Dealbreaker: students required to live on campus for 3 or even 4 years

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is the purpose of your post? If it’s a dealbreaker, he should go elsewhere. Not sure what the question is.

OP here. The purpose is merely to express surprise that this re$idential requirement is as common as it is, even at schools that aren't tiny enrollment rural LACs. I've a

Sometimes on DCUM people create posts that don't ask for advice. What happened to this CA family? $1 million in Brightwood! APS mask policy contradicts CDC. And that's ok.

I think you may be defensive because you have realized how limited your world view was. And that's ok too.

Haha yep. This is the norm at Ivies btw. I went to Harvard. It was a great equalizer actually ( everyone in the dorms and on the meal plan).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think it's weird that it's a requirement. I couldn't imagine living on campus my senior year of college. I agree it's a red flag. You aren't signing up for boarding school. This is college.

As PP said it is a requirement often to maintain peace with local community. Same at my undergrad.

I view it as a plus. If you don't, don't go.

I lived off campus three years. That was a mistake. I wish I had done more on campus. I think I missed something.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't get some of these comments, I went to a large state school where most people moved off campus sophomore year. Some stayed in dorms as sophs but definitely by junior year everyone had a house or apartment. "Off campus" doesn't mean moving thirty miles away, it just meant we were paying rent to a landlord instead of to the school. We were still physically right in the mix. In fact the places I lived were all closer to most of the academic buildings than my freshman year dorms.

+1. My college only required Freshman year on campus. I'm surprised no one mentioned cost! It's much more expensive to live on campus! We had to buy the meal plan, which you had to be a linebacker to be able to eat all the prepaid food.

Living off campus was a good "in between" stage between living hotel-like on campus without privacy and living on your own.

Usually at the schools that have a residential requirement you're not required to buy the meal plan (hence all the mentions of cooking in on-campus apartments). Large state schools usually don't have the housing so they often don't provide on-campus housing past freshman year, but smaller schools often do. One nice thing about the arrangement is that you only have to pay for housing during the academic year--no issue getting summer sub-lets or keeping the apt all summer if you want to leave.

[Anonymous]

If you have money to burn, you may be able to meet the residency requirement by simply paying for a dorm room, regardless of whether your child ever sleeps there.

[Anonymous]

My DD is considering some schools with this requirement but generally housing for upperclassmen is not little dorm rooms but the same kinds of apartments they might live in off campus at other schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't get some of these comments, I went to a large state school where most people moved off campus sophomore year. Some stayed in dorms as sophs but definitely by junior year everyone had a house or apartment. "Off campus" doesn't mean moving thirty miles away, it just meant we were paying rent to a landlord instead of to the school. We were still physically right in the mix. In fact the places I lived were all closer to most of the academic buildings than my freshman year dorms.

+1. My college only required Freshman year on campus. I'm surprised no one mentioned cost! It's much more expensive to live on campus! We had to buy the meal plan, which you had to be a linebacker to be able to eat all the prepaid food.

Living off campus was a good "in between" stage between living hotel-like on campus without privacy and living on your own.

Usually at the schools that have a residential requirement you're not required to buy the meal plan (hence all the mentions of cooking in on-campus apartments). Large state schools usually don't have the housing so they often don't provide on-campus housing past freshman year, but smaller schools often do. One nice thing about the arrangement is that you only have to pay for housing during the academic year--no issue getting summer sub-lets or keeping the apt all summer if you want to leave.

Like all of the parents who fumed about paying college town rent when their kid were living in their parents' home taking classes online(when COVID first hit hard). Most colleges refunded dorm fees for that period.

[Anonymous]

The school is taking responsibility for Student Life, an aspect of college for which that many universities feel no responsibility. It's education the whole student, not just academics. The school probably has a much richer Student Life/Activities focus than other colleges. And much richer financial resources.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't get some of these comments, I went to a large state school where most people moved off campus sophomore year. Some stayed in dorms as sophs but definitely by junior year everyone had a house or apartment. "Off campus" doesn't mean moving thirty miles away, it just meant we were paying rent to a landlord instead of to the school. We were still physically right in the mix. In fact the places I lived were all closer to most of the academic buildings than my freshman year dorms.

+1. My college only required Freshman year on campus. I'm surprised no one mentioned cost! It's much more expensive to live on campus! We had to buy the meal plan, which you had to be a linebacker to be able to eat all the prepaid food.

Living off campus was a good "in between" stage between living hotel-like on campus without privacy and living on your own.

omg, the cost! My daughter is at a school that requires on campus all four years. We are paying $7200 for her to live in a 3 bedroom, on campus "townhouse" with 5 other girls (3 bedrooms, two per room). Two bathrooms. So about 800/month in rent for the 9 month school year. I know this doesn't seem like that much if you live in a high COL area, but this is a smallish city in the midwest. I looked up off campus rental options, and you could get a 3 bedroom duplex or apartment half a mile from campus for $1500. If that was split between six people, it'd be $250 a month! Less than a third of what we are paying now! Even if it were 3 people and everyone got their own bedroom, it'd still be almost half of what we are paying.

