<p>I have several friends whose teens have moved off campus in their soph year - after convincing Mom & Dad that it would "only" be $ 200 - $ 300 additional rent per month, which would be offset by savings in food. Somehow ignoring utilities, cable, internet access, car, etc. Not to mention the convenience of practice rooms (music students). All this led to a discussion with my d - explaining that the economics of the situation might mean that she had to stay in the dorms. (unlesss off campus is cheaper)</p>
<p>What is other's experience with this ? My d is a HS senior now, so I don't know...</p>
<p>It all depends on where your D ends up. Some colleges cannot provide dorms for all students and that may leave no choice. For other colleges the availability of off campus housing is poor. Dorm living is rarely cheap and room and board can exceed $10k/year. My D pays about half of that as her share of the rent and utilities. Food is much, much less than $5k/year. She also has the advantage of a year around apartment. She is settled in and we do not need to drive back and forth with her stuff twice a year.</p>
<p>Net-net, after all the fees and expenses and subsidized summer sublet, my daughter saved about $3,000 her sophomore year by moving off campus, and had better living space (but somewhat less convenient) than she would have had in a dorm. I don't think there was ever a moment when she, or we, thought she had made a mistake. The next year, she is saving only about half that, but her apartment is palatial and gorgeous (except for the kitchen), and she lived in it all summer. At her college, relatively few juniors and seniors remain in the dorms.</p>
<p>When S wanted to move off campus sophomore year we said fine. This is what it would cost you to live in the dorm for the year. We then put that amount (total, not on a monthly basis) and said this is what you have to live off for the year. You make it work. Dangerous? Perhaps, but at the end of the year there was still money in the bank and that included having to pay for a security deposit. No, rent where he is is not cheap, nor did he live on rice and beans (he's actually quite a gourmet cook). He has a car but ended up walking to campus most of the time and cable wasn't even an issue since neither he nor his housemates had a TV. I would be more concerned about the maturity of the student and their ability to "maintain" a house or apt. (i.e. notice when a pipe is leaking, how to shut it off and to call whoever is responsible for maintenance immediately!) They learn to regulate utilities (and energy waste from having the thermostat/air conditioner set too high or too low, leaving lights on, etc.) and have to be attentive to finances - paying bills on time. Plus many places require a 12 month lease so you may be looking at paying for a couple of months when the student isn't even there.</p>
<p>Thanks !! You've given me food for thought. I just wanted to know some of the variables. My d is not sure where she'll end up next Sept, so I guess it varies by school.</p>
<p>We also realized that,at least at our daughter's school, the typically freshman dorms were the least expensive ones. As she moved up into the upperclass dorms the cost would be significantly more. Moving off-campus was about the same and she has a private bath and washer and dryer in her apartment. Also , she has more flexibility with moving in/out, staying over breaks , etc. There are so many factors to consider.</p>
<p>S will be a junior next year and is moving off campus (just signed his lease).His costs will drop, for much more space and better space.He is spending this year in an on campus apartment with a really small (one wall in the common room) kitchen.He gave up his food plan and we left the equivalent amount of $$ in his account to use for food costs. Between cooking for himself and eating out, his costs are lower.And he eats well, hes not lazy and eating ramen,etc. He doesnt have to manage utility costs this year but like someone said, once they get a large overage bill (some elect cost is included in next yrs rent) they will learn to shut the lights,air,etc.
Its amazing how they learn to manage the money when its theirs to manage.Thats why we left the food $$ there in his account, so he could monitor its use.
Same system worked with D when she was an undergrad.</p>
<p>I go to the same college as JHS's kids. Students here save lots of money by moving off campus (unless they choose to move into an exceptionally expensive apartment).</p>
<p>Our son is a freshman now and wants to live off campus with two of his teammates next year. We ran the numbers and during the school year the cost would be about the same, (this would include utilities etc) however he would have to rent the house all summer. We would have to furnish his room and drive it back and forth 7 hours twice a year. He proposed getting a "commuter" food plan which is considerable cheaper. My son does not cook at home. He was reluctant to contact the future landlord for some specifics regarding utility costs, insurance, and viewing the lease which each renter must sign. In our view he was not showing us a maturity level that constituted us approving of this choice. I know he took this hard as the other two fellows' parents approved without much thought. Our decision was purely based on our feeling that he is just not ready for this responsibility. I think living off campus would be beneficial to him in the future.</p>
<p>I presume that your daughter lived in your home during high school, and that you not only shared scheduled time but interacted constantly through all the details of her high school and personal life. How different would it have been if your daughter had gotten an apartment across town, and shown up at your home only for selected meals, special events and scheduled meetings with you? Would your relationship be the same? Would your family be the same? Would it have been best for your daughter? The dynamics are even greater at college, where students are interacting with the institution and with one another during all their waking hours. Going to college as a commuter can work, but it's never likely to be the same. My wife and I believe this so strongly that we're willing to pay more, if necessary, to have our daughter live on campus, and we encouraged her to rule out schools at which it was unlikely to have the option to live on for all four years.</p>
<p>
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Going to college as a commuter can work, but it's never likely to be the same.
