Single/College and expenses for food

[DawnM]

If you have a child living off campus, how much do they (or you) pay for food per month?

This was a topic on our parent group college board for one of my sons' colleges.   The ranges were from about $150-$600 and included food, toiletries, and cleaning supplies.   I found that to be a wildly big range.

I have two kids who live off campus.   One spends about $200-$250/mo for food and sundries.   The other JUST moved off campus but he is a body builder so I anticipate his bill being more in the $300 range.

What would you say would be an average amount or what does your child spend?

This is just a curiosity not an advice seeking.

[whitestavern]

My daughter had a $50/week food allowance when she lived off campus. We gave her a cc to use. Anything over that she paid for, but $50 covered most everything. 

[ScoutTN]

Might also depend on roommates and if they share any expenses for food or household items. And COL. Also pantry/staples can be a a significant initial expense. 

Edited August 26, 2023 by ScoutTN

[Ginevra]

When my dd was living off campus, he had a credit card to use for groceries, which was usually $150-$250 per month. He did always have roommates, though, so I don’t know how much roommates/gf defrayed some costs. I do know he was good about shopping at Aldi and not buying much junky snack stuff. He cooks and eats health-consciously. 

[saraha]

Dd20 spent $120 a month on food etc. for toiletries, she would raid our closet when she was home and take enough to cover til her next trip home in a month or two. When she came home, we would send her back with a couple of packages of meat from our freezer and whatever she raided from the cabinets. She kept herself to a strict budget, she learned to cook and follow recipes before going off to school and had a real kitchen she shared with her roommates.

Sje is volunteering with a church on campus this year, so spent anticipate coming home again til thanksgiving so will have less opportunities to glean from us, but she practiced some new recipes while home for the summer and we bought some Tupperware with compartments so she can cook less often and reheat more things.

She also started hosting dinner parties last year and everyone would kick in like $5 or bring part of the meal and she would cook and use the money for whatever. Hee friends loved it

[BusyMom5]

We are doing $50 a week.  She does also have a required $300? In Dining Dollars that need to be spent at school eateries. 

[DawnM]

43 minutes ago, BusyMom5 said:

We are doing $50 a week.  She does also have a required $300? In Dining Dollars that need to be spent at school eateries. 

Required dining dollars when you live off campus?   

My son asked if we could put him on the lowest commuter plan, but after doing the math, we realized pay as you go would be cheaper.   

Dinner cost is $12.50 per meal in the dining hall but lunch is $10.50.   The commuter plan charges the middle amount of $11.50 per meal but he won't ever be on campus for dinner, so we would essentially pay MORE per meal.   And then we also realized he would eat 3 meals per week max and the min. commuter plan is almost 5 meals per week.

I told him to just pay as he goes with his credit card and pay the $10.50 instead.    This was week one and he didn't eat on campus at all, so I am guessing he won't be eating on campus much.  I know last year he complained about the food not being great for his body building eating plan.

We will see.   We don't have a set amount but my kids have averaged the amounts I listed above.

[4kidlets4me]

My DD is spending around $350-$450 per month and that is with us loading her up with stuff from Costco a few times a year. The amount she spends per month has gone up significantly in the last year.

[Ali in OR]

Last year dd had a meal plan to eat 9 meals per week on campus (I don't know how much that was) and then I supplemented that with a $150 auto transfer at the beginning of every month. I've already upped that to $200 for this year (and I expect she'll also have the 9 meal plan).  The meal plan works out well for meals between classes and the one or two nights a week she'll have a late discussion or lab course. She stayed in her college town over the summer with no meal plan and was definitely dipping into savings for food (I did transfer an extra $200 this month). When we visit (a few times per year) I bring cereal and mac and cheese etc. and we also do a good grocery run where we'll pay for meat and other expensive stuff.

[Bootsie]

My kids lived either in the dorm or at home during undergraduate, so I don't have a good comparison.  DD is in an apartment for grad school, but that is in a different country, so it is hard to compare, but I would estimate she spends about $250/month.  

I am not surprised at how large of a range people said.  If a student has a habit of stopping at Starbucks every day and spends $7 on a latte--that will be over $200 of the budget just there.  Do toiletries mean a 99 cent bottle of Suave shampoo or a $40 bottle of specialty brand shampoo, $50 bottle of designer conditioner, $40 tube of styling gel, and $30 bottle of finishing spray...  Are we talking about a 90-pound female or a 200-pound male who is fairly athletic?  Are we talking a person who is buying spinach, onions, and eggs and making omeletes for dinner or a person puchasing $15 of prepped sushi for dinner?

