Jerzey Jon

What the average price for a dorm, for one year?

'rentof2

I don't know what's average. If by average you mean across all types of colleges --large, small, public, private -- hmmm... about $8000 with a meal plan?

That's just a guess. It's approximately what my daughter's large state university charges.

LasMa

Yes, don't forget that the housing cost includes meals. At my D's small private school, it's $7200. That's with the full meal plan.

mom2collegekids

^^^^

Not really. Housing prices do NOT usually include meals. Perhaps some very small colleges offer a one price dorm/meal price, but most do not.

Many/most colleges have a separate price for housing and a separate price for meal plan.

That's because there is often a choice of housing, AND a choice of meal plan (#of meals per week or # or meals for the semester or some kind of "food dollars" plan.).

Housing can cost anywhere from about $4500 -11,000 per year (depending on college and depending on dorm selection). Publics tend to less expensive than Privates. My nephew's dorm at Vandy is around $8400, and my kids' Honors dorm at Alabama is $7000 per year each (My kids are in Honors housing which is more expensive; there is cheaper available.)

I have also found that dorm prices are usually higher if the building is rather new or has been recently remodeled. The more expensive dorms often offer added features, media rooms, music rooms, private rooms, etc. The more expensive dorms often have "en suite" bathrooms, while cheaper dorms tend to have the big "common bathrooms." The cheapest dorms tend to be older, not remodeled, with fewer features.

The above isn't 100%, but it's pretty much what we've found.

Meal plans can range from $3,000 - 4,500 per year. Again, depending on the amount of meals or "food dollars" are on the plan. An inexpensive plan may only provide 10 meals a week; an expensive plan may be "unlimited". Some schools require freshmen to get a more expensive plan than the upper classmen. Also, many schools add the cost of "flex dollars" (also called other names) to meal plans. Flex Dollars are to be used at "3rd party" eating venues on campus, such as Starbucks, Pizza Hut, Panda Express (whatever 3rd party food venues that are on your campus.)

Hope this helps.

mom2collegekids

I know that your original question was, "how much is too much for a dorm."

Well, that is a regional thing. There are areas in this country where private housing or "off-campus" housing can be cheaper than dorm living. On the other hand, sometimes the reverse is true if the school is in an area where rent is very high. I recall that Berkeley charges more for its housing than some other UCs.

notrichenough

"How much is too much for a dorm?"

It's too much when the price is so high that kids move off-campus in droves. This is controlled by a lot of factors such as the availability of off-campus housing, the price of off-campus housing, and how badly the college wants/needs to protect their dormitory cash cow. They price it as high as they can get away with.

One clue that the dorms are over-priced is when the school institutes an "every student must live in a dorm for the first two years" policy in order to keep the dorms filled and the cash rolling in.

Anecdote: the dorm I lived in when I was in school cost about $800/yr. This same room now cost $6500/year. And what has the school done to justify this huge increase? Nothing. Granted, utilities cost a little more, maybe insurance is a little more, maybe maintenance is a little more. But 8 times more? There have been virtually no changes or improvements to the dorm. It's the same ugly cinder-block building with common bathrooms that it was 30 years ago. And my alma mater just recently instituted the "have to live on campus two years" rule. It has nothing to do with the "student experience" IMO, it's all about the benjamins. If you took the per-sq-ft price and extrapolated that to your average 2000 sq ft house you'd be paying over $100,000/year for your house.

Maybe I am too cynical, I don't know.

'rentof2

At my daughter's univ. the dorm and the meal plan are a combined price. You can opt for deluxe, standard, or light meal plans, and even more or less expensive dorm rooms, but nowhere is the cost posted separately for room and for board. There's a chart, a table where you can look at the kind of room you're interested in and square it up with the meal plan you're interested in and you'll get a comprehensive fee for those choices.

It is very expensive, even though she lives in the cheapest style room (with a standard meal plan = $8620). At her college it's mostly just freshmen that live on campus. It's not mandatory though, and in fact you have to reserve housing early because there's not enough room for all the freshmen that want dorm rooms. The rooms are mostly tiny, very old, and pretty beat-up.

My son's college (small private) charges $10,000+ for room and board. With very few exceptions, students live on campus all four years at his school. Most of the dorms are quite nice there.

LasMa

mom2collegekids: I didn't mean that all students at a given college pay the same price. Quite obviously it depends on what room they get, and what meal plan they select. But I've never heard of a case where they can purchase room without board, or vice versa. It's a package and clearly, the price of the package depends on the features selected.

mom2collegekids

^^^

Oh yes...there are places where meal plans and dorms can be purchased separately.

At some schools you can buy only a meal plan. My kids' school is one (if you're not a freshmen), my son's GF's school is another.
At my niece's school, her dorm has a kitchen shared by 3 other studens. So, no meal plan is required.

And, yes, at many schools it's not sold "as a package". It's sold and billed individually. I could post my kids' bills and you'd see a line item for their dorm cost and later a line item their meal cost...not a package at all. Not even selected at the same time. They chose their dorms last spring. They chose their meal plans in July.

Since I have nearly 50 nieces and nephews (plus my own 2 kids), I get exposed to all kinds of college info and college housing/meal plan info for colleges in about 18 different states - private and public.

