Dorm or apartment?

Question

When going to an out of state college, far away from home, is it cheaper/better to live in a dorm on campus or rent an apartment off campus?

Answer 1

DORM...at least for the first year.

If you live off campus, you "lose touch" with everything and everyone.  Dorms are the best way to meet new people from all over the country and was one of the best decisions I ever made in college.

....and many years later, my closest friends are the girls that I met on my hall that freshman year.

Answer 2

I would think a dorm would be MUCH safer.

I live near Wilkes College in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.  The dorm buildings all have security as well as a special code must be entered by persons entering - without the code, people don't get in.  

However, regular apartments in the same area don't offer this protection, and in fact, there have been several robberies, rapes, and other crimes a few streets away from the dorms, so to rent on your own I think would be just asking for trouble.

Answer 3

While I was at the University of Tennessee, it was generally cheaper to rent an apartment, but this can vary greatly depending on the college and location.  If your school is in the middle of a large city, then rent prices are bound to be expensive nearby, so dorms might be better.  If you're in the middle of nowhere or a college town, you can probably find better deals at an apartment, or even renting a small house.

Just divide the fees for staying in a dorm by the number of months those fees cover (most are by semester, but some are year-round), and then compare that to apartments on rent.com or craigslist.  Be careful about renting very close to campus though, because in my experience, rent was much higher and the apartments were much more poorly cared for in buildings within walking distance of campus.

Answer 4

It is way cheaper to rent an apartment, and you don't have to get the meal plan which saves you a lot of money and keeps you from eating nasty junk food all the time.

Some universities have dorm-like apartments, they've been cropping up everywhere.  It is basically where you just rent a bedroom in an apartment, get random roommates, and pay a ton of money.  Those aren't a good idea either.

Oftentimes in college towns there are complexes that are not run by the school that have a majority student population.  They're usually cheap.

The only advantage to living in a dorm is that you are forced to meet a lot of people, and make a lot of friends.

Answer 5

if you want more freedom/ privacy i'd go for an apartment. if you are looking for that "college experience" i'd live in a dorm the first year to meet people then share an apartment with your new friends the next year.

Answer 6

definately appartments are better.  better quality and not as much theft.

Answer 7

In some areas, it is actually better to buy a place.  You purchase a place, have parent co-sign, and then you can sell when you graduate.  If you just break even, it is like living rent free for college.  You can even have persons rent rooms, which helps pay mortgage.

I have set this up for borrowers. It can work quite well.