[ScoutTN]

Are you talking about only groceries and household supplies or also meals out/all food? Our family has those as separate budget items since food is necessary, but eating out is usually not.

@DawnM Those are steep meal prices for cafeteria food! Dd’s meals are $6.50. 

[Storygirl]

This is a timely thread, because DD21 is off campus for the first time. She has friends and a boyfriend who eat on campus sometimes, so we did buy her the commuter dining package, but we will evaluate after this semester whether she used it enough for it to be worthwhile, or whether it would be cheaper to pay cash as she goes. I think she said that it's $7.50 per meal in cash.

They just opened a Costco in her college town, so I gave her a $100 Shop Card and sent her with some things for an initial pantry stock up. We are still deciding how much to give her each month and whether to just transfer money to her account or perhaps give her some grocery store gift cards. We will see how the first month goes and then figure out a budget. She does have a job, and so we don't want to fund endless Starbucks and fast food runs, so there will be some things that she will need to cover for herself.

[DawnM]

5 hours ago, ScoutTN said:

Are you talking about only groceries and household supplies or also meals out/all food? Our family has those as separate budget items since food is necessary, but eating out is usually not.

@DawnM Those are steep meal prices for cafeteria food! Dd’s meals are $6.50. 

Dang!  yes, they are steep.

I just talked to him and he told me he actually thinks he won't eat much cafeteria food, so we will see what happens.

And yes, I mean everything really.   My son does eat out some.   Well, both do actually.

Edited August 26, 2023 by DawnM

[AngieC]

We gave our daughter the equivalent cost of her dorm and meal plan last year and let her decide how to allocate it this year between housing and food/toiletries.  I think she will end up with about $3,000 leftover for the year for food and supplies.  

[DawnM]

8 hours ago, AngieC said:

We gave our daughter the equivalent cost of her dorm and meal plan last year and let her decide how to allocate it this year between housing and food/toiletries.  I think she will end up with about $3,000 leftover for the year for food and supplies.  

That was our original plan, but the college boy #3 goes to has a housing crisis of sorts and rents have gone up too high.   So, his rent is $1,000/mo including utilities.   We had thought it would be $750 like the ones he originally looked at.   But he couldn't get in there!   There was no room.   His school has pretty much only freshman living on campus.   They allow some sophomores if there is room, but by the time he found out he didn't get the apartment, the dorms were full anyway.

Dorm plus meal plan is $12,600/year, his apartment is $12,000.   I think we will allow him more than $600/year for food.   🤣

So we are having to go over.   But at least he is at a state school that has low tuition.   But ugh!

Meanwhile, my son at private school with higher tuition found a room in a house with a couple of other guys and is paying $500/mo including utilities.

Edited August 27, 2023 by DawnM

[catz]

Our college kid just graduated after living 1 year in a dorm and 3 off campus.  The food thing was so hard because he was super busy with a traveling group on his campus.  He did eat some of his meals on campus which I preferred because they were cheaper and subsidized, he had limitless choices on a big ten campus.  And we could reload his food bucks online.

But he also had a card that worked in his city for grocery and take out.  And he really did need that take out sometimes.  I'm guessing maybe $300-$400 a month for him on average.  But we did give him more during busier times.  His touring thing/2nd major involved a large scholarship so was basically his campus job for 3 years.  Had he not taken that path, food may have been less but tuition would have been way more so we flexed on that for him.  Not to mention he is a rail and just needs to eat constantly.

[footballmom]

This is my oldest’s first year living off campus so we are figuring out the golden “just right” amount. We sat down together and went over his expenses within a month - food, gas, toiletries, etc and did a small meal plan because the dining options are really good. This kid loves take out, but between the dining plan and meal prep with one of the roommates, he hasn’t been hitting a drive through. We started at $200/week and will reevaluate after the first full month. So far he’s coming in well below that budget even with some items he’s needed for a first place. 

