<p>Experiences living off campus are mixed. I’ve seen kids living in every situation from the pits - half their fault, half the place - to the palace. The rent $$ depends a lot on the number of kids, who has which bedroom (bigger = more $ usually in a roommate situation), distance, etc. Unless a kid is part of a group that will be living together, ideally a group that already has a place and needs to pull in a roomie, I wouldn’t want my kid trying to go off campus until junior year.</p>