Well, they decided to keep the apartment to themselves and not crowd the other two in. I think this is best. Especially after studying her pictures of the place and trying to gauge room size.
We started looking at furniture, which we really shouldn’t do yet! But it gives me an idea of their tastes so I know what to look for secondhand.
DS is looking into an apartment (flat) next year also. He has one roommate firmed. They had another roommate picked out, but that one backed out when he talked to his parents - apparently they want him in the dorms for the foreseeable future.
The rental market in St. Andrews is apparently fairly cutthroat. The desirable places within town are significantly more expensive than the stuff just outside of town. We took the yearly price DS is paying for the dorms, divided it by 9 for the months that he needs to cover, and told him that was a rough estimate of his monthly expenses. So he started looking at places that rented for that much, forgetting about little things like utilities and food. We retrenched and talked about things and he started looking further out of town. Then my father gave DS mad Christmas money and so now he’s looking in the expensive part of town again.
Eh, if he’s paying for it I guess I shouldn’t mind too much…
@ninakatarina Does he only have to pay for 9 months? DD had to do a 12 month lease.
Further out of town is there transportation to school? One thing we wanted for DD was walkability to campus. They could have gotten slightly cheaper elsewhere but not significantly cheaper. Rents are pretty inexpensive there overall. Really want her to find a job and cover the bulk of it with her earnings.
Even though I’m sure it’s annoying to some students, I’m somewhat lucky that both kids are at schools that basically require living on campus all four years. D17 has had a single room for the last couple of years, but she’s going to branch out next year and live in one of the campus townhouses (for upperclassmen) with three other students. At least they each get their own room.
S19 still hasn’t worked out the living situation for next year, but he thinks he will be in a dorm with a bunch of kids who are in fraternities and will likely stick with his current roommate. I’m so glad they have become good friends.
My son will be in dorm in sophomore year, too as a school requirement. He has one more year to figure out an apartment / roommates but he sounds like learning from older students. I told him that the location should be walkable / within 2-5 blocks. He has a bicycle but weather isn’t that friendly. I am going to tell him that what we pay for yearly dorm fee, then divided by 12. That’s his monthly rent budget to start looking for. Utilities, internet fee things, he should be able to manage from his monthly allowance.
Then, I am not sure yet about meal plan for sophomore year since “unlimited meal plan” isn’t required for sophomore year. No kitchens in dorm but a little access to kitchen sounds like possible. My son lost 10 LB in first semester with unlimited meal plan. He is gaining back now in winter break. He said that he was eating but skipping meals sometimes when he was exhausted or very busy. he might lose some again in second semester. Dorm cafeteria opens 6am to after midnight. Unlimited meal plan is $7300 / year, 19-meal plan (up to 19 meals / week) and 14-meal plan (up to 14 meals / week) are options for sophomore but both are $6800 / year. I feel like all meal plans are so expensive for a kid who loses 10 LB every semester (4 months).
When my D moved off campus, I took what dorm plus meal plan was and told her that was her budget for rent/utilities/groceries. Which is also what 529 will allow as qualified expenses, up to the amount of the dorm plus meal plan. @ninakatarina , my D is also in a cutthroat rental market (LA) and the leases were for 12 months, some starting in May, some June, some August.
@elena13 Yeah I’m all about the kids staying in dorms/campus housing. I know it can be expensive but they have their whole lives to live in apartments with friends and figure out how to eat. S19 hasn’t figured out the roommate situation yet. Might stay with his current roommate. They are a good pair. Or he might group up with some XC boys. I’d almost rather he stay with his current roommate since he will see his teammates so much anyway and it’s nice to have friends outside of that group too. That being said, his XC friends are amazing and I’m so glad he has them. He told us he thinks these are boys he will be friends with for the rest of his life! Seems impossible for him to know that right now but I’m glad he feels so connected to them.
I originally thought I’d like DD to stay on campus two years, but she is SO ready for a kitchen and to not eat the cafeteria food all the time. And it saves about $4000 vs. dorm so I am all in favor! She will be getting a 5-meal a week plan so she can eat lunches on campus and that is $400/semester.