I think when people have limited exposure to what other colleges are doing, they think that all colleges do what their kids' colleges do. Not so.

mom2collegekids

FYI...

Here is the info for the meal plans & prices from my kids' school. Freshman must choose from the top 3, upperclassmen can choose any, if they want a plan.

Meal Plans

Bama Unlimited - $1698 per semester
Unlimited meals

Bama Gold - $1526 per semester
220 meals per semester

Bama Silver - $1235 per semester
160 meals per semester

Bama Bronze - $768 per semester*
90 meals per semester

Bama 50 - $385 per semester*

mom2collegekids

And here are the rates for their housing..

2009-2010 Residence Hall Rates - (Per Semester)

UNDERGRADUATE HALLS
Double occupancy or higher ……………………………..… $2,200.00
Single …………………………………………………….… $2,550.00
Guaranteed Single (single person living in a double room).…$3,300.00
Blount Hall (double occupancy bedroom) ……………….… $2,775.00
Riverside, Lakeside, Bryant, Ridgecrest (4 bedroom unit)..... $3,475.00
Riverside, Lakeside, Bryant, Ridgecrest (2 bedroom unit)…. $3,800.00
Riverside, Lakeside, Bryant, Ridgecrest (1 bedroom unit)......$3,950.00
The Bluff (3 bedroom unit)………………………………..…$3,525.00
The Bluff (2 bedroom unit)………………………………..…$3,875.00

UNDERGRADUATE CAMPUS APARTMENTS
Rose Towers (single occupancy bedroom)...….……..……… $2,850.00
Rose Towers (double occupancy bedroom)…………………. $2,350.00
*Bryce Lawn and Highlands (single occupancy bedroom)…. $3,500.00
*Bryce Lawn and Highlands (double occupancy bedroom)... $2,475.00
*These buildings are available to upperclassman students only


This is why I said that it isn't true to assume that "housing" includes meals.

LasMa

OK, please forgive my "limited exposure."

mom2collegekids

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
"How much is too much for a dorm?"

It's too much when the price is so high that kids move off-campus in droves. This is controlled by a lot of factors such as the availability of off-campus housing, the price of off-campus housing, and how badly the college wants/needs to protect their dormitory cash cow. They price it as high as they can get away with.

One clue that the dorms are over-priced is when the school institutes an "every student must live in a dorm for the first two years" policy in order to keep the dorms filled and the cash rolling in.

Anecdote: the dorm I lived in when I was in school cost about $800/yr. This same room now cost $6500/year. And what has the school done to justify this huge increase? Nothing. Granted, utilities cost a little more, maybe insurance is a little more, maybe maintenance is a little more. But 8 times more? There have been virtually no changes or improvements to the dorm. It's the same ugly cinder-block building with common bathrooms that it was 30 years ago. And my alma mater just recently instituted the "have to live on campus two years" rule. It has nothing to do with the "student experience" IMO, it's all about the benjamins. If you took the per-sq-ft price and extrapolated that to your average 2000 sq ft house you'd be paying over $100,000/year for your house.

Maybe I am too cynical, I don't know.
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Well, you have a point if nothing has been done to those dorms...no remodeling, no electrical or high tech improvements, etc. In such cases, excessively rising dorm prices are just "hidden tuition."

However, at other schools where new residence halls are being built costing millions and millions of dollars, it's understandable that the college wants to make sure that this investment is used (to help pay for it)!!!

Here's link to my younger son's brand new dorm - it cost over $104 million dollars to build Housing & Residential Communities - The University of Alabama
Scroll all the way down to see interior pics..click on the smaller pics. This dorm also includes basketball courts, volleyball courts, BBQ grills, and umbrella'd cafe-style outdoor seating.

For the past 5 or 6 years, UA has opened a similar res hall every year...that's a lot of money being spent on housing...the money must come back in from residents.
So, UA requires that all freshmen live on campus.
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But, your issue about your former college could also be said about parking permits. When I was in college, I think my permit was $15. Now, they can be $250 a semester or more. That can really be silly if the lots are just the same ol' lots. But, it can be understandable if (like at UCLA) nearly all the lots have been replaced by new buildings and mega parking structures. Alabama has also been building parking structures...those are very expensive, too.

TrinSF

I went to a LAC that had a one price plan. All students were required to live on campus for all four years (with few exceptions -- even local students were expected to, for the most part) -- and all dorm rooms cost the same. They all included the all-you-can-eat-meal plan. For the few students who were commuters, there was an optional commuter plan.

I'm looking at the website now, and though it appears they might have changed things a little, students are still expected to live on campus, and the meal plan is still listed as "included in your annual tuition and fees."

mom2collegekids

>>>>
Anecdote: the dorm I lived in when I was in school cost about $800/yr. This same room now cost $6500/year.
<<<<<<


This is probably why some parents are so shocked to learn how much dorms cost these days. Some remember that their own college housing was about $1000 (more or less) and their meals were maybe another $600 (more or less) per year. So, naturally they never thought that they had to budget $9k (or whatever) a year for their kid's room and board.

Of course (I think) some residence halls today are MUCH NICER than the ones that we had...LOL My kids have private rooms that are in 4 room suites. They have full-sized closets...what I would've given for a full-sized closet in college....