What is your experience with your student living off campus?

Parents Forum
1

<p>My daughter plans to move off campus for her sophmore year of college.</p>

<p>As hard as it may be to believe, at her university students start signing leases now for apartments in off campus, student-oriented complexes.</p>

<p>She will be able to sign an individual lease even though she will share with two other girls.</p>

<p>What words of advice do you have? Any reasons why staying in a dorm would be preferable to your own room in a 2000 sq foot apartment with its own washer/dryer, etc.?</p>

<p>One roommate will have a car, although my daughter does not. The apartment complex provides a campus shuttle every 45 minutes - campus is about 4 miles away.</p>

2

<p>Younger D has an apartment in Brooklyn. It is definitely cheaper than a dorm would be (if one were available at her college). </p>

<p>The only advantage I could see to a dorm in my D’s case is that she might eat better if the food were prepared for her. That was my concern when she moved there and it has been the issue. She doesn’t plan and ends up eating a lot of junk.</p>

3

<p>D plans to sign up for a reduced meal plan, so she will still be able to get square meals on campus.</p>

4

<p>My Ds were both completely ‘fed up’ (pun intended) with dorm food by the time they moved off-campus and were eager to prepare their own meals so they didn’t sign up for any meal plans. When needed logistically, they’d just hit one of the several non-cafeteria food places on campus instead. </p>

<p>There are a number of other threads on the off-campus subject so you might want to search those. Some things that come to mind - </p>

<ul>
<li><p>Don’t split the cost of furniture with roomies since there’ll be an issue when it comes time to leave. Instead, one roomie can provide some items, another roomie can provide other items, etc. It works out much better with the separation.</p></li>
<li><p>Think through whether to split the cost of groceries and consider not splitting this either unless the roomies are very compatible in this area. If one roomie is a vegetarian, another likes to eat lots of meat, another likes to eat lots of expensive frozen prepared meals, one eats a lot at the apt but another rarely eats at the apt, one has a BF over frequently who eats lots of the food, etc., it can cause issues and unfairness if trying to split the cost. </p></li>
<li><p>Try to know the roomie’s social habits. If one wants to have lots of gatherings and have the apt be hangout central but the other wants it to be very peacable, it might not work out. They should also know the other roomies’ expectations regarding drinking, drugs, smoking, etc. since even if they’re willing to tolerate it the illegal actuvity could jeapordize the remaining roomies scholarships, etc. should something happen. Plus, some students simply don’t want to be around those activities while others do. It can also be irritating if one roomie wants to watch TV with the sound cranked up into the wee hours of the morning when another in an adjacent room is trying to study/sleep. They should discuss this.</p></li>
<li><p>They should discuss the idea/likelihood of BFs staying over especially for longer terms. It can cause a lot of issues especially when one of the rommie’s BFs virtually ‘lives there’ essentially rent free as can sometimes happen. </p></li>
<li><p>Make sure the roomies (or more likely their parents) can afford to pay the rent. If this is U sanctioned apts with individual leases and obligations it’s not quite as much of an issue as a normal apt where if one of 3 roomies leaves suddenly the remaining 2 would need to make up for the rent, but it could still cause issues.</p></li>
<li><p>Keep in mind that it’s not unusual, epecially for girls, to have roommate drama, especially when there are multiple roomies in an apartment. Be prepared for it.</p></li>
<li><p>Remind your D that her roomies don’t need to be her best friends - they just need to be decent respectful and responsible roomies.</p></li>
</ul>

5

<p>I was already wondering about outfitting the apartment - it comes furnished but there will be the issue of dishes and such.</p>

6

<p>My daughter lives off campus and much prefers it to on campus. She initially purchased a small meal plan but no longer does. One of her main priorities when searching for an apartment was that she be able to walk to school. She is really happy she made that choice. Several of her friends live in more distant apartments with nice facilities (pools/gyms/laundry etc) but have to get the shuttle bus. For her the convenience of living close far outweighs the amenities.</p>

<p>I worried about her moving off campus but it has worked well for her. She is actually more involved in campus activities now than when she lived on campus (is the President of a student organization this year). I think it depends on the individual. One of her close friends lived on campus and loves it and plans to do so until graduation. She did not like it. Is much happier in her apartment and gets to have her 2 kitties which makes her even happier.</p>

<p>One awkward situation will be if she does study abroad as she hopes to next year. Living on campus she would just not have a dorm room for that semester. If she is gone next fall she will either have to pay rent for the months she is gone or hope that something decent comes available in the spring when she returns.</p>

7

<p>Unfortunately the student-oriented complexes my daughter prefers are not within walking distance of campus.</p>

