Living off campus

dianejean · 02-23-2012, 11:06 AM

I visited JMU with my daughter and was quite concerned that all the kids move off campus after freshman year. We are from Boston and she would not have a car. Do you still have the same experience if you are living in apartments all over town? Thanks.

ddotjon · 02-23-2012, 04:24 PM

MY son is a senior at JMU this year. He did not move off sophomore year. He stayed on campus, as well as a lot of his friends, and moved off junior year. In hindsight, he is glad he did it that way, and it worked out well. He still does not have a car at school, and has managed.

*KatMT* · 02-26-2012, 09:28 AM

About 1/2 of the freshmen stay on campus for sophomore year. Some juniors and seniors choose to as well, but this is much less common.

The students who live off campus tend to live in areas and apartment complexes that cater to students, so the experience is comparable to living in an on-campus student apartment at another school. The bus system is good, and some of the complexes also have their own shuttles.

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VTHope12 · 02-26-2012, 02:22 PM

Which is cheaper KATMT, living in dorms or off campus? Room& board price vs. off campus + food and etc.?

*KatMT* · 02-26-2012, 10:55 PM

I believe it ends up being slightly less expensive to live off campus depending on where you live and how often you cook at home. Many students who live off campus but are on campus a lot keep a larger meal plan amount. JMU is rated very high for campus food.. it is good... I will actually east sushi prepared on campus... so, many students choose to eat on campus often even when living off.

Also -- other than the food coop downtown... which is very good, but a little more expensive... and the farmers market when in season... there is not a supermarket within walking distance to the downtown area close to campus. The buses do go to Walmart, Target, and other areas with grocery stores so that is a possibility for shopping trips if a student does not have a car. Also -- many students do have cars, so carpooling is always a possibility.

DukesCIS2013 · 03-08-2012, 01:01 PM

VTHope12:

Living off campus is generally cheaper if you don't try to live in the student complexes. I have a townhouse that is just as nice as any student complex (Charleston Townes, Copper Beach, etc) and I only pay $325 a month WITH utilities. When you add in food I pay about $450 a month which is $5400 for 12 months. Compare that to living on campus where room/board/meal plan is about $5976 for only 10 months.