My daughter is a Fish in her second semester, and lives on campus. Our plan was for her to spend her first two years on campus to get grounded, and then live off-campus her last two years.

She is now pressuring me to allow her to live off-campus starting in the fall. She says no one she knows is planning on living on campus and can't find a roommate. She says she would actually be able to study better off campus as it is quieter than the dorms, library, and Student Computing Center.

I feel like off-campus invites more distractions as people tend to congregate and socialize more in an apartment, whereas there isn't enough room for that in a small dorm room.

Thoughts and recommendations?

Let her live off-campus.

Honestly, if she's going to get distracted from studying, she'll find a way to do it regardless of her living situation. And having a room to yourself is much more conducive to peace and quiet than the close quarters of a dorm room/cell.

[This message has been edited by shuddler (edited 2/21/2009 4:07p).]

Most people only spend their first year in dorms then move off campus. I would let her move out into an apartment with her friends. Having your own room is a big plus when it comes to studying and it really doesn't matter where she lives, friends will come over or she'll go over there.

You're probably fine with letting her move off campus. I only spent the first year on.

This part made me laugh though:

quote:

---

She says she would actually be able to study better off campus as it is quieter than the dorms, library, and Student Computing Center.

---

You can't study in a dorm room. I'm in one right now and it's cramped and all your stuff is packed on your small desk. I never get anything done in here .

I would let her live off campus.

Honestly everyone should live on campus their 1st year just to get involved and kinda get a feel for what you're into. If it's not for you, apartments are a great option. If you enjoy it, then you know which halls to live in.

I would hate living on campus a 2nd year if i wanted to live off campus at that point.

i suggest looking into the apts that are away from the train tracks and northgate, since those places are generally the ones that are pretty noisy.

quote:

---

You can't study in a dorm room. I'm in one right now and it's cramped and all your stuff is packed on your small desk. I never get anything done in here

---

Thats what the hall study rooms, libraries, hell even campus buildings at night are for.

Effective studying has nothing to do with where you live. Either you do what it takes to study or you don't.

^^ what he said

I lived on campus for 5 years, in Crocker, and got my BS in CHEN. You can study in the dorms. It takes patiences and preserverance. I went to the library once in my undergrad college career.

On the other hand, it depends on how you want to do finances. Right now, I am assuming you are covering everything and it is fine. Questions for you:

-Does she pay bills on time?
-Does she ask for money all the time or does she make do with what she has or what you give her?
-Does she have a job?
-Does she like to sleep in late/keep weird hours?
-Does she REALLY not know anyone living on campus next year?

The nice thing with dorms is you don't have monthly bills. That means someone is going to have to start paying them/get them in their names. You will have to sign a co-signer agreement with any lease, unless your daughter has a rental history already.

What/Where does she want to live? If she is going into a cheaper house, then it might be beneficial in terms of costs (barring her living in a modular dorm now). If she is moving to the "Luxury Student Apartments", then I would say the costs will start adding up quickly (cable, internet, electricity, water, trash, sewer, etc).

Does she have the ability to pay bills already/will you be funding her? Or will she blow the rent money on pointless things, forgetting she has to cover it and then come back and ask for more?

Does she have a job/hours? Does she work? Does she work on campus? Moving off might make working a bit more onery. If she keeps weird hours (studying, groups, etc) parking can be a bit more...interesting too. She will lose more sleep, due to the fact she has to ride the bus or drive to school. All the driving does add up to extra gas.

Is she wanting to move off for a BF or sig other? Does he/she want to stay over all the time and the roomie has an issue with it? Or does she want to stay over there and can't? Honest questions.

Is she prone to cooking/cleaning up after herself? If not, she will probably start eating out more, which is more expensive. If they are like most sophomores, they will try to cook for a few weeks, give up when classes get hard, and eat out all the time.

Does she want a place so she can "party"? Another honest question and rebuttal to why she wants to move out.

Sorry if this is a bit long winded, but there are a plethora of reasons why you would want to move out, mostly vieled under the "I don't know anyone!" reason. I had all ages of roomies and never once did it bother me. I think I was a roommate with one of the other posters.

The big thing, I think, comes down to money. How do you want to deal with paying for things for your daughter, if you still are (which I am assuming; if she was self-sufficient, I would assume you would let her do her own thing). Not too many sophomores that I know are good with paying bills and keeping things going on time (or they have a roomie that DOES NOT know how to pay on time/constantly late).

hth

~egon

If you feel she is responsible, let her move off. The norm is to move off after freshman year (although many stay of course). What's most important I think is who she is going to live with and where. Make sure that's in order (cost, responsible roommates, location, etc) and then give it the ok.

