| On-Campus Living |
Off-Campus Living |
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| A sense of belonging to the campus community and an opportunity for greater involvement in various campus activities, programs, and groups. |
Students who live off campus may feel more isolated from campus
and other students. |
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| Theme Housing options centered around a variety of academic, cultural,
organizational, and personal interests are available in all campus housing facilities.
There is also the option to create your own “neighborhood” by selecting adjacent residence
hall rooms or apartments with friends. |
There are a lot of neighborhoods and areas to choose from, but
how can you really know which area is right for you? It can be difficult to get a feel
for an area if you don’t already know other people in the neighborhood. |
|
| Academic-year contracts that follow the school year. |
Year-long leases, and the responsibility of finding someone
to sublet your place during the summer. |
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| No first, last or deposit required. |
First month’s rent plus a deposit
of 1 1⁄2 - 2 month’s rent |
|
| One bill includes everything: rent, meals, internet,
cable, electricity, phone service, water, garbage—you name it, it’s covered. |
Having to pay for everything separately… Collect monthly
rent checks from each housemate, sign up for each utility service individually, go through
a credit check, pay a deposit, divide up bills between housemates, collect money from
each housemate, pay for service on time each month or risk having service turned off…and
then, remember to disconnect each service when you move-out. |
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| Time saved being in close proximity to classes, libraries,
computer labs, faculty, and recreational facilities (and the option to sleep in late
and still get to class on time!). |
Time spent commuting to and from campus at least once
or twice each day. Plan on spending at least 5 hours each week commuting. |
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| Campus shuttles and buses to get you around campus quickly and
easily. |
Waiting at crowded bus stops and hoping a full bus doesn’t pass
you by. |
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| Fully furnished room or apartment. |
Buying furniture: bed, dresser, desk, sofa, etc. AND
having to get rid of furniture in the summer (No, you can’t just leave it or you may
forfeit your security deposit). |
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| Hot meals prepared for you: dining halls and numerous restaurants
located across campus. No shopping for groceries, no time spent preparing meals, and
best of all…no dirty dishes to clean-up! |
Spending an average of 9 hours per week shopping, cooking,
cleaning up—that is if your roommate actually does clean up their dirty dishes…yuck! |
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| Well-maintained facilities in a comfortable, safe, healthy environment, and maintenance staff ready to respond promptly when repairs are needed. |
A landlord is legally required to maintain the property in a habitable
condition, but the actual condition of rental properties can vary throughout the off-campus
community. Plus, you’ll have to work with landlords or property managers to get repairs
made. |
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| Campus police and fire departments, Community Safety
Officers, and Residential Life & Housing staff available 24/7 to campus residents. |
City police and fire departments
who serve the entire off-campus community. |
|
| Designated places to study: numerous libraries and study
rooms. |
Asking your roommates for quiet so you can
study (or commuting
to campus to study). |
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