[Faith-manor]

We gave our now 24 year old $110 a week when he went off the meal plan back when he was still in college. In his town, groceries were VERY expensive compared to here. Astounding price difference, and at that time, no Aldi he could get to with public transportation. That said, the meal plan was only 14 meals a week, and $2500 a semester so when taking out the holidays when the cafeteria was closed so at only 2 meals per day and several holidays when there was no food offered, it came out to 199 meals for $2500 or $12.56 a meal regardless of what meal. They charged $8.50 for breakfast, $10.00/for lunch, and $12.50 for dinner is you chose to pay cash. He also did not have the choices he needed for his medical needs, and no amount of trying to get them to do it was ever going to work. So he moved to a dorm with a full kitchen, and we gave him our camping fridge which was about 7.5 cubic ft, and a tabletop freezer. Since I could buy high quality ground beef at a much lower price here, I would make numerous beef patties, and freeze them individually. We also could get chicken breast and other items half the price of the grocery store walking distance from campus. I made barbecue chicken, chicken taco meat, and chicken salad for him, froze it, and sent it along as well as home canned veggies. Since he came home for the summers thus we only paid out the grocery/personal care budget when he was on campus, we saved a lot of money. His weight also stabilized and he stopped losing weight he couldn't afford to lose. 

I suspect that given the inflation on groceries and personal care items in recent years, if he was still  a college student without a meal plan he would need $150 a week.

[Jann in TX]

My dd's college is in a high cost of living area-- groceries (and gas) are MUCH more expensive there than in TX where I live!

DD (starting Sr year) averages $400 per month for food alone.  Apartment (her share of 4bed 4 bath) is $800 per month plus utilities.  Still cheaper than living in dorm! Her boyfriend is sharing a 3bed 1.5 bath (needs some work) townhouse his share is $600 per month plus utilities...DD may look for a unit over there for her grad school (needs to decide soon as there is always a long wait list)...

Her sisters opted for a local university-- we purchased a 2 bed 1.5 bath house (mortgage $500 per month!)--10 years later oldest DD still lives there!  I think their food allowance was $400 per month combined... tuition was about half of what is is now too...

We looked into purchasing a house for youngest dd to use at college (with maybe renting a room or two)- but $300,000 cant get you anything other than a run down 2 bed 1 bath condo-- so more than the $800 per month per person of her current apartment...

--Needed to add

One of my older dds did spend one year at an out of town university.  Each dorm had a kitchen-- since she has major food allergies she was allowed to totally skip the meal plan-- I gave her that money as her grocery/incidental allowance.  The kitchen was down her hall-- so I bought her a little red wagon to transport her food and cookware/utensils.  Laundry was in the same room so it worked out great for her and she learned how to cook!  (She did have a microwave and a mini refrigerator with freezer in her room).  Both semesters she came home with several hundred dollars that she did not spend.

Edited August 28, 2023 by Jann in TX

[Condessa]

😮  These prices are crazy.  $12.50 per cafeteria meal?  I regularly feed my family a meal for that much.  Y’all are scaring me for the future.

[mommyoffive]

5 minutes ago, Condessa said:

😮  These prices are crazy.  $12.50 per cafeteria meal?  I regularly feed my family a meal for that much.  Y’all are scaring me for the future.

Same.

[Faith-manor]

I just checked my middle son's alma mater. Their meal plan for this fall, the three meals a day one, is $2966.00 for the fall semester. 105 days for returning students (freshmen come in a couple of days earlier than that) and from Tuesday evening the week of Thanksgiving until Sunday evening which is a limited meal students can get it they arrive back on campus before supper, it comes out to 90 meals offered. Roughly $33 a day or $231.00 per week and of course no personal care items. Toilet paper must now be provided by the students in the dorm bathrooms, but it is still provided in the public restrooms in the other buildings.

Apart from a fairly decent salad bar with basic fruit, the food being offered is basically fast food fare, not really a lot of healthy options.

So if a student is committed to grocery shopping and cooking their own, a lot of money can be saved giving a food and personal care allowance if financial.aid and scholarships are not large enough to cover the food plan. And as usual with their illogical administrative stupidity, the walk in no meal plan people spend about $1 less per meal than the students buying the meal plan. Sheesh.

A double, no frills (and I mean no frills) dorm room is $2990 per semester, no custodial provided of any kind, and an $89 per month internet fee PER student! Nearly $200 a room! I swear colleges are run by mafia these days. Though the students are not on campus for a full four months in the fall semester, they charge for four months of internet. $336 per semester. So two semesters with meal plan is just over $12,000 for the privilege of sharing a 10x12 space with another person. Boy if I could get $24,000 a year renting a single bedroom......

