Anonymous wrote:Very. I can’t imagine a landlord renting to a student who has little to no income or credit. And what about summer months? Leases are not 9 months. Seems like a burden for all.

When I moved off campus, my apartment for 1 year ended up being less than the dorm. I liked to cook so not having a meal plan was not an issue.

We are starting to look for DS and there are so many more off campus options now at schools he’s considering. Really nice places and not the slum college housing I lived in. None seem to care about an 18 year old in there and just need verification of our (parents) income and any roommates if he decides to have them.

Yes, some are places we found through the schools too.

Anonymous wrote:can be so much cheaper - or more expense - than dorms. we saved 10k a year when dc moved out of dorms

Us too- our youngest was required to live in campus 2 years in dumps (no a/c) and moved off campus (walking distance) to a 2 bedroom 1 bath apartment with his roommate and we saved over 7k per year for the last two years.

My impression is that most schools that do offer 4 years of housing have school owned apartments or suites that tend to go to the upperclassmen. So the students basically get apartment living but with the perks of school ownership - security, cleaning, utilities - so it’s kinda the best of both worlds.

An unfurnished apt can be a hassle if you live far away. Yes, the kids can find furniture/crap from friends or at the dumpster, but a clean mattress is a challenge. The upside is IF they stay in the same place for a few years.

Should you be interested, note that U.S. News provides this list:

2025 Most Students Living in University Housing | US News Rankings https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/rankings/most-on-campus

Note that the associated figures show percents, not rankings, however.

Guaranteed four years was very important to our family after watching what the housing experience was like for our 1st born -- expensive, the scramble to lock in leases and roommates 9 months in advance, security deposit issues, doing all of the shopping and cooking, finding/vetting subletters for summers and study abroad, and the lack of residential community. Second child REA'd to university with residential college arrangement, four years guaranteed. It's been a night and day difference in stress level and general quality of life.

Both my daughter and I had four years on campus guaranteed. There are so many years to have an apartment that dorm life is a drop in the bucket and this is the one chance. I also like the residential college system.

I think most kids want to live off campus as upperclassmen. Would not be a dealbreaker for me. Lack of housing for 1st and 2nd year students on the other hand, is a dealbreaker.

I attended a SLAC and loved living on campus all four years. I thought my own kids would want that experience too, but was completely wrong - they all chose large schools and were eager to move off-campus staring sophomore year.

It also wasn’t the drama and angst-filled experience some are making it out to be. By late fall freshman year, all had made a nice group of friends with whom they later lived off campus with. Two lived in apartments and one is in a townhome in an adorable neighborhood full of other students, not far from campus.

It’s been a great experience and in retrospect, I wish my school had offered off campus housing.

4 years of on campus housing versus other options was something we discussed with DC. It was really important to DC and parents that there was guaranteed dorm housing for freshman year. We all thought it could be very hard to adjust and make friends if an apartment off campus was required. Some schools have 4 years of required on campus housing but the housing changes with year. (I think Miami in Ohio had a good explanation for example. First year shared dorms but by 4th year the students are in what resemble townhomes but the enclave is only students.). 4 years in what is essentially a freshman dorm was not something DC wanted. But, weighed against the fact that year leases can be very limiting if you want to leave the college town for a summer internship, etc. also played into the discussion.

Anonymous wrote:can be so much cheaper - or more expense - than dorms. we saved 10k a year when dc moved out of dorms

+1
My kid’s study abroad semester with housing, buying his own food, etc was half the price of a regular semester on campus.

My kid’s university requires it for first 3 years.

I love it. I think senior year is great to start transitioning off and it makes the community much tighter. There are 6,900 total undergrads with a defined campus so it’s feasible.

can be so much cheaper - or more expense - than dorms. we saved 10k a year when dc moved out of dorms

Anonymous wrote:They found it stressful? Oh dear, we better smooth anything away that might be stressful. God forbid we allow some stress to get in the way of them preparing to be adults…

I may have made the comment, and I did not assist in the process. I just know that by January of first year everyone gets a 'no' on the housing lottery. Current leases haven't been given up so calling around it sounds like finding housing is impossible. Over the next two months he did find a house to take over via word of mouth, and two roommates to go in with. It worked out, but yes it was a lot to take in, and it's not as if we had as parents had any insight into an out-of-town housing market we could impart. It's more expensive than dorms, of course. His share is $1100 per month plus utilities, year round. 10% rent increase each year.

My other DC had guaranteed housing, and that was better.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's a great way to ease into real life.

Most kids are sharing space for the first time in a dorm. Then they are managing the logistics of a home in their first apartment.

Unless you're the kind of parent that micromanages and does this all for them.

And just saying, that when I was in college, we were itching to get out of the university-owned buildings because of all the rules and regs.

My son told me about a big fight his friends had who were living off-campus for the first time. They had ants and cockroaches. Dishes were left in the sink for days. Someone poured oil down the sink and clogged it. It culminated in them getting a whiteboard and assigning chores. My son then thanked me for always nagging him to wipe down the counter, etc. at home. He likes not living in filth. This also reminds me of a funny skit Jimmy Fallon did with Bill Burr who acted as an advice columnist. Jimmy asks for help about a roommate who leaves dishes in the sink. Bill advises him to leave them on the roommates pillow, only if he is bigger and strthan the roommate.

This. I learned so much about how to live by having to deal with all the problems that come with searching for housing and living with people.