A thought about the on vs. off campus

[ebeeeee]

yup, my S has worked out his own life and I am out of the picture...I wanted to post as other parents may be talking to their students about off campus options for next year. It's a good time to think about all of these factors.
And I still feel it is a positive given that he has gone through this experience in a place where he does have friends and a support group. When he goes into a new place for that first job (please God!) the living alone, apartment thing will have already been done once.

[toledo]

The problem I see is that all the off-campus housing, within a few blocks of the campus, are dumps. Rent is about half what the university charges, but who could stand to live there? Is this the kind of experience our kids need to have?

[TheAnalyst]

Currently, my college senior tells me he is spending three to four hours a day on the bus, depending on traffic, getting from home to work to college to home. The bus is often standing room only and very hot, so he arrives wilted. His situation will change in January, so not a permanent problem but will definitely make him think about commute when he picks an apartment after he graduates.

If he gets a permanent offer from his current firm (which is his hope), one issue is that he will mostly work in the office of the client rather than the firm itself. As the client changes, the office location will change. Therefore, it may not even be possible to pick an apartment that is always close to where he will be working, but hopefully he can improve upon his current set-up.

He has a roommate now (grad student) and I think he will look for a roommate after he graduates as well for both cost and social reasons.

[oldfort]

D1's school does not guarantee on campus housing, only freshman year. Most kids live off campus after the first year. Many apartments in collegetown are nicer than the dorms. D1 will be subletting next semester, coming back from study abroad. She negotiated a very good rate. The apartment building has a media room, laundry facility that would text them when wash or dryer is done, full time doorman, onsite parking. There are a lot of apartment buildings like that around the school.

[TheAnalyst]

oldfort, I wish my S were a planner. He still has no idea where he will live next semester. He flies in January 20th and plans to go directly from the airport to school, actually missing the first day of classes--no time for a visit home after being gone for six months. He does intend to sublet from somebody but hasn't done anything about lining something up yet.

[JHS]

The problem I see is that all the off-campus housing, within a few blocks of the campus, are dumps. Rent is about half what the university charges, but who could stand to live there? Is this the kind of experience our kids need to have?

I don't know where you are looking to see that, but it sure isn't what I see. Increasingly, what I see is a wide range of offerings and price points. Over the past decade -- and with encouragement/support from the colleges themselves -- number of developers got into the business of building or rehabbing apartments near campuses. Some of those buildings are really posh -- Penn has one across the street from a bunch of its dorms, with lots of amenities (and a price to match). Dumps are available, too, and places that are far from dumps. My kid's apartment in Chicago was not of the posh, doorman/health spa variety, and cost about 90% of what a standard dorm double cost, but it was the nicest student apartment I have ever seen: pre-war building with high ceilings and much architectural detail, large (old) kitchen, separate dining room, living room, and sun room, fireplace. The maintenance was less than perfect, but far better than the dorm her sibling lived in.

[oldfort]

TheAnalyst - I think again, it's a boy girl thing. Boy wouldn't mind sleeping on someone's floor if necessary. D1 had this all done before she left. She also found an apartment for next year while she's abroad.

[TheAnalyst]

oldfort, he was still working on his living arrangements for Rio as we drove him to the airport last June. He was very nonchalant and said he could just stay at a hostel while he looked for a place, if necessary. He does tend to land on his feet, so I've learned to just let him do it his way (for the most part). I gear up the helicopter once in awhile.

[Marian]

The problem I see is that all the off-campus housing, within a few blocks of the campus, are dumps. Rent is about half what the university charges, but who could stand to live there? Is this the kind of experience our kids need to have?

Not true in either of my kids' college communities. Some places were dumps, but neither of my kids lived in them, and they didn't have to go far from their campuses to find decent housing at a reasonably acceptable price (although they didn't save money, either).

My daughter did end up in an unfashionable neighborhood (on the opposite side of campus from all the bars and restaurants), but that's what she wanted anyway.

There's much to be learned from living off-campus. My son, for example, somehow overlooked the e-mail sent to him during his junior year (his first year off-campus) giving the deadline for renewing his lease. He missed the deadline and lost his space in his apartment. He ended up living in the same building the following year, but with three strangers and in a more expensive apartment.

I wish my S were a planner. He still has no idea where he will live next semester.

Actually, in most college communities it is not difficult to sublet a room in an apartment for the spring semester. More people study abroad during the spring semester than the fall semester, so there are more people trying to find subletters for the spring. He will probably be fine.

My son moved across the country for graduate school with no housing arranged, only a vague promise that he could sleep at the apartment of a guy he knew whose usual roommate was away on a summer internship. He managed somehow and ended up getting into an on-campus graduate apartment complex within a few weeks. (I will take partial credit for this, though; I twisted his arm to get him to put himself on the waiting list for on-campus graduate housing.)

Guys don't seem to mind the casual approach to finding housing; girls do. Given the greater safety concerns that girls face, I think this makes sense.

[katliamom]

My D is in Boston - same school as ebeeee's son - and my impression of her off-campus options is more in line with what JHS sees at Penn. A lot of choices, from dumps to posh lofts. On-campus housing is equally varied, for that matter. I didn't have that many options when I was in school in the Bay Area.