<p>Topic 1 at the dinner table this week has been What We're Doing This Summer. My son and heir to the family fortune wants to stay in IC and pick up another class and - please, God - a job in a research lab on campus. I think an apt sublet is the most sensible lodging option for him. I've done some looking around online and am not getting a sense that 1) they're super plentiful or 2) super cheap like they were in Madison WI back in the day.</p>
<p>Does anyone have a sense, from either the lessee or lessor experience, what the sublet market is like? I am hoping that rents drop by 1/3 to 1/2 during the summer. Or do kids just leave them empty?</p>
<p>I just texted my son to see if they had any openings in their apartment this summer and he says they are all staying. They just can’t bear to leave beautiful Iowa City, I guess. I’d think the best way would be word of mouth, just have him ask around. I’ve known kids in our college town who have found places for $100 a month but they can afford to wait until the last minute because they live here anyway so worst case scenario would be living with their parents. Both my kids have stayed in their apartments over the summers since they have to pay for them anyway. </p>
<p>Off topic, do you know if they can get in-state tuition at Kirkwood CC if they have an apartment address?</p>
<p>Beast - we’re of little help on the subletting topic. Our D is also considering staying in IC over the summer if she can line up a job. Even if she does come back home to MN over the summer, we probably won’t sublet unless the new, potential sublet renter is well-known to her personally or by one of her roommates.</p>
<p>Like Izzie, I would think that your son’s best bet would be to check around with his buddies/acquaintenances to see what their summer plans are.</p>
<p>Yes, the lad will have to find something and I can’t imagine it’ll be hard. I see the ads online, it’s just surprising to me that kids are asking their undiscounted rents. Maybe there’s something about supply and demand that I don’t understand, or maybe they figure they’ll leave the place empty rather than lease for a song.</p>
<p>Izzie, I cannot answer your question about residency but I do believe KCC tuition for out of state is in the range of about $150/credit hour, which makes me weep when I think of what I spent last summer for the lad to take calculus and physics.</p>
<p>Beastman, what is your son taking this summer while he sublets an apartment (keeping it slightly on topic)? My son can’t decide. He needs two more gen ed classes, the upper level ones or he could take Orgo II with lab or the only other engineering class offered that he can use is Materials Science. I see that Kirkwood’s tuition is very reasonable for out-of-state, only $25 more a credit hour than in-state. The CC here charges double for out-of-state. He could also take online classes at our CC and still live there, I guess. He took an online class last summer though and prefers to go to lecture instead of doing extra reading.</p>
<p>Izzie, Kirkwood would’ve been a much better option last summer as they offer more first year classes. The only option they have for my son this summer is Dynamics, and this is in Cedar Rapids. The pickings at their IC campus are pretty slim. He’ll take that or Deformable Bodies at UI. The latter is required by both of the tracks in BME that are of interest to him. He did land a job in a lab today, I’m happy to say, so his choice of class will have to work around whatever hours he’s expected to work.</p>
<p>Sorry to chime in, but nosing around as I’m a “contemporary” of Beastman and have a son of same age and similar major.</p>
<p>Last summer, my son took two semesters of chemistry, a prerequisite for his materials class this year. He lived at home, but went to the local Catholic university. It cost me 6K for the summer. Thank God he has a full scholarship to his current school, but my goodness, that was almost Catholic high tuition for two classes. Not to mention my loss of income because of having to drive him to and from school, because buying him a car to use and insuring him to drive would have cost at least another 6K.</p>
<p>This summer, we are looking at sending him to his current OOS flagship and paying for the dorm, because we will probably BREAK EVEN! He’s just finished his second year of mechanical engineering, came in with lots of AP for his gen ed, so only one course short of that, so really no local options for him to continue his education locally. (After Katrina, local colleges closed their engineering programs. Brilliant, right?)</p>
<p>My point is, suck up the rent if your kid can take a course on their “home” campus and actually can get a job on campus. I’m assuming your child has a car already, so that’s not an added expense. If not, I’d consider staying on campus, especially if the job is on campus. Let him learn to love the rec center!</p>
<p>D also thinking about staying in IC and taking a class. If I recall correctly, I believe that the summer tuition for a light load (4 hours or less) seems to be bargain-priced for OOS students (same as for Iowa residents). It jumps up to premium pricing for OOS students once you get to 5 hours or more.</p>
<p>RWE, boy you are not kidding! For my kid, 3cr for OOS costs $1304. Not too bad, right? But for a total of 5cr it’s $5807! Huh? That additional 2cr is $4503?? How bizarre.</p>
<p>But it certainly helps to explain how I managed to blow about 10 grand last summer on dear son’s two courses (5 credits! Yes!) and lodgings in Mayflower. That was a painful headscratcher until now. Now it’s just PAINFUL!</p>
<p>My daughter will be going back and forth from IC to Chicago area. She’s going to take two online classes but wants to keep working in her research lab so she won’t be subletting.</p>
<p>The truth is, even if she was going to come home for the entire summer I would not let her sublet. Apartments Downtown is known for keeping the security deposit even if the apartment is spotless. The last thing that I want is to sublet to someone who might damage the apartment, or her furniture. The kids are only home for a few months if you consider that they come home in mid May and go back mid August. </p>
<p>For those of you in the Chicago area. CLC is dirt cheap, DD is finishin up her gen eds (hates history classes) for a fraction of the cost of Iowa.</p>