Living in Boston

ryanbis
Thu, 02 Nov 2006 16:09:39 +0000

Rent is very high in Boston and if you do want to live off-campus, you’re going to want to find a group of other people to live with. I would say that the average college student’s share of the rent is in the $700-$900 range, not including utilities (which can be negligible if you’re sharing the apartment with enough people).

I have to disagree, though, with the savings not being much. It will depend on your living arrangements, but living off campus can lead to substantial savings. Assuming that you’re getting nine months use (which is really overestimating it, as you don’t get to use your dorm during breaks and intercessions), rent comes to about $750 for a double in a dormitory. Not too terrible, but you can definitely do better. If you want a single in a dorm without a private bath, you’re paying almost $1k a month. What really tips the scales is the cost of food–the dining plan costs over $400 a month. While the food can be good, it certainly isn’t THAT good.

BU has many strengths–cost is not one of them, unfortunately.