<p>Psshht. It’s MUCH cheaper unless your kid has expensive tastes. I can agree though, that it IS more complicated. You will have to put down an apartment deposit (usually the first months rent, last months rent and security deposit) as opposed to the $600 BU requires. Also if your son has financial aid, it cannot be released until the first day of school, so you will not have access to those funds to pay for your deposit. You will be on the hook for the whole year, but if your son finds the apartment liveable, I’m sure it wouldn’t be hard to find subleters, especially in the summer when many are looking. As for furniture, it is also very easy to find many people give away furniture or leave it on the street in early September. (You would want to make sure its safe and clean it up a bit though.) There are certain things that you buy new and certain things you buy used, but I’m sure you can figure that out for yourself. You can also usually find things inexpensively on Craigslist. If there’s something the roommates want to splurge for, it can be split. The only way I could really see it being more expensive is if one didn’t have a roommate. At $11,848, the cheapest residence and dining plan comes to $1300 over a period of 9 months! I currently pay 700 and less than $50/60 for utilities. There is no way in heck that I spend $550 on food. (And I love to cook!) </p>
<p>While having an apartment has its annoyances, perhaps noisy neighbors or lazy landlords, so does on-campus living. I really disliked the fact that if my friends were over (for any reason), I had to tell them to go home and often times they had to get a cab, which is expensive. </p>
<p>In any case, I can’t deny the fact that its taught me more responsibility, allowed me to open up my social circle and made me more aware of life’s realities in general. </p>
<p>So if your kids up for that, then I say go for it!</p>