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Does anyone know how much is reasonable to budget for monthly utilities in an off-campus apartment? I imagine air conditioning gets pretty expensive when the weather is hot.</p>
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<p>For a 2 BR apt, the electric bill is going to run about $130 a month in the summer …so divided by 2 if sharing. Water is often included. </p>
<p>Sometimes internet is included, sometimes not. Cable or satellite or Uverse will run about $80 a month. </p>
<p>some student apts include most utilities, but if you use too much electricity, you will get a bill for the surplus. </p>
<p>For my son at The Retreat, he was in a 5BR, 5Bath cottage. I paid about $550 a month for his lease (each room has its own lease). I often had to pay an add’l $20 a month for the surplus…because one housemate used a LOT AC and heat. </p>
<p>The dorm pricing this year at UA ranged from $2800 to $4400/semester - the $4400 was the 4 BR suite style. Freshman meal plan (required, it is unlimited swipes) is $1633/semester. D’s presidential scholarship paid for her tuition (FT hour rate) $4913. Before other scholarships, our out of pocket would have been $6435 for this semester (plus books and incidentals). However eng and music scholarships took that down some more, we have AL Prepaid College Tuition (which paid at 2010 rates total with fee pmt $3950). At UA there are fees tied to depts and courses - my DD’s fees this semester was $552, with the largest being music $200.</p>
<p>You would pay less at UAB - they have very small and very limited fees, but UA has a lot of opportunities UAB doesn’t.</p>
<p>However if you S/D likes a school that has what they are looking for and will not take advantage of programs at another school…</p>
<p>DD is very happy at UA. She is in Million Dollar Band (MDB) and STEM MBA and honors. The STEM MBA has 300 freshmen. MDB is very selective, but the full band goes to away games. We know a student at UF, and only their pep band goes to away games.</p>
<p>There is some reasonably priced housing just off campus, and we are checking into that for next year - anything saved from college money is DDs. She also can manage with a small meal plan.</p>
<p>Thanks for the information mom2collegekids. The Retreat does look amazing, I guess next year DS will have to decide between a premium apartment, and one with slightly fewer amenities but we’ll help with a car. Not a bad situation for him I think!</p>
<p>I don’t know if any of the “cheaper apts” let you have your own bedroom’s lease. I would not want to sign a lease with another person. I liked the fact that my child had his own lease, so if a roomie flaked, it didn’t affect my son. </p>
<p>Be aware that in most cases, it is the parent signing the lease since you often have to show income to support the lease…and kids don’t have the income. </p>
<p>I knew that we’d have to sign the lease, but you raise a good point about the individual bedroom lease. I’ll definitely keep that in mind.</p>
<p>Ditto M2K about the joint leases. I had a horrible, nightmare situation with a joint lease when I was in college, but I did get experience in a court room as a 20 year old both being jointly sued by the complex when my roommate and good friend dropped out of school, moved out, and stopped paying the bills and then got to counter sue her on the advice of my parents. We never spoke again.</p>
<p>I would NEVER let my son sign a joint lease with other students.</p>
<p>The Woodlands where he’s living also has individual leases. It’s also a ‘resort style’ complex and doesn’t really qualify as the “cheaper apts”, but since it’s an ‘older complex’ (it may be near 10 years old now?) they have less expensive rent than some of the newer units. In a 4BR with his own bathroom we’re paying $495/month + water and electricity (cable and internet are included), which I think is a pretty fair price.</p>
<p>^^
Having internet and cable included is a good savings…the combo of the two, if a good pkg/speed, can easily be $150 a month if paying per apt. </p>
<p>Maybe we need a thread about off-campus apts, their pluses and minuses, what’s included, etc. And then I’ll link the thread to the stickied thread about Bama. I will make one in a few minutes.</p>