College room and board

[corn18]

My DD got into Ohio State engineering program with a nice scholarship. She has to stay on campus the first two years. Room and board is ~$11,700 with the most expensive meal plan. I budgeted this for 4 years, but talking to other parents, it seems it's a lot cheaper to live off campus than $11,700. I checked into it and it seems $350 / mo in a shared house / apartment seems reasonable. That's a lot cheaper than $11,700 a year, even with a generous food allowance.

Appreciate any experience in this area.

Tom

[disneysteve]

Room and board is ~$11,700 with the most expensive meal plan.

Appreciate any experience in this area.

Tom

I wish! We're paying about $14,000.

[ua_guy]

The college I went to (10 years ago) was similar. They required freshmen to reside on campus, part of an immersion / student development program. Compared to the cost of living off campus back then, living on campus was a little more expensive.

But, there were a few things that might be important to you as a parent, and you kid as a student.

-Besides the other students you meet in class, you make a lot of new friends living on campus...there really is an immersion experience. There are always people to eat with, do things with, study with, etc.

-Campus halls generally provide 24/7 security staffing and monitored and controlled access, escort service.

-All utilities and high speed internet, often cable, too, are provided as part of the room/board fees.

-The meal plans, while expensive, provide a social experience as well as good nutritional options for every meal, and students don't have to spend any time cooking, or shopping.

-If your kid has some adjusting to do living with roommates and such, mediation or moving residences can be accommodated by campus staff versus having to break a lease in an off-campus situation.

-There is no hassle finding replacement roommates, lease timing, etc. Students move in for the school year, and when they're gone, they're gone!

Your student might not need or want any of that, and another downside is that you generally have to pay for on-campus parking if you bring a car with you, or worse yet, if you're used to having a car, sometimes they won't let you have a car on campus.

By the end of two years I was thoroughly done with on-campus living and made my own arrangements, cheaper. Of course the place we rented was a run-down piece of crap and my roommates weren't exactly the easiest people to live with, and I wasn't either.

If you're locked into it (there's an exception process usually, but it requires the student reside with family within a certain radius of campus), have your kid try it for 2 years and then look at off-campus options thereafter.

[creditcardfree]

We are at just under $11K for room and board for my daughter's freshman year. Yes, it is required. She likes it overall and has committed to one more full year in the dorms. Our university has some other suite style and apartment style housing that I might have her consider when she is an upperclassman.

And great points by the poster above! I agree with the security particularly, in addition to the convenience of dining on campus.

[Drake3287]

Same here, my two daughters were required to live in the dorm for there freshman year, basically the same price as you give or take a few bucks. We also ended up not buying the most expensive meal plan which worked out well for everyone. Less wasted money on food not purchased/needed.

After a month or two almost everyone wants out of the dorm! Halfway through the first year she had 3 friends that wanted to go in on an apartment so they had it all prearranged and ready to go for the following Fall semester.

We easily saved half the cost of the college dorm/meal plan and because there were a total of 4 girls splitting costs, they found a higher-end apartment in a gated complex that provided good security for both them and us parents. We also luckily found this apartment complex several miles away from the collage so parties were kept to a medium (as far as I know!)