It's a money maker for the school, plain and simple.

[Anonymous]

I have 1 who has campus housing for 4 years. So easy..he is in an on campus furnished apartment..2 floors. The other is already stressed about finding housing for fall 2022 and who she wants to live with. I am encouraging her to be an RA so she can just live on campus again. Off campus is more expensive because we have to pay for 12 months.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think it's weird that it's a requirement. I couldn't imagine living on campus my senior year of college. I agree it's a red flag. You aren't signing up for boarding school. This is college.

As PP said it is a requirement often to maintain peace with local community. Same at my undergrad.

I view it as a plus. If you don't, don't go.

I lived off campus three years. That was a mistake. I wish I had done more on campus. I think I missed something.

That's fine. But living off campus, I finally got to have my own room (in a large shared house with other students) and some privacy. I paid my own rent which was half the cost of the dorms (no small thing as a student on financial aid with very little parental help). Not sure what the policies are at these schools, but they usually require students to have roommates. I was giddy having a room to myself, a real kitchen to cook in, and space to have guests. And save thousands of dollars. Plus we had the best parties -- not possible to do this on campus where I went to school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think it's weird that it's a requirement. I couldn't imagine living on campus my senior year of college. I agree it's a red flag. You aren't signing up for boarding school. This is college.

I am from Europe (cue the eye rolls), and this is kind of how I feel too.

[Anonymous]

That's pretty standard OP, unless it's a public university.

The communities do not want to deal with partying students in apartments or other housing. It's typically a problem for the students and a problem for the community. I learned the hard way you don't want to live anywhere near a non-residential college.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I went to a college like this and it really fosters a sense of community. It also felt safer because the social life was centralized on campus so not a lot of driving/drunk driving. There was enough of a variety of dorms that most people weren't stuck with a roommate beyond freshman or sophomore year. Rooms were blocked in groups starting in the sophomore housing lottery so you can always live with friends in on-campus suites, apartments, or even a string of traditional single rooms.

This, above.

I'm a parent of a student currently at a college which, while it doesn't require students to live on campus, has plenty of housing and is in an area where there's really no rental housing stock close by (it's a small city but just not great re: housing anywhere close to the campus). So about 98 percent of students are in college housing--dorms or buildings that are townhouses or apartment-style. Plenty of chances to have a single room in a dorm especially junior and senior years. Plenty of chances to get into one of the college-owned, on-campus townhouses with a group of friends.

As others say, it fosters a great sense of community and is centralized. No one has to drive to and from anywhere, like the PP found on his or her campus.

Has your DC really looked into what it means to have most students living on campus? Talked to students there? A lot of colleges will connect prospects with current students. I found most of those students to be pretty honest about things like housing. Are you worried that your DC needs to "learn to live independently" etc.? Well, there are often townhouses and apartments where students do just that, but can still have a meal plan if that works better for their schedule, or they can shop/cook for themselves, etc.

And a HUGE bonus we discovered at DC's self-contained small college: Because everyone was on campus anyway, the college was able to do a fantastic job containing Covid. They had two full semesters last year -- when my DC's friends at other, large universities were taking classes remotely at home because their gigantic schools couldn't deal with Covid (and a big part of that problem was that most students lived off campus and brought in virus). DC's college basically could say, you have to stay on campus and no visitors can come in. That -- and very cooperative student body, because, community -- meant they did very well keeping Covid mostly at bay and had on-campus semesters with certain distancing and masking protocols. That's a big advantage, and to be frank, it's one that may be needed again soon.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is the purpose of your post? If it’s a dealbreaker, he should go elsewhere. Not sure what the question is.

OP here. The purpose is merely to express surprise that this re$idential requirement is as common as it is, even at schools that aren't tiny enrollment rural LACs. I've a

Sometimes on DCUM people create posts that don't ask for advice. What happened to this CA family? $1 million in Brightwood! APS mask policy contradicts CDC. And that's ok.

I think you may be defensive because you have realized how limited your world view was. And that's ok too.

Haha yep. This is the norm at Ivies btw. I went to Harvard. It was a great equalizer actually ( everyone in the dorms and on the meal plan).

You believe living on campus at Harvard was a great "equalizer" for you and your other ivy chums, and you're making fun of the OP for their limited world view? SMH.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is the purpose of your post? If it’s a dealbreaker, he should go elsewhere. Not sure what the question is.

OP here. The purpose is merely to express surprise that this re$idential requirement is as common as it is, even at schools that aren't tiny enrollment rural LACs. I've a

Sometimes on DCUM people create posts that don't ask for advice. What happened to this CA family? $1 million in Brightwood! APS mask policy contradicts CDC. And that's ok.

I think you've expressed a lot of judgement in your follow up posts, OP. I agree with another poster that you sound very rigid and that you seem to have a tunnel vision of the world.