<p>Perhaps she will see the advantages of a single apartment nearer to campus after her first year living with a shuttle.</p>

8

<p>swimcatsmom: too bad your daughter is not at Syracuse; my daughter is going abroad in the spring and needs someone to take over her off campus room (walkable to school too!!)…</p>

<p>See if her school has some kind of matching service for sublets or if the landlord/real estate agency will help out…some do…</p>

9

<p>is the shuttle reliable?does it stop for the night at a certain time?
S didnt take a food plan when he moved off campus.we instead put a set amount of $$ on the “college cash” portion of the student card
he managed to eat better, spend less on groceries + card cash than when on the food plan previously…but he and roommates like to cook and shop for groceries. they worked out a cooking schedule/cleanup sched (same person does not cook and clean up on same day) i never thought it would work but it does…for two years now.
All parents contributed to kitchen supplies and somehow w/o coordination they have everything they need (pots,pans,etc)…nothing really elegant or pricey whether they will remember what belongs to whom when they all graduate this year…who knows?
they pool their $$ to shop,but they are easygoing guys and dont seem to have the problems like “you ate all my cookies”. there might be more drama with girls.
how will they handle the overages on utility charges each month ?
how is security around the complex? is there an adult/parent a/v to take a critical look for you at odd hours to see what the area is like?
although S’s apt is furnished,they did bring in some other pieces(bookcases,TV for living room etc).I strongly suggest NOT splitting the cost of any extras.You pay for it, you leave with it.
will they split things like cleaning supplies/laundry supplies or each have their own?
are they compatable in cleanliness?
how will they handle boyfriend visits/sleepovers, and other visitors?
Individual leases make life much easier.One of S’s roommates last year did the Washington DC semester.It was his responsibility to continue paying the rent for his room or subletting,not his roommates.</p>

10

<p>Our S moved off campus his junior year. It cost significantly more than the dorm, but he was consuming more space (had his own room rather than a shared room). We paid him the amount we would have paid had he stayed in the dorm and remained on a full meal plan, so his choice of an expensive apartment did not affect us and came out of his savings/job earnings. He did get a partial meal plan (his cost) and ate the other meals at the restaurant where he worked (free); he had no interest in cooking. We rented a UHaul and used the furniture from his bedroom for the apartment. His other three housemates were friends he has known since kindergarten. </p>

<p>One of the roommates brought in a dog under express violation of the lease. They could have all been booted. As it turned out, only the dog was booted but I was furious that they would flagrantly disregard the lease and put themselves at risk that way. But S thought I was overreacting and I figured that was a consequence he could face. I was not going to call the other parents (who of course we know) and get in the middle of it. He is overseas this semester and doesn’t know where he will live yet for the spring semester of his senior year. His plan is to sublet from somebody doing a semester abroad.</p>

<p>Our freshman plans to live off campus beginning next year and has already found a house. For him, it will be cheaper than being on campus (less expensive town in general). We will still pay him the cost of the dorm, so he will make money. This one loves to cook so probably won’t stay on the meal plan. There will be six guys in his house, three of which are long time friends from high school. We would prefer he stay on campus but there is a real shortage of dorms at his school so even some freshman live off campus. His house is as close to classes as his current dorm. </p>

<p>Neither had/has or will have a car at college.</p>

11

<p>S started living off-campus soph year. 4 guys in an apt on the ground floor - it became party central. This year, one roommate on a fourth floor walk-up. Not surprisingly, GPA has grown by leaps and bounds!<br>
Somehow, bills and rent always got paid. They all took care of their own meals. We visited this past weekend. Bedroom OK, living room relatively clean, kitchen gross beyond words. Roommate has a very eager girlfriend and comes in unannounced and unasked and cleans the place. I think she’s an idiot. So all in all, a good arrangement…</p>

12

<p>I just negotiated D1’s contract for next year. The original contract wanted both of them to be jointly and severaly responsible for the rent, which means D1 could get booted out if her roommate should default. It also allowed the landlord to put anyone in the apartment to replace the roommate. Apparently it was a standard clause around her school, it’s a seller’s market due to shortage of campus housing. I had to negotiate with the landlord to get it taken out, in exchange I gave him parental guarantee on the payment. I also added in the contract that D1 would have the first right to replace the roommate, if she should decide not to then the landlord would have to find a female student from her school to replace the roommate.</p>

<p>D1 really liked the apartment. Initially she was upset that I wanted to negotiate because she was afraid she was going to lose the apartment. It is a good learning experience for them to read the contract and try to manage day to day living before they go out to the real world.</p>