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<p>Living off-campus doesn't really make you a commuter, in most cases. It really depends on the college, where the dorms are located, what percent of students move off campus sophomore/junior year, etc. In many colleges, there's no real difference between living in an "upper-classman" dorm and living in an "off-campus" apartment; both may be off-campus, and there may not be any real community to speak of in either.</p>
<p>D lived in a fraternity sophomore and junior years at a much lower expense that the residence hall was. The fraternity house was across the street from his old dorm, so the difference in distance was negligible.</p>
<p>Senior year, he moved into a two-bedroom apartment south of campus that also proved to be less expensive than the dorm but more expensive than the fraternity. It was a greater distance, but he could carpool with his roommate, take the bus, or walk.</p>
<p>gadad: While I agree with you in general, it doesn't quite work that way. My child who lives off-campus probably spends 10-14 hours/day on campus (roughly 9-7, 9-1, sometimes 10-10). She eats about 1/2 her meals there. When she goes home, she is living with other students, in a building full of other students, and next door to buildings with still more students. Most of her friends live within a short walk, and they are in and out of each other's apartments a fair amount, except that none of them spends all that much time in them. Every part of her life is bound up with the university; she rarely speaks with anyone who isn't a student, faculty, or employee there.</p>
<p>My wife and I attended a college where 95+% of students lived on campus all four years, which was wonderful as far as I was concerned. My wife hated the atmosphere in the dorms, though -- noisy, male, lots of alcohol, little personal space. She was part of the tiny minority that chose to live off campus her last two years. Same deal, though: she lived in houses with 8 students, spent a great deal of time on campus, ate all her lunches there and some dinners. She was a BMOC, too -- an activist, a leader, appointee to several high-profile committees. In retrospect, there was very little difference in our experiences of the college, except she was a better citizen, and didn't spend as much time as I playing volleyball in the courtyard or drinking in the basement. And she made vegetarian stews for dinner a lot, which seemed super-exotic to me at the time.</p>
<p>We initially wanted our gal to live on-campus (room/board but no car expense/no parking sticker) for the 1st 2 years - for many reasons - but..... we did reneg on that requirement when we crunched the numbers and really figured out that off-campus living was cheaper than on-campus - rent/utilities/phone/car. </p>
<p>We did allow her to check things out and for the sophmore year she moved into an all-inclusive furnished off-campus housing - 1 check covered all the exprenses - except for the car (tho we got her an on-campus parking sticker) but she also had free shuttle service - we got her a commuter meal plan which was very reasonable - and did a food allowance monthly - the total was cheaper then being on-campus - for the last 2 years she did a private rental with roomies near campus - rent/utilities - with car sticker/commuter meal plan/food allowance - and again it was cheaper then being in on-campus dorms.</p>
<p>I think it really depends on where the school and the cost of living in the area - in many places it would be more expensive to live off-campus than on.</p>
<p>It is waaayy too early to worry about this one IMHO. DS is in school in Boston, we are in CA. He was talking about off campus for his junior year (next year). We crunched the numbers, figured out the cost of internet, cable, trash, etc. then figured out the cost of having to buy furnishings, etc. (they are in the city with no car) and they decided to stay on campus.
I lived off campus myself in my junior and senior years. I was in a rural area...it was cheaper and I liked the seclusion of it. I had my own car, made my own meals, etc. Only really was on campus for classes. Ended up having my diploma mailed to me, didn't attend graduation. In that instance living off campus was a very isolated experience.
Too many variables at this point to worry about this one.</p>
<p>Try to have him stay on-campus at least the first year if possible even if the cost is a bit higher. After that, be open to on/off campus housing. He might end up preferring on-campus and choose to stay there. Off campus he probably won't be able to roll out of bed 8 minutes before class or head back there between classes as easily. </p>
<p>If you know the particular college he'll be attending crunch some numbers for on vs off campus housing including all the variables. Especially given similar circumstances, i.e. 2 per room, there's a very good chance that off-campus will be cheaper and they'll end up with a living room, kitchen, pool (depending), etc. Make sure you consider how close the off campus housing is to campus, transportation, parking/car costs if needed, convenience to campus/public transportation, safety, convenience to a grocery store, etc.</p>
<p>EBEEEEE - having a student in downtown Boston would really not make alot of sense to be off-campus - as Boston's cost of living is very very expensive - especially for students (for what they get too uugh alot of the time) - and especially with parents across the country - it can really be a hastle.</p>
<p>That said tho - living in Boston can be an awesome experience as long as one has a job that will cover expenses of living there :)</p>