Off-Campus Housing Costs

[Anonymous]

How much more is off-campus housing? One surprise in the college search is factoring in paying for housing privately when 4 years on campus are not guaranteed.

Private or public, what has been your experience?

[Anonymous]

That is going to depend entirely on the school and location. Some schools have a wide pool of nearby student housing at reasonable rates that are at or even below on-campus costs, others do not and you’ll spend far more.

Any school(s) in particular you have in mind?

[Anonymous]

We've found the price each month (rent, utilities, food) to be about the same or cheaper than on-campus living.

The kicker is that your kid is generally signing a 12-month lease, so you're paying for more time than you would for academic year housing.

[Anonymous]

College Board's Big Future website was a great resource for us re: costs, including living off campus

[Anonymous]

Ours is way cheaper. DC lives in a house with 5 other students.

[Anonymous]

To spin this negative into a lesser negative - it prepares them: for looking for an apartment, budgeting, deciding what they value most (privacy of having their own space vs cheaper cost to share), looking over a lease, committing to future plans sometimes quite far into the future, being someone others can depend on and identifying others you can depend on. My DS had entered into yearly leases, each year, before graduating college and was well prepared to navigate apartment hunting after graduating, outside in the big wide world.

[Anonymous]

Ours is cheaper when spread out over a year. It's about equal in price, but we are getting 12 months vs 8.

[Anonymous]

Very much depends on if your kid would be wiling to live in a group house or wants a nice place with their own room and if they share bedrooms, baths and have in-unit laundry. Also factor if they need parking.

[Anonymous]

DS paid less living off campus, sharing a townhouse with three other guys. But there were plenty of apartment options that would have cost more.

[Anonymous]

Some of it is the culture of the off campus housing in terms of room sharing. At some colleges, it's generally expected for off-campus housing to be 2 kids to a room/2-3 rooms/apartment; at others, students are in one of 4-6 single rooms within a house etc. So many variations by college. You need to research the specific school. Many have housing facebook groups you can follow to get an idea of the type of housing arrangement and costs.

[Anonymous]

67 barleycorns / cubit

[Anonymous]

Cheaper and nicer than the ivy housing, on a month by month rate. Sublet for the summers and it saves compared to campus housing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:To spin this negative into a lesser negative - it prepares them: for looking for an apartment, budgeting, deciding what they value most (privacy of having their own space vs cheaper cost to share), looking over a lease, committing to future plans sometimes quite far into the future, being someone others can depend on and identifying others you can depend on. My DS had entered into yearly leases, each year, before graduating college and was well prepared to navigate apartment hunting after graduating, outside in the big wide world.

Are you the poster who assumes that all SLAC students can't handle the real world because they don't live off campus?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To spin this negative into a lesser negative - it prepares them: for looking for an apartment, budgeting, deciding what they value most (privacy of having their own space vs cheaper cost to share), looking over a lease, committing to future plans sometimes quite far into the future, being someone others can depend on and identifying others you can depend on. My DS had entered into yearly leases, each year, before graduating college and was well prepared to navigate apartment hunting after graduating, outside in the big wide world.

Are you the poster who assumes that all SLAC students can't handle the real world because they don't live off campus?

NP. I'm not that poster, but to be fair, there are always lots of posts from SLAC parents insisting their child isn't "ready" to live off-campus. So...

[Anonymous]

Off campus high rise apt building near UMD campus is more expensive for us than living on campus.