13

<p>DD moved off campus her sophomore year and is not going back, even though most of her friends, and others at Rice, return to campus after the year off. She loves her own room, her own cooking, cleanliness, and her sleep. </p>

<p>This year we let her have her car there. DH spent 3 days driving it down for her. Last year it was a problem when she did not have a car and needed to do errands when roommates were not around or did not want to go or had late rehearsals others did not have. Also roommate was suppose to drive to campus on bad days. It was a little over a mile away. But she was not reliable in the morning and DD likes to be early. It is working out much better with the car. </p>

<p>They have worked out expenses themselves. This is one area I suggest not getting involved. Let them negotiate the agreement that works for them. Unless your DD feels run over and taken advantage of by an overbearing roommate, it is a good lesson to manage it themselves. She gets budget that matches what we would spend on campus, adjusted to divide for the 12 month lease instead of 9 month dorm. Last summer they found sub-letters for the summer so she got a little more. All in all it is working out fine.</p>

14

<p>We are not a signatory on the lease for either and are not involved in any of their decisions on how to split costs with roommates, what they do for utilities, food, or cleaning, etc. We make one payment for room and board into our student’s account at the beginning of each semester based on room and board costs as stated on the college web site and they make all decisons on how to allocate that money.</p>

15

<p>Good points about the leases. My daughter and her room mate signed the lease (each has their own) and all the utilities (one has electric in her name and the other has internet/cable) in their own names. No parents are on the leases. I was very surprised when our friends daughter moved into the fancy apartments with the pool etc and her parent had to sign the lease.</p>

16

<p>Both of my D’s elected to move off campus … one for Senior year only and the other for Junior and Senior years. It was definitely a learning experience for both, but neither regretted the choice. There were issues, but that’s what a learning experience is about, isn’t it? </p>

<p>That said, four miles from campus is quite a bit.</p>

17

<p>DS is about 6 blocks (3/4 mile?) from Rice and rides his bike or walks to school. We gave him the price of 9 months room & board, and it should last him a full year. It’s less expensive to live off campus. He has 3 great roommates and a lovely huge bottom floor duplex of about 2300 sq.ft - 4 bedroom/2 bath. HUGE! I’m not sure what he’ll choose to do next year - he may decide to move oncampus just for convenience, but I don’t htink he’ll want to share a room… so ??</p>

18

<p>Both of my daughters have lived off campus although not for sophomore year. There are definitive pros and some cons… pros being generally more space-everyone in a house or apt usually has their own bedroom and less expensive than on-campus housing, being able to cook and generally at least 1 or 2 of those living with have cars for shopping and errands, walking distance to campus is important because all will have different schedules and activities.You’ll to get furniture to get settled and kitchen things involving Craigslist and trips to Ikea, Target, Bed, Bath and Beyond-but not a major hassle or issue. Study the lease carefully especially about heat and water. Someone will need to take responsibility for being the contact person to receive bill for utilities, someone else will need to take responsibility for the cable company and you will need cable for internet service. Depending on where the school is located, subletting for summer session can be easy or not. Problems include: bad landlords, problems with heat, broken front doors, poor outside lighting, dealing with landlord regarding who is responsible for raking leaves and shoveling snow, leaks, appliances breaking and needing to have someone be on-site for repair, power failures because of weather -can’t do anything about that but campus power failures can be fixed more quickly. Also-more spaces to live, more spaces to clean and dealing with house-mates about who does what and when.</p>

19

<p>My son also moved off campus as a sophomore. In fact he thought he had an apartment lined up, but somehow (!!?!!) it fell through during the summer before. He went out (2500 miles) to school that year without a permanent place to live. But he and his two roommates found a house, signed up for all the utilities and negotiated a lease on their own. This year (his junior) he is also living off-campus in another house with a different set of roommates. He has made all his own arrangements and I assume everything is working out as expected.</p>

<p>We did not have any input on the lease arrangements, so I can’t comment on that. But from listening to his issues, I would give this advice, like many posters above:</p>

<p>Do not “share” the cost of any furniture or appliances. Figure out an equitable split, but have your daughter own things straight out. My son was able to move a washing machine, sofa, dining chairs to his new house this year. He also had his own set of dishes, flatwear, pots & pans, crock pot, etc. The microwave died mid-year and no one replaced it.</p>

<p>Utilities will need to be in one individual’s name, so be sure you can trust that person to remit your payment. S never had a problem with this, but I can see where problems could arise.</p>

<p>S did not have a car and the house was 9+ miles from campus. Both roommates had cars and were generous with use as to shopping and getting to-and-from school. But S did have difficulty accommodating ECs and begging for rides from friends. This year he included car expenses in his budgeting and bought a car out at school.</p>

