<p>Instead of bunk beds, cinder-block walls and communal showers, these newly built dorms off campus resemble apartments and offer a wide range of amenities, such as walk in-closets and custom-designed furniture. Everyone usually gets his or her own bedroom and bathroom, so the only sharing is in the high-end kitchens that often feature granite countertops and stainless-steel appliances.</p>
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<p>If college housing is too luxurious, students may be distracted from their studies and be in no rush to graduate. A better lifestyle is something they should be working toward.</p>
<p>That is an outrageous leap of assumption from the data provided!!! Except, I think that is exactly what is going on with my son. He doesn’t seem to be in a hurry to graduate, and we certainly aren’t anxious for him to move back home!</p>
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Our son pays $460 for his bedroom with bath in a 4br/4bath apartment adjacent to campus. When he lived in university housing on campus we paid more money for a smaller apartment with 4 tiny bedrooms sharing ONE bath!</p>
<p>The article appears to be mostly about private off-campus dorms. Presumably, they are in competition with other off-campus housing and on-campus dorms; students and parents can determine for themselves whether they are a good deal (by price and quality) in comparison.</p>
<p>In other words, that is somewhat different from the situation where a (well endowed) college is spending $600,000 per bed to build or renovate on-campus dorms that it charges about $13,000 per academic year (about $1,444 per month) room and board for.</p>
<p>My son lives in a private, just off campus apartment complex with 4 BR/4 BA. He pays a lot, but saves on the food, being off the meal plan. Since it is right across the street from the school, he doesn’t need transportation, has roommates who have cars for grocery store trips, plus the school runs shuttles for shopping. I don’t see him distracted from his studies because of it.</p>
<p>I just checked the rates on the one in our state and they are alittle bit “higher” than typical off campus houses, but not terribly significant and probably safer construction than the usual of campus housing.</p>
<p>Wow. My D just obtained off campus housing and it is “campy” to say the least. The housing situation is terrible at her school and students are forced off campus as juniors. The accommodations are not at all luxurious and the rent is quite high. Let’s just say the landlords take full advantage of the situation. </p>
<p>We don’t even have some of the upgrades that these luxury places have in our own home so I really don’t think my D would expect high end finishes but certainly would like something a bit nicer than “campy.”</p>
<p>I forgot to mention that my son’s 4 br/ 4 bath apartment has a flatscreen TV in the living room and a washer and dryer in the unit. The location adjacent to campus actually makes the development more convenient to many campus buildings than some of the university housing. To call the decision to live there a “no brainer” is an understatement. I think the university fills their dorms with underclassmen who are not aware of the better/cheaper options available. Also, it might be possible that certain financial aid can only be used for on campus housing.</p>
<p>My son already had to sign his lease for his apartment off campus next year. There were many luxury apartment to choose from. Some upwards of $800/ for a 2bd/2ba furnished apartment with all the trimmings in a new building. He will be in a 2bd/1ba (unfurnished) in a much older building paying just over $600/mo each. With any luck he’ll be sharing his room and splitting the rent. The only way to find anything less was to either loose the a/c or go about 15min further out. He will be about 10min from campus and about 25 min from his academic buildings. </p>
<p>This is LESS then we are paying the university for his on campus apartment where he has a 2bd/1ba and both rooms are shared by two roommates, so they are getting over $2,400/mo for that lousy apartment!!! It’s insane. There is nothing luxury about it, no pool or lazy river, or rec center. No dishwasher or washer/dryer. Just your standard issue two dorm rooms, complete with cinderblock walls, with a bath, living area and kitchen attached. Don’t get me wrong, it is more then fine for 4 college guys, but the price is outrageous.</p>
<p>COMPLETELY agree with this point. The state flagship where I live is full of swanky new student housing like the article describes. Since when do college kids have their own bathrooms? Putting it in perspective, I have been working for 25 years and STILL don’t have a bathroom to myself. (Partly that is because I choose to live in older houses, but you get the point.)</p>
<p>A developer built some really nice townhouses (nice for college students a’la the article) right next to campus. They go for $850 per student so some of these developers ARE raking it in. This particular complex has proximity but no amenities except for a garage.</p>
<p>I lived in my share of roach infested old apartments (with bars on the windows because they didn’t lock). I don’t wish that on my kids! No flat screen TV in S’s apt, but they do have a washer and dryer. I think his schoolwork has improved being out of the dorms.</p>
<p>If college housing is not comfortable enough, students may still be distracted from their studies… but for other reasons. The key is to find the right level of comfort.</p>
<p>West Chester University is a popular public university in eastern PA of about 12,000 students. The 1960s high rise dorms are being torn down, and are being replaced by about units for 2,500 students in privately owned dorms on state property that cost $9,000 per school year (not calendar year) for a double room without a kitchen. </p>
<p>That has occurred at most state-owned universities in PA - obsolete publicly owned dorms have been replaced, but with much more expensive housing that is privately owned. The amenities are nice for people who can afford it, but there are few options for students with limited resources (especially in small towns or expensive suburban areas where there are fewer off-campus options).</p>
<p>My son lived in a private off-campus student apartment building his last 2 years at Penn. he had a furnished 1 bedroom apartment with washer/dryer. It was new, safe and convenient. For a number of reasons, we were willing to pay. It was the right choice for him and I have no regrets. It wasn’t cheap, but neither were the dumps which were the alternative and which he tried soph year.</p>
<p>It is all so relative. Near Fl state, a 1 bedroom next to campus can be $500-800, depending on pool, parking, fitness center. As the worm has only been in campuses in CA and Cambridge, everything is over $1200, which included his grad dorm room. $1500 does not get anything close to luxury, and that is for each of 3 roommates. When deciding on schools, thinking about the cost and quality of housing was a low priority. Kids applying now seem far more sophisticated about this issue.</p>
<p>I wonder how much of the reaction here is due to the general increase in swankiness of housing since 25+ years ago. These days, when people buy new houses, the new houses include all kinds of amenities not found in original older houses (e.g. air conditioning) that were considered luxuries then but necessities now (imagine a 25+ year old house as originally built and maintained in good condition – how many people would want it compared to a similar “updated” house?). So a newly built college dorm may have what are considered “standard amenities” now, but seem like luxury items for someone who went to college 25+ years ago and is living in a house bought a few decades ago.</p>
<p>Of course, some colleges do seem to be going over the top, like the one spending $600,000 per bed on building a dorm. However, private off-campus dorms and apartments (as the linked article describes) are unlikely to go that far, due to a need to actually break even on rent without cross subsidy that a college could do.</p>
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<p>Were the old dorms worn out and not cost effective to repair?</p>
<p>The college I attended has a residential system with on campus apartments for juniors/seniors. I loved that option, it was such a community feel. To say they were ‘nice’ is stretching it but they have improved them over the years so they are nice now. They are building a new complex that is REALLY nice. The $50,000 price tag, however, keeps kids from sticking around too long because of the nice dorms :D. Our kids focused on schools that had residential systems as well. None of the dorms were what I would call “nice”, they were dorm rooms. The upperclassmen housing was better though.</p>