Off Campus Housing - What questions should we ask?

Marian
Wed, 13 Jul 2011 12:21:52 +0000

Ask about parking. Is there guaranteed or adequate parking for all residents and is a parking pass required? What kind of visitor parking is available?



You seem very relaxed about the fact that the apartment is more than a mile from the college, so I assume that your son has a car.

In addition to asking the landlord about parking, I think you also need to ask the college about parking. If your son will not be able to get a permit to park on campus, or if the number of spaces allotted to students is inadequate, then you need to be checking out public transportation options between the apartment building and the campus and/or bicycle storage arrangements at the apartment building if your son would consider commuting to campus by bicycle.

It’s not a good idea to assume that adequate parking will be available on campus. You need to find out. At one school my daughter visited, a student asked during the information session whether freshmen were allowed to have cars. The answer was “Sure. Have fun trying to find a place to park it. [Evil cackle.]”