We really should have bought a fixer upper 3 bedroom house in that city years ago. We could have undercut the college, charged $1400 a bedroom per semester with shared living spaces, and the house would have paid for itself in no time, students would have been happy to save money and be able to cook their own food. Internet in that town, fast and reliable, runs about $75 a month. A whole house and only three people, private sleeping space, I am pretty sure we would have had droves of students applying. Good grief!

At any rate, I was at Aldi yesterday and frankly, getting students off meal plans is probably pretty wise financially. They can buy a lot of produce, healthy proteins, and non name brand personal care items for much less than $33-36 a day.

Sorry for the bad news to all of you facing a future of putting kids through college. I thought we had it bad, but it looks like it is getting even worse.

 

[ScoutTN]

Dd is definitely hoping to live in an apartment next year due to food quality. She’d likely still have a small meal plan for convenience and to be able to eat with friends. Her college town is fairly low COL, but we still need to gather lots of info before we can make a decision. 
 

She has the full meal plan this semester and given some of the details, I doubt we switch that, even though she doesn’t use all the meals/week thus far.

[Annie G]

2 hours ago, Faith-manor said:

And as usual with their illogical administrative stupidity, the walk in no meal plan people spend about $1 less per meal than the students buying the meal plan. Sheesh.

 

 

 

 

It was like this at youngest DD’s  school, though it was closer to $2. It really annoyed me. Like, she’s 30 now and it still annoys me.  It would have been better if I hadn’t done the math and discovered that. 

[chiguirre]

The military's Basic Allowance for Subsistence is about $310 for officers and $450 for enlisted. They adjust it annually based on the USDA's survey of food costs, not just general inflation. It's not a bad place to start when making a budget for an off-campus college student.

[vonfirmath]

2 hours ago, Faith-manor said:

I just checked my middle son's alma mater. Their meal plan for this fall, the three meals a day one, is $2966.00 for the fall semester. 105 days for returning students (freshmen come in a couple of days earlier than that) and from Tuesday evening the week of Thanksgiving until Sunday evening which is a limited meal students can get it they arrive back on campus before supper, it comes out to 90 meals offered. Roughly $33 a day or $231.00 per week and of course no personal care items. Toilet paper must now be provided by the students in the dorm bathrooms, but it is still provided in the public restrooms in the other buildings.

Apart from a fairly decent salad bar with basic fruit, the food being offered is basically fast food fare, not really a lot of healthy options.

So if a student is committed to grocery shopping and cooking their own, a lot of money can be saved giving a food and personal care allowance if financial.aid and scholarships are not large enough to cover the food plan. And as usual with their illogical administrative stupidity, the walk in no meal plan people spend about $1 less per meal than the students buying the meal plan. Sheesh.

A double, no frills (and I mean no frills) dorm room is $2990 per semester, no custodial provided of any kind, and an $89 per month internet fee PER student! Nearly $200 a room! I swear colleges are run by mafia these days. Though the students are not on campus for a full four months in the fall semester, they charge for four months of internet. $336 per semester. So two semesters with meal plan is just over $12,000 for the privilege of sharing a 10x12 space with another person. Boy if I could get $24,000 a year renting a single bedroom......

We really should have bought a fixer upper 3 bedroom house in that city years ago. We could have undercut the college, charged $1400 a bedroom per semester with shared living spaces, and the house would have paid for itself in no time, students would have been happy to save money and be able to cook their own food. Internet in that town, fast and reliable, runs about $75 a month. A whole house and only three people, private sleeping space, I am pretty sure we would have had droves of students applying. Good grief!

At any rate, I was at Aldi yesterday and frankly, getting students off meal plans is probably pretty wise financially. They can buy a lot of produce, healthy proteins, and non name brand personal care items for much less than $33-36 a day.

Sorry for the bad news to all of you facing a future of putting kids through college. I thought we had it bad, but it looks like it is getting even worse.

 

Ugh. Sounds like its a good idea to price out meal plan and even if living on campus give the kid cash if they can avoid spending it all.

That's ridiculous to charge meal plans MORE than you do the walk ins!

I never ate all the meals I could when living on campus

 

[Lecka]

Where my son is, freshman are required to live in housing and required to have a certain level of meal plan.

 

He’s living with his grandparents, which is one of the only exceptions to the requirement.

 

His meals on the meal plan would be $8.50.  
 

 

It’s not why he’s living with my parents, but it’s a nice benefit.  He just did not want to live in the dorms.  He was not ready for that.  
 