@homerdog I am glad DD is staying with her roommate vs. other theatre girls just for the fact that it is a change of pace from the people at her EC. And she can go to their apt for another place to hang. My DD also feels like she has truly found her people too.
@ninakatarina Hope the “mad money” helps your DS find the right place for him. I tend to agree with @bjscheel, I like the idea of “campus walkability” until maybe senior year. Based on my own experience from long ago, I think it gives easier access to profs, study groups, program extracurriculars, etc. and encourages more campus involvement. My own S19 is in Finance, and as such is in the Investment Club and another business club - even his freshman year, he is back and forth to the business building multiple times a day for classes and meetings.
@JeJeJe Glad your son is gaining back the weight - mine gained 10 lbs. Not an unlimited plan, but clearly taking advantage of the plan he has!
My S19 heard over break that he and his friends got into their desired housing next year. It is pretty cool - technically, it is a (very new) private apartment complex with many amenities, just at the edge of campus (a block from the business school), but rented through a cooperative arrangement with university housing. It is a big place - 700+ students, and reserved for honors kids and athletes (what a combo). Their apartment is 4 bed/2 bath, so he will have his own bedroom, a real plus after this year. Debating the meal plan now - I would think he would do breakfast at the apartment, but probably most other meals at campus facilities. The overall cost is more than the traditional dorm, but he keeps reminding us how much he is saving us because he chose the state school with lots of merit aid over the private schools with none:)
@ninakatarina Hope the “mad money” helps your DS find the right place for him. I tend to agree with @bjscheel, I like the idea of “campus walkability” until maybe senior year. Based on my own experience from long ago, I think it gives easier access to profs, study groups, program extracurriculars, etc. and encourages more campus involvement. My own S19 is in Finance, and as such is in the Investment Club and another business club - even his freshman year, he is back and forth to the business building multiple times a day for classes and meetings.
@JeJeJe Glad your son is gaining back the weight - mine gained 10 lbs. Not an unlimited plan, but clearly taking advantage of the plan he has!
My S19 heard over break that he and his friends got into their desired housing next year. It is pretty cool - technically, it is a (very new) private apartment complex with many amenities, just at the edge of campus (a block from the business school), but rented through a cooperative arrangement with university housing. It is a big place - 700+ students, and reserved for honors kids and athletes (what a combo). Their apartment is 4 bed/2 bath, so he will have his own bedroom, a real plus after this year. Debating the meal plan now - I would think he would do breakfast at the apartment, but probably most other meals at campus facilities. The overall cost is more than the traditional dorm, but he keeps reminding us how much he is saving us because he chose the state school with lots of merit aid over the private schools with none:)
S19 will be living in a campus provided 4bd 2 bath apartment next year with his own bedroom . Its across the street from one of the larger parking lots so its walkable to campus. He can stay there until he graduates if he wants. the cost is pretty reasonable compared to D17 who is in DC, and on campus or off campus is all expensive.
S19 is back on campus and I am missing the daily updates on his activities that I got when he was home for 6 weeks. The house is SOOOO quiet with just H and I (and the dog). We had the 3 kids + a SO + an extra dog for 3 weeks in our rather small house. I am kind of enjoying the quiet but I wish my kids liked to send daily updates. I call each of them on the weekend but it feels like a long time. But I can be a “hoverer” so weekend only is really best.
S19 has his freshman writing seminar and was really quite frightened about his prof given her reviews. I finally made him show me the reviews. Wow, she has the most reviews and really long ones. Most are along the lines of ‘I suffered more in this class than any other class I have taken. prof X can be cruel and brutal. And she is the most amazing prof I have had. My writing was transformed (positively) by this class.’ So I told him to stick with the class, although I did now understand why he was concerned. After the first class, I asked him what he thought of this infamous prof. ‘I like her a lot! It’s my favorite class so far.’ lol! I fear he will suffer this quarter however. He has physics and differential equations and he reports that they have started at a fast and furious pace.
