<p>Hi, as a transfer Junior for the 2012 school year which would you recommend? </p>
<p>I've realized that if I do stay on-campus I'll be paying approximately $900.00 a month for rent [Assuming that there's 3 months per semester x6 months = two semester, not including summer semester]. </p>
<p>Not to mention I have to sign up for a meal plan that is absolutely ridiculous priced for 3 months, no way I can eat $1000.00+ of food in 3 months! and then the mandatory insurance which is $1500+ </p>
<p>Whereas if I stay off campus and have a budget of $600.00 a month it'll be a bit cheaper. </p>
<p>What are the pros/cons of on-campus and off-campus living? </p>
<p>Any and all feedback/suggestions are much greatly appreciated thank you!</p>
<p>For what it’s worth, I’ve never had the FSU health insurance plan. Up until this past March I was on my parents’ through my mom’s work, but I was able to get on my own BCBSF health plan for $61/month- cheaper than being on my mom’s and about half as much as FSU’s. Even with the “rate hike” starting this month up to $70/month, it’s still much cheaper.
Unfortunately, I am not sure if sign-ups for it are available for students under 21 anymore due to some of the laws passed in Congress within the last year.
[Here</a> is the homepage to the plan I have, the BCBS 700 plan](<a href=“http://www.securehealthoptions.com/blue-options-plan-700.php]Here”>http://www.securehealthoptions.com/blue-options-plan-700.php).</p>
<p>Also, just so your calculations are correct, semesters are much closer to 4 months than 3. I think the official number is like 115 days or something, but it’s easier to just look at it as 4 months.</p>
<p>Ah I see, so it’ll work out after all then. If it’s 4 months per semester then that just means that it’ll be around $678.00 a month. </p>
<p>And I didn’t know we couldn’t sign up for the insurance, I suppose it’s not a bad thing to have. Right now I don’t really have medical insurance, but dental and vision only -.-’ </p>
<p>Question, the dorms that don’t require a meal plan… do they have a kitchen with them? Which one would you suggest I apply for? </p>
<p>I’m looking for a dorm where I"ll have my own room and not a shared one, I don’t mind having a roommate, but definitely will jump at the opportunity if I don’t have to have one.</p>
<p>You don’t have to sign up for the FSU health insurance, but you do have to have some health insurance. You can’t register for classes until you show proof of health insurance- either by purchasing the FSU plan or by filling out a form online about your health insurance.</p>
<p>Every dorm has kitchens available within the building- either in the rooms themselves (I think this is limited to Rogers/McCollum/Ragans though), on each floor (some others, such as Wildwood), or with a kitchen on a couple different floors (I believe Salley is like this).
As for which dorm to apply to, that’s a personal preference, really. You aren’t likely at all to get a single-person room. In fact, in most dorms the only way that happens is if you have a medical reason. The only exceptions are that Rogers offers single-person apartments, McCollum has a 1-person apartment option (but as a new Housing resident, you’re not going to get one of them, I’ll tell you that now), or to get a 4 bedroom apartment in Ragans (4 residents, 1 per bedroom).
However, you will also be paying a lot more for a single-person room than to have a roommate. With your budget, the only single that you might be able to afford is in Rogers, and even then it’s possible you’ll get a roommate (Rogers goes for around $600/month, I think).</p>
<p>I can think of a few plusses and minuses to living on campus (I lived in Reynolds last year).</p>
<p>Plusses:
You’re literally a 10 minute walk away from the furthest building away from your dorm and don’t have to worry about parking.
You never have to worry about paying utility bills or managing your own rent payments.
You are “forced” to socialize with people via your floormeetings and (if you’re in a good dorm) meal plans.
There is always something going on, so you’ll probably never be bored.</p>
<p>Minuses:
Rent is expensive… ridiculously so.
Having a roommate, suitemates or hallmates that don’t clean up after themselves or may be selfish.
Having to compete for parking in overnight parking garages and on sidewalks with commuters who don’t use commuter garages.
Being forced out of your room unnecessarily due to weather or school breaks (thanksgiving, winter, spring)
Having to pay for a meal plan that nobody ever uses to it’s full use.
Having to leave your room to use the kitchen.
Living with people who you don’t know.
It’s less secure than most people think.
Lack of locks that you can control, fire alarms at 6am, and not being able to have your complaints heard out. </p>
<p>Personally, I had a scarring experience last year with my roommate so I avoid the idea of ever living on campus again. Off campus, I’m paying less than half of what they’re charging on campus and am not obligated to have a meal plan. </p>
<p>The key, for me, is not living in a community that advertises to students. It is those communities that also charge you a lot to just live there.</p>
<p>Here’s the interesting thing about topramen’s complaints: most of those negatives are either not a problem in the upperclassman dorms (Rogers, Ragans, McCollum), or are problems no matter where you are if you don’t know a significant amount about your roommate. Some are even specific to just the dorm they were in.</p>
<p>
All of these are decent pluses, depending on your situation. The only one I disagree with is being “forced” to socialize- you can easily miss those meetings since they are never truly mandatory in my experience (at worst attendance is poorly taken, and those that miss are talked to later by an RA/Hall Coordinator).
I will also give the flip side: some of these things aren’t dorm specific- you can find something to do nearly every day on campus whether you are in a dorm or not. And socializing is up to you, no matter where you are: you aren’t going to meet new people if you don’t put in the effort anyway. </p>
<p>
This is actually sometimes incorrect. I say sometimes, because this is true of the more expensive dorms (Ragans, McCollum Efficiencies)- the rent is expensive.