Edit:  the dorm requirement really adds to the cost for Freshman year, but the college says it’s much better for retention.  

Edited August 28, 2023 by Lecka

[Forget-Me-Not]

On 8/26/2023 at 10:27 AM, Storygirl said:

 

They just opened a Costco in her college town, so I gave her a $100 Shop Card and sent her with some things for an initial pantry stock up.

Curious. . . Will Costco let you come in and use the gift card without a membership? Or did you buy her a membership? 

[Storygirl]

28 minutes ago, Forget-Me-Not said:

Curious. . . Will Costco let you come in and use the gift card without a membership? Or did you buy her a membership? 

Yes. I have a membership, but DH is my second person, and they only allow two on the account. So I asked about and bought a Shop Card for DD to use. They said that you can get in the door by flashing a Shop Card and can use it without a membership. But when the card is used up, they won't give it back, because they don't want people to use it for entry when it's empty.

[Miss Tick]

2 hours ago, chiguirre said:

The military's Basic Allowance for Subsistence is about $310 for officers and $450 for enlisted. They adjust it annually based on the USDA's survey of food costs, not just general inflation. It's not a bad place to start when making a budget for an off-campus college student.

Thanks. I assume those are weekly numbers? Why do you think there is a difference between officers and enlisted?

[ScoutTN]

2 hours ago, Lecka said:

Where my son is, freshman are required to live in housing and required to have a certain level of meal plan.

Same. 

The social dimension on living on campus is huge. 

[ScoutTN]

39 minutes ago, Miss Tick said:

Thanks. I assume those are weekly numbers? Why do you think there is a difference between officers and enlisted?

I’m curious about this too. 

[ScoutTN]

2 hours ago, Forget-Me-Not said:

Curious. . . Will Costco let you come in and use the gift card without a membership? Or did you buy her a membership? 

Dependents/household members can have an additional card on the primary acct., like a credit card. 

[Miss Tick]

This is a timely topic for me. When I was in school there was no additional allowance of any kind for expenses. When I moved off campus there was no discussion of transferring the room and board expenses to me to help decrease my costs. Until this thread it hadn't occurred to me that this was a thing. So reading this thread gave me some needed perspective when dh came to me 2 days later and asked what we should do for our freshmen. I mean, I still don't *know* exactly, but this thread kept me from scoffing with incredulity.

Edited August 28, 2023 by Miss Tick
gah, even when I check before posting I don't see issues

[Forget-Me-Not]

2 hours ago, Storygirl said:

Yes. I have a membership, but DH is my second person, and they only allow two on the account. So I asked about and bought a Shop Card for DD to use. They said that you can get in the door by flashing a Shop Card and can use it without a membership. But when the card is used up, they won't give it back, because they don't want people to use it for entry when it's empty.

Thanks, we are exactly in the same boat and it would be nice if my college student who is living away could hit Costco once in a while.  This is good to know!  

[sweet2ndchance]

2 hours ago, Miss Tick said:

Thanks. I assume those are weekly numbers? Why do you think there is a difference between officers and enlisted?

BAS is paid monthly in the military. Those are monthly rates. Officers get paid more so BAS is only meant to subsidize food costs, not fully cover it. Enlisted BAS is intended to cover the full cost of 3 meals per day at about $5 per meal for the service member.

If you live in the barracks, you get a meal card to use in the base dining hall. No BAS.

Only married service members or single service members living off-base get BAS.

[footballmom]

3 hours ago, Forget-Me-Not said:

Thanks, we are exactly in the same boat and it would be nice if my college student who is living away could hit Costco once in a while.  This is good to know!  

Since DH and I maxed out our 2 per household membership, my college kid and his roommate split a membership. They figure between splitting the cost, saving $5 per rotisserie chicken and gas savings, they will come out ahead. 

[chiguirre]

6 hours ago, Miss Tick said:

Thanks. I assume those are weekly numbers? Why do you think there is a difference between officers and enlisted?

No, they're monthly, but they are on top of your salary and Basic Allowance for Housing. BAS and BAH are not taxable. BAS is only supposed to buy groceries for one adult.

I don't know why the difference between O and E. I know that officers are expected to pay into the Wardroom's budget (where they eat) while enlisted just eat in the Galley if they're on a ship or living in barracks.

