you can find something off campus to share. I do not think you will begrudge the cost.</p>
<p>Living an hour from campus is expensive and time consuming. Do yourself a favor, keep the “second job” and get the full college experience. Good luck and I am optimistic for you. I don’t think you"ll regret it. Keep your grades up too…!..:)</p>
<p>Thanks! Don’t worry about the grades, that isn’t a big issue (3.9 last semester w00t!) and this semester should be just as good. Yes, the cost in time and money to travel to and from school is huge and is clearly mounting. Plus, if I live on campus I will not be tempted to spend as much as I do off campus, haha! I might be able to cut a deal with my parents, like they pay my housing and meal plan if I pay my tuition, since I currently am paying tuition. </p>
<p>Put it this way, even if it does cost me a ton of money to live on campus, my chance of dying there are significantly lower than if I am living at home, driving risks, etc.</p>
<p>Something else to consider would be living on campus for one year to establish a social network, etc. Then after a year you could move just off campus and cut your expenses dramatically. Not sure where you are located, but let’s just say you could rent an apartment with a friend(s) for $500 for your part of the rent. For the 9 months of school that comes to just $4500 plus food. And I think food for one person would only run $100 to $200 per month. Again this does depend somewhat on your geographic location. Plus if you decided to live there during the summer you could work full-time and still afford it.</p>
<p>^This is a good idea. That’s what I’m doing next year, but mostly because at my school it’s pretty lame to live in the dorms beyond freshman year. I’m sure there are many apartments and houses around your school that would be reasonable.</p>
<p>@MLDwoody what do you mean by how my grades change? Do you think that they will go down? </p>
<p>I would like to eventually get an apt. off campus. I go to Wayne State in Detroit, MI. There are many opportunities to lease apartments off campus for a decent price. I would first like to live in the dorms though, just so I can not only be closer to school and eliminate the driving, but so I can make friends.</p>
<p>Would this be $10k in private loans? If so, don’t do it. You’d be better off with even the PLUS loans if you could get your parents to agree to take them out (even if you were agreeing to pay them off). They would most likely have to cosign for the private loans anyways and the PLUS loans would have better rates. However, $30k in debt just for housing? Ouch. If you have any other loans, that’s too much debt for undergrad. If it’s only the $30k… it’s pushing it, but manageable.</p>
<p>However, an hour commute is terrible. A friend of mine commuted a lot longer than that and I had a commute at one point that added up to that because of traffic. It really took its toll on both of us. It was to the point with me that by the time I transferred, I had no problem paying the $15k a year my own housing is costing.</p>
<p>Off campus would most likely be cheaper especially if you can find a place that is in walking distance of your campus. But I do highly recommend against private loans.</p>
<p>Actually I made a mistake in my figurings. For me to live and eat on campus for a year, it would cost me roughly $4100. That is a 2 person per room style dorm with a private bath and unlimited food. So I would be looking at an additional 12,300 in federal loans on top of my $7k tuition.</p>
<p>If you mean the federal stafford student loans, you cannot take out $12,300 unless you’re in your third year or beyond and an independent student:</p>
<p>Dependent:
First year: $5,500 (no more than $3,500 may be subsidized)
Second year: $6,500 (no more than $4,500 may be subsidized)
Third year and beyond: $7,500 (no more than $5,500 may be subsidized)
Maximum total debt: $31,000 (no more than $23,000 may be subsidized)</p>
<p>Independent:
First year: $9,500 (no more than $3,500 may be subsidized)
Second year: $10,500 (no more than $4,500 may be subsidized)
Third year and beyond: $12,500 (no more than $5,500 may be subsidized)
Maximum total debt: $57,500 (no more than $23,000 may be subsidized)</p>
<p>I was a commuter my freshman year and wouldn’t reccomend it to anybody Being on campus almost forces you to make friends. If you decide later to live off-campus, maybe with friends or a significant other when you’re older, go for it! But my biggest mistake was living off-campus. I got myself and my father in debt paying for an apartment. My dorm was mostly covered by financial aid, but I did have to pay some out-of-pocket. I love my meal plan and it’s so much less stressful than going grocery shopping. I lived an hour away and had to take the subway - WORST EXPERIENCE EVER.</p>
<p>I was in a very similar situation, so feel free to message me if you want to talk about it! I have a dorm now and although it still is tough to make friends (I came in halfway through the year) I’m much happier, much more social and feel much more connected to my campus.</p>
Being on campus almost forces you to make friends. If you decide later to live off-campus, maybe with friends or a significant other when you’re older, go for it! But my biggest mistake was living off-campus. I got myself and my father in debt paying for an apartment. My dorm was mostly covered by financial aid, but I did have to pay some out-of-pocket. I love my meal plan and it’s so much less stressful than going grocery shopping. I lived an hour away and had to take the subway - WORST EXPERIENCE EVER.</p>