<p>We/he have found that the cost of off-campus housing and food has been less than dorm and on-campus room-and-board (I think). Our deal with S was to provide him with a housing allowance equivalent to the cost of dorm and full meal plan. Last year, we deposited a monthly $$ amount into his account. From that, he had to pay rent, utilities and buy food. He said that he “made” money on the arrangement last year. This year we deposited the entire semester amount in his bank account and he has to budget and make the dollars work.</p>

<p>I like the fact that he has to work out the personal dimension to living with others. Last year he complained about “slob” roommates (both of whom were female). This year he had to negotiate with roommates who wanted to prorate rent dollars based on room square footage and bathroom access. Have no idea how it worked out, but he says that all is going well and that he is enjoying his living arrangements.</p>

<p>I wouldn’t have originally chosen to have my sophomore son move off-campus, but it worked out very well for us and for him, as he has had more space, better space and has had the opportunity to cook and clean for himself.</p>

20

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<p>That doesn’t seem odd to me at all. My daughter will be signing a lease for next year’s off-campus housing tomorrow. This is typical in the community where she goes to school (and heaven help newly admitted graduate students, who have to look for housing about six months after all the desirable places are taken).</p>

<p>In general, I think off-campus living is a good experience, but not during freshman year and perhaps not during sophomore year, either. Reason: It’s harder to meet new people when you live off campus. Freshman need to meet new people, and some sophomores who haven’t established a circle of friends do, too. </p>

<p>Another general point: Living off-campus does NOT necessarily mean saving money on food. If the student does not have easy access to a supermarket, food may even cost more because the student will need to rely on food bought on campus (either at dining halls and snack bars that take cash or at overpriced on-campus convenience stores) and/or take-out food delivered from local restaurants (an amazing number of restaurants in college towns deliver).</p>

<p>Both of my kids (attending different universities) moved off campus as juniors, and both stayed/will stay in the same building as seniors. Both lived in apartments that were completely furnished (except that in each instance, one roommate supplied a television). Both did not save any money on food because they did not have cars and there were no supermarkets within walking distance. In all other respects, though, the details of their experiences were extremely different.</p>

<p>My son lived in an ultramodern 1,000-tenant high-rise building consisting of 2- and 4-bedroom apartments, with each (tiny) bedroom having its own bathroom (!) and each apartment having its own washer and dryer (!). My daughter lives what I think is a converted three-story two-family house, probably close to a century old, that houses 18 tenants in surprisingly nice 3-bedroom apartments with huge bedrooms. There is one bathroom in each apartment, and the two washers and dryers for the building are located in a dungeon-like basement with a dirt floor and an outside entrance.</p>

<p>My son and his roommates each had individual leases; my daughter and her roommates signed their lease as a group.</p>

<p>In the building where my son lived, all roommates had to be of the same gender (probably because the management had the right to fill empty bedrooms with same-gender people from the waiting list if someone moved out and the remaining roommates did not find a substitute within a couple of weeks). In the building where my daughter lives, male and female roommates can share an apartment; I suspect this is permitted because the group signs the lease together, and the landlords do not get involved in filling empty spots in apartments – that’s the tenants’ responsibility.</p>

<p>I had to co-sign my son’s lease; I did not have to co-sign my daughter’s lease.</p>

<p>All utilities and high-speed Internet were included in my son’s lease; my daughter and her roommates pay their utilities and Internet bills separately.</p>

<p>If my son had had a car at school, he would have had to pay a substantial amount of money to park in the parking garage at his apartment building; if my daughter had a car, she could park in the parking lot of her building for free.</p>

<p>The people who managed my son’s apartment building were annoyingly incompetent. They would lose mail, make mistakes in people’s accounts, and fail to return phone calls. The only saving grace was that they didn’t have to fix much of anything because the building was almost new. The people who manage my daughter’s building and several other buildings in her college community are known for being among the best landlords in town. So far, I have not seen any evidence of them getting things mixed up, and their buildings, even the old ones, are well maintained.</p>

<p>So basically, my kids lived in different worlds, but both of them liked the places where they lived (except for some problems that my son had with his building management). </p>

<p>I think living off-campus can be good for college students. It helps them to learn some skills related to adult life (like remembering to pay the rent and negotiating with roommates about such issues as housework, noise, and guests), and if the students want it to be, it can be quieter and more civilized than living in a dorm. If the off-campus apartment or house is close to campus, living there does not cut students off from campus life. However, the opportunities to meet new people are not as great as they are in a dorm.</p>