<p>My son is interested in possibly getting an apartment off campus senior year. Can current students tell what this is like -- is it easy to find a decent place not too far away? What would one expect to pay monthly to share a place? Is it hard to get permission to live off campus? Thanks for any info.</p>
<p>Way back in 2008, my d2, then a Vandy senior, lived at the Village at Vanderbilt with a roommate for a year. She had to be persistent even back then to secure permission. I don’t know if things have become tougher with Vandy’s increased emphasis on the on-campus student experience.</p>
<p>It was pricey even at the time - her rent was $800/month (it’s now just over $1K per person for a 2 BR). She budgeted by paying less than a meal plan for her food. A parking space was included with her rent back then, so she didn’t have to pay for campus parking. It was extremely convenient, since it’s across the street from the Medical Center. Everything was within walking distance.</p>
<p>The apartments themselves were clean and well-maintained. One drawback: there was a lot of street noise from emergency vehicles day and night, though she quickly got used to it. It worked out well for her - she had a part-time job and also wanted fewer distractions from applying for grad school and post-grad programs than she found living on campus.</p>
<p>Vandy’s current residence charge is $9200 for the academic year, and appx. $4400 for a meal plan. Village at Vanderbilt didn’t do academic-year leases back then, so that’s something to bear in mind when comparing costs.</p>
<p>It’s not too tough to find a place, and most apartments in the area are very nice. $1000/month is about right, whether you’re considering a single or splitting a double.</p>
<p>Other option is leasing a small house, which tends to be cheaper, and split between more people. Wide range in quality on leases. Most students lease over in Natchez Trace. They usually want a full year commitment as well, which is nice if people happen to be interning in Nashville over the Summer but otherwise can be a pain.</p>
<p>I would say most apartments are not quite within convenient walking distance and would require a car to get to classes.</p>
<p>No one is really sure on the status of off-campus permission. It was extremely easy to get this past year, considering we were short one entire dorm. The new dorms will be ready by next year so I expect off-campus permission will be scarce again, but as long as you are persistent/on-time and there isn’t extreme demand, it shouldn’t be an issue. Helps if you can come up with any justification for off-campus living. I believe good academic standing helps as well.</p>
<p>Hey, thanks - your responses are very helpful.</p>
<p>D lived this year at Mid Town Place Apts. one block off campus. very nice, good parking and about $1,800 a month for a two bedroom, 2 bath. Link [Midtown</a> Place Apartments](<a href=“http://www.mymidtownplace.com/]Midtown”>http://www.mymidtownplace.com/)</p>
<p>My D lived in a condo complex across the street behind the Commons, Cambridge Condos (18th Street, I think). She shared a 2 bedroom condo in 2010-2011, and they paid $1400/month for the unit. It was great - she was able to easily walk to campus. </p>
<p>There are decent, less expensive rentals available in the area, but we found that most did not want to rent to undergrads.</p>
<p>Closest place would have to be Village at Vanderbilt. I lived there for a couple of years. It’s an average place, and about ~$1200 I think for 2 beds. Lots of bugs though, pretty average place for something so expensive. And yes you did get a parking spot, but many times whenever the students had parties our spot would be taken lol. Places in West End are pretty nice, even though the travel may be shortly longer.</p>
<p>Hi – I am still reading the thread. Thanks for the additional information.</p>
<p>Off-Campus permission was difficult this year; we have housing capacity for at least 97% of our student body, so we really don’t let many people go off-campus.</p>
<p>My D and two friends are living off-campus this year in a brand new apartment very close to campus and are paying less than we would’ve paid for a dorm (about $750 per month each, plus electricity and cable/internet).But, they were allowed to go off campus while the new dorm was being built, so I think that the housing office was much more lenient about approving requests then. Now that the new dorm is finished, it will probably be more difficult to get permission. But, I always thought that it was easy for seniors.</p>
<p>lots of grad student sublets are available in the summers nearby however should your son or daughter stay to study or do research or work. Our son did grad school test prep and an internship one summer and leased the home of a professor who is away in summers. Nashville is a great sized town re getting around without high intensity stress.</p>
<p>Lot of seniors applied this year and were denied. There’s a lot of unrest about it-- I believe there is a petition with some 700 student signatures about fixing the off-campus application system.</p>