D got her grades today. Four As and one A-. Overall a 3.9 GPA (obviously her transfer credits aren’t part of her GPA- they’re at a 4.0 though). She is happy with that even though she’s never dealt with the whole +/- thing and an A that isn’t a 4.0 before. All of her DE schools kept it simple. I think the college average is a 3.3 so she knows not to complain. Ha.
What is everyone paying, if you don’t mind sharing, for off campus apartment? I’ve heard people typically say it’s cheaper off campus. But in D19’s school, I am not so sure. In fact i am sure it would be more. For example, we would have to do a 12 month lease instead of 9 months. In order to have her own room in a shared apartment with others, she would have to pay at least 2000. Share room with another would be at least $1500. Adding food and utility, it could easily add up $2000 to $2500 per month depending on shared room or owned room. That’s close to 25 - 30K/year just for room and board, i am not exaggerating. This is Berkeley CA. Currently we paid 17K per year for her in a dorm with 2 other roommates including food.
Would you mind sharing your experience?
@Nhatrang , D19 is not off campus yet (and probably won’t be next year if she can get a single room), but parent chat for her college is that there is not generally much difference in cost between dorms and shared apartments in the same areas (around NYU, though certainly no one else is getting a view over Washington Square Park for what NYU students pay!). For us it’s not a cost issue so much as the simplicity/ease of a dorm vs landlord arrangement for the year.
In San Francisco Bay Area, you may not have much of options except paying premium or having your child share a bedroom with a roommate. If you look surrounded cities (distance by short bus / train ride), you may find slightly cheaper and safe enough places such as in Oakland and El Cerrito. A Basic 2-bedroom apartment can start around $2500/month in El Cerrito but I am not sure how the rental market will be in this Spring / Summer. But some landlords may prefer renting an unit to Berkeley students due to quicker turnaround. So, outside of Berkeley may work more economically even considering train/bus fees.
I know one student years back who was one of 18 undergrad students to rent a huge 8-bedroom home (mixture of male and female students) in heart of UC Berkeley. Some shared a bedroom but rent agreements were made individually between an owner and parents. So, someone moved out, it wasn’t his concern to find a new roommate quickly.
I heard from a few sources that paying $4000/month (12-month lease) for 3 bedroom apartment in middle of Boston is reasonable. It seems much higher than most college dorm costs unless sharing a bedroom.
I expect my son to share a bedroom with a roommate if the rental market around his college is beyond of his dorm/housing/allowance budget (per academic year). His apartment budget should be around $750/month. I am sure there are other students / families who are OK to share bedroom to save rent money.
Oh yikes, DD in small town Missouri will be paying $350/month for her own bedroom in a 2BR/1BA apartment, 12 month lease. Let’s say $450/month after utilities and groceries, plus $800 total for the commuter meal plan makes $6200/year. It saves $4000/year compared to dorm. On campus apartments would have saved about $3000 each year and you don’t have to get furnishings or deal with a landlord but DD heard they are hard to get into as a sophomore and didn’t want to wait and see.
@Nhatrang sounds like dorm life is the way to go for your DD’s location. Not having to deal with landlords and buy furnishings is nice too.
I know we deal with a lot smaller COA numbers here compared to most, I don’t know how you all do it! Just paid for second semester tonight, $5000 after scholarships which is pretty low but it still hurts :neutral:
I’m guessing that @Nhatrang 's D won’t have the choice to live in the dorms after freshman year. I think that’s the way it goes at UCLA and Berkeley. Lots of colleges don’t have dorm space for anyone but freshmen.
@Nhatrang My daughter is also in the Bay Area (at Stanford), and almost all student live on campus all 4 years due to crazy high cost of off-campus housing. I’m sure it is comparably as expensive in Berkeley and I sympathize with your situation! Fortunately, there are a variety of on campus housing options at Stanford, all of which come out cheaper for my daughter than trying to live off campus. I’m not familiar with the on campus housing situation at Cal–is it an option for your child to remain in on-campus housing?
@homerdog we’re lucky at UCLA–they have 3 years of guaranteed campus housing. But yep, Cal only has one. We live about 10 minutes from Cal and I know the housing costs here…not cheap. However, most Cal students I know share a room when they live in apartments or a house, though, and seem to find not outrageous rents.