Hi, I am a junior in HS and UT is my top choice. I know I haven’t gotten in yet, but I’m still gonna post this. I’m OOS, and plan on rushing if I go. I also plan on living off-campus (in West Campus) Freshman year if I end up at UT. I know you have to apply for off-campus housing pretty early to get a spot, like September, so that’s what I’m gonna do. Here are the ones I’m considering:
Callaway House
University Towers
Dobie
Castillian
Does anyone have any personal experience living in any of these places, I don’t know which one I should try to live in. I lived in Callaway for 3 weeks last summer during a pre-college program, it was very nice, the food was decent, but the line for the elevators was always long and the elevators were packed, I can’t imagine what it’s like during the school year. Thanks
I’m surprised you don’t have an answer for this but I’m gonna do my best to be thorough.
First of all as it’s your first semester in college, and I say this not as me deflecting personal habits but because it’s what winds up happening to a LOT of students who live off campus, you should really take into account getting to your classes on time. And you need to consider the fact you’ll have time in between classes (let’s say one class ends at 9 am and your next one is at 11 am) where you won’t have a room to head back to and you’ll need to use public facilities like libraries to sit in and kill time. Either that or hang with friends who have similar schedules. Beyond that living off campus… things happen. Your car winds up needing some sort of elaborate and expensive repair… you miss the bus or you realize that when 5 people have bikes the bus takes a while… that kinda stuff. And some days you’ll just be too lazy to do that little bit extra like go to the study group meeting in PCL at 6 pm or go to this or that club. Living on campus will make your life a looooot easier your first year so if you CAN get on campus housing I would definitely say do it.
Now with that in mind, Dobie is literally the closest thing to living on campus. Literally. It’s RIGHT THERE. Like you can’t miss it. The thing with Dobie is a lot of people hate it when they live there. Read the reviews on google. YIKES. Then again, a lot of teens moving out of the comforts of home don’t realize that doing laundry whenever you want for free is a luxury and that you need to keep DOCUMENTATION of all financial transactions yourself so that people can’t take advantage of you. I would say Dobie is an OKAY option but it’s mostly only good because there’s food you can buy in Dobie Mall if you’re out of groceries (Subway, Korean food, a Pizza shop, a bomb ass chinese food place that is delicious and gives you PLENTY in the plate two thumbs up, and maybe some other stuff I forgot). The cafeteria there, so I hear, is awful. If you can somehow negotiate the cost of that out of your lease I HIGHLY recommend it. Do not do not do NOT depend on Dobie to feed you because you will regret it several times a day. Also, please be on your Ps and Qs safety wise because that area where Dobie is located is extremely high traffic and a lot of that includes a homeless population that gets free rice from this extremely generous but unhygeinic chinese food place (a diff one from Dobie Mall’s) on the road. It’s very safe overall but don’t walk around at 1 am right there with a head to toe Gucci on. Overall it’s okay, I used to visit a friend who stayed there often. He did not like it, lol. But it is literally the next best thing to living on campus.
Callaway I haven’t personally been in but it is quite a high price point and mostly freshman/underclassmen. They really label themselves as a “private dorm” not student apartments and they really facilitate your parents being the main part of the leasing process. Same goes for Castilian only that one is insanely expensive.
University Towers? Yes. Just yes. It would be my first choice if I was in your shoes. The only people who complain about it are the people who can’t be satisfied by anything because they aren’t adult enough to put headphones in if its loud… or the type to complain about there being a party instead of getting up and GOING to the party lol. The cost there is pretty middle of the road for Austin not crazy but not so affordable it’s a steal either.
Also, I strongly recommend having roommates. It’s really the best way to make friends and getting a roommate you hate in life is like a 1/10 kinda thing and it’s even less likely with places that do roommate matching.
Good luck in school
Ok, thank you @WannabeBanana , do places like University Towers and Callaway match you with roommates randomly or based on your interests?
Roommate matching is like this long quiz that asks you things like whether you’re very clean or messy and if you like to play music or maybe when you wake up. If you want same sex, gender neutral, if you’re okay with LGBT roommates, and all that. It tries to match you based on your living habits, not like “Oh you both play tennis!” or anything like that. Univ Towers def does roommate matching as part of ur application.
Just try to apply early instead of late in the lease season. The longer leases (12 months) may seem scary, but if u commit to a longer lease then ur rate can’t be changed mid year, fyi. Like if you’re renting 700 a month for 6 months then that 6 months is up, the complex IS legally entitled to change ur rent rate for the next lease term to 780 a month or whatever they deem appropriate based on the market appreciation. That’s how a lot of places get students, they have u in a short term lease that expires in the middle of the year and then needs to be renewed at a higher price when the student has no time to look for a place to move. But that’s more for other apartments, Univ Towers is pretty consistent and more dorm style paid in installments, not “rent” per say.
Good luck~
HOUSING: if you know any girls looking-- 1BR/1BA w/ private balcony within a 4BR/4Ba at the Bloc on Rio. Walking distance to campus. 3 current roommates are all juniors. 2 from Austin. $839/mo + utilities (about $40). Parking $99/mo. Available for move-in August 15. Message me if interested in more info.
Not sure why you want to avoid living on campus. Maybe some of the rules? I can understand that, but perhaps a current student on campus can comment on rule enforcement. As long as you respect others, small rule infractions should never rise to the surface. Outside of just getting to campus, the Jester-Moore-Hill area gives easy access to Gregory, the stadium, cafeteria, PCL and the newer student union. Also, this might give you some time to really scout the details of the other options for the next 3 years. 1 year on campus and 3 off might be your best bet. FWIW, I lived on campus for three years and wish I had done 4.