So, I am currently a sophomore and am graduating next year as a junior. And have been looking at colleges, i have my first choice and so on and so forth, but I am having trouble deciding whether to get a roommate or not, and for those of you who are gunna say to cross that bridge when you get there. I grew up in a house where you thought about important stuff long before it happens. I have shared a room with my older brother for 12 years ever since i was about 3, and he finally moved out last month so i know how to coexist with a roommate. All suggestions are appricieated.
You may not have a choice. At many colleges, freshmen don’t have access to single rooms because they are scarce and upperclassmen fill them first. Assuming your college has single rooms for freshmen, you should be aware that 1) even if you request a single, you won’t necessarily be assigned a single, and 2) singles cost more money, so you’d have to get your parents’ approval if they are paying. So … it’s not necessarily within your control.
That said, I think freshmen should have roommates. It’s more fun and helps you meet more people. It’s part of the freshman experience.
I had two years of not-great roommates and love love LOVE my single room. Not all parts of the freshman experience are positive ones. 
But yeah, singles are probably going to cost more and may be sparse or even not available for freshmen.
I’m paying for my own college more or less, according to my parents ill get about 6k from fafsa, i get 1.5 k for graduating early, my work offers 2k in scholarships for crew members, and i can save up the 10k difference by fall of 2018.
also if anyone’s curious, i’m looking at a suite style dorm where its just you and one other person, 1 bathroom, 2 rooms, 1 kitchen/common area.
Every college does housing differently, but at my college, housing is based on credits: the more credits you have, the earlier you get to pick your housing. Upperclassmen usually fill up the apartments and suites first, so even if you can afford a suite, there might not be one left.
But since you’re not even out of high school yet, I’m not sure how important this is right now.
You have much bigger issues – you sound like you will be scrambling to afford one year of college. Don’t enroll someplace that you won’t be able to afford after the first year. Unless you can get into a college with good financial aid, you aren’t going to have to worry about housing choices. Focus on finances and academics first.
Idk how it is with others families, but with mine every time one of us had to go to college, we always had to scramble for money.
You need to have a plan and an affordable school. Your best option may be 2 years of community college first, or a four year school you can commute to from home. Having a financial plan before you go to college makes it much more likely that you will finish college. Stop worrying about minutia and focus on your biggest issue – finding an affordable option that offers the major you want.
I’ll be getting 8k a year for sure for college, 10k this year cuz i’m graduating early. I can make the difference at work most likeley, and if i’m a few k short, my grandfather said the he’d help pay for the rest, same with all my siblings, the last part that is.
And I could commute to it from home, but I just want to leave my house. And I’ll be too young to get an apartmment
I like single room rather than roommate. Because I don’t like noise anymore. And I don’t even think that someone hamper my study anymore. So, for my choice single room is much better.
What is the college? If you live at home, you may be able to stretch your money to cover two or more years. College money doesn’t drop from the sky. You can borrow $5,500 in federal loans freshman year, a bit more each year after that. But what you don’t want to do is have to drop out to work or transfer because you didn’t plan out your finances.
The college is going to be boise state university. And i just don’t want to live at home anymore. and like i said i have a confirmed half of the cost yearly because of work and fafsa.
Don’t be too quick to play fast and loose with the finances here. You said you plan things in advance. Make some spreadsheets and weigh the pros and cons of all your options: living single, with someone else, or at home. Crunch the numbers.
FAFSA is a form, it determines your eligibility for federal loans and grants, it doesn’t give you money. You can count on $5500 in loans. Do you qualify for a Pell Grant?
@Betapig Let’s break down these numbers.
-As @zoosermom said, Fafsa is a form, not a money supplier. So, you and your parents will fill out the Fafsa. How do your parents know what you will get? You can take out $5,500 in loans if you fill out Fafsa. That’s a loan that you have to pay back after your graduate or leave school. Are your parents assuming that you will get a $500 Pell grant?
-$1,500 for graduating early: Who gives you that? Your parents reward you with that?
-$2,000 in scholarships for crew members – This is automatic? Do you get it at the end or the beginning of the semester? IOW, will you have to lay it out?
-Save up $10,000 by fall of 2018 – With the money you save (if you are able to do this), you would have $19,500, which covers the cost of attendance on Boise State’s website.
What about subsequent years? Do you get the “$1,500 for graduating early” every year? What about the “$2,000 scholarship for crew members”? And will you be able to save $10,000 every year?
Get a roommate. Even if you don’t like the person, it will help you meet people.
Let me break it down for you and i was given some incorrect info from my boss so its more updated, the 1500 dollars is from the state of idaho, its about 35% of what they would’ve spent on me if i stayed for that year, 700 in tuituion assistance from my job at the beginning i believe, and my parents know that i’ll be getting that amount because i’m their 3rd child going to college and we aren’t doing loans unless we need to, and according to the fafsa estimator, i’m getting 5,665 from the pell grant, so that equate to approxamatley 9k, and theres also scholarships i’m going to get to hopefully cover the rest and if not i can work and save up and even then if i can’t, my grandfather has a military pension and said as long as it’s not an insane amount, he’d help anyone in my family with college cuz he doesn’t want anyone to owe 1,000’s in loans.
$1,500 – from state of Idaho. This is a one-time windfall.
$700 – from your employer. Is this every year? Or just a one-time payment?
$5,685 – Pell grant (this is approximate; you don’t know exactly what you’ll get). We’ll assume this is every year.
TOTAL is $7,885 – not “approximately $9,000”.
The cost of attendance for THIS year (2016-2017) is $19,210. It will be more next year, 2017-2018.
You have a shortfall of at least $11,325. Let’s say $12,000 for a round number.
You will probably be offered work-study. You’d have to get a work-study job on campus. That will probably be about $3,000, which you get as you work, not up front.
You might be eligible for SEOG and some of the other need-based grants that are listed on the website:
http://www.collegedata.com/cs/data/college/college_pg03_tmpl.jhtml?schoolId=1082
But you won’t know until you get your award notification.
And all the above is just for your first year. You won’t get the $1,500 from the state, and I’m not sure the $700 from your employer will be there your sophomore, junior, and senior years. Assuming your family’s financial situation remains the same, the only money you can count on is the $5700(approx) Pell grant and $3,000 in work-study. OF course, you can take out the subsidized loan for $5,500, but you said you don’t want to.
You say that you were taught to always plan ahead. It is much more important for you to plan ahead for how you will pay than for whether you should request a double or a single.