As housing prices for Boston University dorms continue to increase with each academic year, many undergraduate students have decided to make the move to an apartment off campus as early as sophomore year.
Though the reasons for this move vary from the opportunity to cook meals to freedom from security check-in desks, many students said the high price of on-campus living lies at the root of this decision.
About 25 percent of undergraduate students decided to live off campus for the 2009-10 school year, BU Housing Director Marc Robillard said in an email.
“There were a couple of little reasons that ultimately made me make that decision,” said College of Arts and Sciences sophomore Eileen Choi. “The cost of living on campus definitely played a role in my decision.”
With combined on-campus housing and dining prices for the 2010-11 academic year ranging from $12,260 to upwards of $15,400, about a 3.5 percent increase from the 2009-10 housing rates, students like Choi have found that off-campus residences are a money-saving alternative during the economic recession.
Choi looked into moving off campus to an apartment on Commonwealth Avenue toward the end of her freshman year. After splitting the rent with two other roommates, Choi said she pays an average of $775 per month, totaling $9,300 in housing costs annually.
With housing options available in neighborhoods close to campus such Allston, Fenway and Brookline, many students said that living off campus was an attractive alternative because they ultimately pay less in apartment rent and groceries for the academic year than those living on campus with a required meal plan.
“If living off campus were significantly more expensive, I definitely would have stayed,” Choi said. “I was never more concerned about spending money and budgeting than I am now because of the state of the economy.”
“To convince my parents to let me move off-campus I had to calculate everything. Even with bills and groceries, living off campus is cheaper than living on campus,” said Choi’s roommate, College of Communication sophomore Nicole Rice. “The cost of living on-campus is ridiculous.”
Unlike Choi and Rice, however, COM freshman Caroline Patrick said her financial situation forced her to put her plans of moving off campus for the 2010-11 academic year on hold.
“If I decided to move off campus next year, I would lose my supplemental grant of $2,000,” she said. “Even though apartments are generally cheaper, the price of living would’ve been relatively close for me [to what I’m paying now] and my parents didn’t want me to lose my grant.”
BU Financial Aid Senior Assistant Director Christopher Hart said some students receive a $2,000 supplemental grant ($1,000 each semester) to live on the Charles River Campus.
Loss of financial aid when moving off campus is not typical among students looking to move off campus, he said.
“It really depends on what [financial package] you have. You don’t automatically lose your aid if you decide to move off campus,” Hart said. “The only thing a student will lose is his or her supplemental grant, but if a student doesn’t have it to begin with, then they don’t have anything to lose.”
Despite this setback, Patrick said she remains open to the idea of moving off campus in the future.
“I would love to live off campus,” Patrick said. “Hopefully my junior year will grant me that opportunity and financial freedom.”
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