During my time we had only some female international students live on campus
by choice. There was no benefit of living on campus except campus provided
security for late night escort. All costs on campus were higher included standard
text books. We did not have an Amazon app to compare prices, but even 30 years
ago most international students had access to usenet mailing list to compare
costs within a campus and between universities.
All International students pay full tuition, so every cost even what i now consider
simple living and food costs become extremely price sensitive.