In Reynolds, the rent ends up being around $700 a month, which is expensive for what you get (a bed, desk, shared bathroom, etc). I won’t dispute that (I also paid for a room in Wildwood for a year, out of pocket. Talk about painful).
However, rent in a McCollum townhouse is only $600/month, and you get a full apartment. Rogers is around $600/month too, I believe (I haven’t seen what the updated rates are for Rogers, I believe it was $595/month last year though).
Compare this to places nearby, and you might be paying $600 a month or more before you pay any utilities, especially if you get a furnished apartment (sometimes $80/month or more extra!).
I’ve priced out many nearby apartments, and few come close to $600/month everything included. Shoot, I even get the crappy on-campus TV and that still keeps everything under $650/month. </p>
<p>
This is a situation that sometimes can’t be avoided, but if you experience a roommate that’s problematic talk to them. Most don’t realize that they are this way, and most are willing to at least try to not be a problem. All it takes is a polite discussion.
Unless you’re living by yourself though, this can always be an issue.</p>
<p>
I haven’t experienced this myself, because I don’t have a car, but I do know that parking is extremely limited in the central-east side due to the construction and everything. Parking is also a nightmare on campus right now due to construction removing an entire parking lot in Wildwood, part of the McCollum parking lot, and a good bit of the parking lot for Salley’s east building, among others.
I’ve also noticed though that many apartment complexes seem to somewhat lacking in parking as well. Probably nowhere like the campus, but many along Call Street next to campus seem to have many apartments, but few parking spaces.</p>
<p>
Weather problems though can occur anywhere, at anytime. I am a senior at FSU though and have never once been “forced” out of any room due to weather.
As for breaks, the hall closures are one of those things I mentioned that impact only the freshman dorms. The upperclassman dorms aren’t impacted by this- most don’t close for breaks. You also aren’t “forced” out for Thanksgiving break, as the dorms don’t close during this time (unless something’s changed in the last year). </p>
<p>
This is an example of something that is specific to your dorm (and some others). I have never once lived in a dorm on campus that required a meal plan. Most of the time, living in a dorm that requires a meal plan is a choice- meaning that if you didn’t like the requirement, you probably shouldn’t choose that dorm.</p>
<p>
Again, something specific to freshman dorms. The apartment-style dorms have kitchens in them (Rogers/Ragans/McCollum). </p>
<p>
This is something that’s quite possible while living off campus as well. If you aren’t paying for a 1 person apartment, or don’t have all your roommate slots full for your apartment lease, you very well may be assigned a roommate you don’t know. The big difference is that with on-campus housing, changing your room/roommate can be done online- in off-campus housing, they might just tell you to deal with it.
There’s also a reason why most experts on the topic recommend not living with your best friends in college- you might learn that they aren’t that amazing roommate.</p>
<p>
It’s still pretty secure though. Aside from people holding the doors open for complete strangers, the security is still pretty good. People can be prevented from getting into the building if they don’t have their FSUCard, which is a pretty good deterrent. </p>
<p>
Again, this sounds more like your specific dorm’s problems. I’m not sure what you mean by a “lack of locks that you can control” since the important ones are easily controlled by residents- there are locks on every bedroom and bathroom door. In the dorms, sure this can get messy but there is a reason that the suggestion in your paperwork you get at check-in is to keep your door locked at all times.</p>
<p>
I’m not going to question your anecdotal evidence, but scarring experiences with a roommate are possible anywhere. Whether the roommate is a stranger you just met, or someone you’ve been best friends with for years.
As I stated above, you also aren’t “obligated” to get a meal plan in many of the dorms. You happened to choose a dorm that required one, and are now complaining about your choice like it was a surprise you had to have a meal plan.</p>
<p>
Any community can charge you a lot to live there. For some, convenience and location near campus can trump saving $50 a month. </p>
<p>topramen makes many valid points, but as I said, many are either specific to the dorm they were in (you may not have those problems as a junior transfer, you might be able to get into Rogers relatively easy), or very well can happen anywhere. The dorm life isn’t awful- in fact, I like living in McCollum, or else I wouldn’t have re-applied in the first place- but it also isn’t sunshine and roses. There are plenty of negatives. There’s plenty of positives though, as well.</p>
<p>Hey Pasbal : ) Thanks for the reply! I’m still researching my options. If do get into one of the dorms given my situation [last min placement] I guess I’ll just have to deal with it.</p>
<p>One of the reason why I’d like to live on campus is just to be close to class and not having to run around for parking etc… in the morning. </p>
<p>Do you guys have your own car while your in a dorm? Would you suggest having a car? Maybe if you’d like to pick up a part time job or something, go out etc… ?</p>
<p>I don’t have one, but I feel like not having one is a huge limitation on what and when you can do things.
For example, if I had a part-time job but no car, my options are limited by where the bus system goes and when the system runs (or else I’m walking or relying on someone else to give me a ride back and forth). </p>
<p>Parking though can be a pain. That’s one thing I’m really glad I don’t have to deal with. Plus, a LOT, and I mean a LOT, of people on campus cannot drive. Although that kinda appears to be a Tallahassee thing too- a good number of people in the city can’t drive either.</p>
Thanks!</p>
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