just make sure you are comparing apples to apples.
An off campus apartment which requires first month, last month rents AND a security deposit (which is not always returned- landlords who rent to college kids don’t have a very generous idea of “normal wear and tear”, AND a cable fee/utilities, 12 months lease for a kid only in residence for 9 months (sometimes kid can get a sublettor, sometimes not) can come in more expensive than a traditional dorm room. Which is great if you’ve budgeted for it, terrible if you haven’t. A 21 meal or even 14 meal a week meal plan might seem exorbitant until you have a kid who is eating breakfast at Starbucks every day, lunch at a food truck, and dinner at a diner plus a late night pizza!