Another vote for off campus. If she's a good student now, she will do fine in an apartment too. And if she has good friends now, she'll probably have a more enjoyable year living with them vs. a total stranger in the dorms again.

I'm an advocate for living on campus at least for one year to see if you like it. apparently, she would be happier off-campus and I think that is important. you don't want her to be miserable in her living situation for an entire year.

and yea, if she can't study in her dorm, she probably won't be able to study in her apartment. I always had to go to the library to get any studying done.

apartment...





that is all you need to know

Off campus.


She'll be just fine.

Even if she is in a dorm, and the rest of her friends live off campus, she will still congregate off campus.

offcampus and commute to wcl to study. thats what everyone does. thats why u have to park at reed to study on a random tuesday night.

nm

[This message has been edited by GigEm01 (edited 3/17/2009 3:47a).]

egon makes excellent points

What Egon said. He pretty much covered everything.

I lived on campus my freshman and sophomore year. I currently live off campus and will graduate in Aug. I think it is a good idea to live on campus for at least 2 years. I went from Northside to Southside for a change of view. Honestly, I wish I lived on campus still. Living in an apartment has caused numerous problems and I have become very anti-social. My roommate constantly has her fish camp over for parties and I always feel in the way even though I live here also. I studied much better on campus because I could just walk over to the library.

Stay on campus another year. I think I enjoyed living on campus my sophomore year more than my freshman year.

quote:

---

The nice thing with dorms is you don't have monthly bills. That means someone is going to have to start paying them/get them in their names. You will have to sign a co-signer agreement with any lease, unless your daughter has a rental history already.

---

By paying bills and monthly rent you are building her credit.

Also, If the apartment seems to be "perfect for your little college girl" and looks like it is catering to the mother/fathers expections of keeping your girl safe while in school. It will probably be more of a hassel. (ie: gated apartment complex)

[This message has been edited by jread07 (edited 3/31/2009 4:07p).]

quote:

---

By paying bills and monthly rent you are building her credit.

---

WRONG!!!

I am 28 and have lived in many places over the years. one does not build credit by paying bills. you seem to be '07 so you may not understand how it works. as long as you don't incur debt and pay it off, you don't build credit.
I have always payed my bills on time either by check, cash, money order, or online and the only thing I have going towards building my credit is paying off a loan I got to fix my truck.

^
| Sorry, maybe I will be as smart as you when I am 28. But it does make me wonder. Why do they ask for previous landlords? I guess they just ask that for the hell of it. I also remember my new Cable and Utility companies did not require deposits last time I moved. I guess that has nothing to do with the fact that I didn't have bad credit from my previous companies. Why you are here, if you have a credit card and pay it off in full every month how does that affect your credit?
Good thing I have a truck loan or my credit would be crap.

quote:

---

Sorry, maybe I will be as smart as you when I am 28. But it does make me wonder. Why do they ask for previous landlords? I guess they just ask that for the hell of it. I also remember my new Cable and Utility companies did not require deposits last time I moved. I guess that has nothing to do with the fact that I didn't have bad credit from my previous companies. Why you are here, if you have a credit card and pay it off in full every month how does that affect your credit?
Good thing I have a truck loan or my credit would be crap.

---

this is why I think more kids needed spankings while growing up.
I also have never needed a deposit for utilities. something about a job and good history. nothing about credit.
the whole previous landlord thing is just to check if you paid you bills and didn't trash the place.
neither of the above improve your credit.
your attempt at using the credit card paid off every moth to refute my statement is also false. it is called a credit card for a reason. you are incurring debt that you pay off at the end of the month.
how about instead of you trying (and failing) to make me look like a jackass, you accept that someone older than you might know a little more about things.

You know, I lived in the dorm for 3 years and loved it...my philosophy was always, "the dorm room is for living, the library is for studying". or study carrells, etc. It just worked well for me, but I know studies show that on campus students as a whole have higher GPA and graduate sooner...

quote:

---

how about instead of you trying (and failing) to make me look like a jackass

---

He doesn't have to try.

egon hit the nail on the head. Some serious talking and consideration needs to be done.

Personally, I think the smartest place for her is on campus for the rest of this year and maybe some/all of next year. I've seen, amongst myself and friends, the ones that handled moving off campus the best were the ones that stayed ON campus for three years then moved out. If you try to move out end of sophomore/beginning of junior year, you're too distracted and take on a party/freedom mentality and lose track of academics.

Let her go off Campus. I lived in one of the nicest dorms on campus in terms of biggest rooms and only two people to a bathroom and still hated it. Having your own room is great.

The bigger issue about moving off is where you go and who you live with. But that's why we have this longstanding tradition in the United States that most countries don't have where we send our kids away from home for higher education. There's a lot more to learn in college than what they teach in classes!

you could always try a private dorm like Tradition