<p>Sure the 12 month lease may be a drag this year but who knows how it will work out in subsequent ones. It allowed our son to spend one summer on campus working with a prof on a research project. During other summers it allowed him to go back occasionally for socializing and school related matters. That 12 month lease was one of the real benefits of off campus living and it saved him a ton of money each year, about $4000.</p>