[kacabe]

In summary, the range you mentioned ($150-$600) is indeed wide, but it reflects the diversity of spending habits among college students. On average, many students aim to keep their monthly food and related expenses between $200 to $400, but individual circumstances can cause these costs to fall outside that range. For example, if you are renting a home at https://rentola.ie/ it is clearly spelled out. It's important for students to budget and manage their expenses wisely to ensure they have enough for food, rent, utilities, and other necessities while living off-campus.

[Carol in Cal.]

About 8 years ago DD was assigned into a dorm apartment slot rather than a dorm with meal plan slot.  I was pretty concerned about this as suddenly we needed to outfit a kitchen and make sure she was OK making her own meals mostly.  She was in a big city 2000 miles from home, with no car.  So shopping had to be reasonable on foot or public transit.

We got her a 5 dorm meals per week contract, and then shopped for minimal but ample kitchen stuff at target, bearing in mind that it would need to be moved in and out every school year.  Then when we dropped her off at school, we walked with her to Target and Whole Foods and stocked up her larder, so that she knew the routes and got familiar with the store.  (I was very low key about this, just “I feel like walking, let’s go to the store and kill two birds with one stone” but I had that ulterior motive.).  We bought basics that would keep for a long time—crackers, cheeses, dried fruit, jarred spaghetti sauce, etc.  Three pounds of spaghetti noodles, a ridiculous amount, so there would be something around for a few meals for the whole group (4) if they got snowed in.  And we also bought a limited amount of fresh stuff to eat quickly—milk, fresh fruit and veggies, salad makings.  We had already gotten cleaning, laundry, and shower stuff.

DD had an account at our credit union that we were joint on, and a debit card.  So I would keep a loose eye on that and load money in either on request or when it was very low.  IIRC once she used up the ‘starter’ supplies she spent about $200/month.  I encouraged her to have people over for meals and not worry too much about buying more food for that, and I think she did that a little.  Except for some convenience store spends that were probably overpriced she was pretty careful with her spending, which I was pretty sure she would be.  She ended up not using the minimal meal contract, and managed to get a refund for it, which was great.  

Also, for the first year I sent care packages every month or so—snacks, seasonal paper napkins or cloth dishtowels, fruit from our yard, sometimes homemade cookies.  

I would say that my goal was to provide comfort, a cozy life, and customization, not super lavishly but not cheaply either.  I was proud of DD and how well she handled these responsibilities so far from home and so suddenly.

[Arcadia]

On 8/27/2023 at 7:20 PM, Condessa said:

😮  These prices are crazy.  $12.50 per cafeteria meal?  I regularly feed my family a meal for that much.  Y’all are scaring me for the future.

This is for the dining hall nearest to my DS18’s dorm. He will likely have brunch (weekend) or dinner there with his meal swipes. 

“Door Rates

Breakfast: $12.99
Lunch: $15.99
Dinner: $17.99
Brunch: $17.99

*Door rates are as of 9/16/2022”

ETA:

He would be staying in an on campus apartment but a meal plan is required so we opt for the cheapest option. We would need to give him some grocery money. I was given $200 per month by my parents for lunch on campus back in the 90s as my dorm meal plan was breakfast and dinner daily.  That also paid for my supper when my classmates and I stayed overnight in engineering school to finish group work. Coffee and soda were around 50 cents per cup from vending machines back then. 

“A smaller meal plan for those who like to cook and like to eat out. The plan allows 50 meal swipes per quarter, plus $210 Dining Dollars per quarter to spend at any campus venue or market.”

Edited September 12, 2023 by Arcadia

[Kassia]

The dining hall at my dd's college as of this year is $12 for walk in, 7-$8/meal with a dining plan depending on what you choose.  It is very expensive, but you are paying for the convenience obviously similarly to dining out.  It wasn't worth the cost for her since she's not a big eater but it was great for her older brothers (they are quite a bit older and I can't remember what they paid).  Still, it was always cheaper for food when they moved off campus.  They were careful with what they bought, though.  

[Condessa]

I thought that living in the dorms my freshman year was a good way to transition to living away from home before being 100% independent in an off-campus apartment after that.  I would like my kids to have the possibility of that easier transition, but looking at the costs, that seems highly unlikely.  Unless some grandparents were to offer to help with that cost, I assume my kids will have to go straight to independent living so that they can cook and live more frugally.

[catz]

1 hour ago, Condessa said:

I thought that living in the dorms my freshman year was a good way to transition to living away from home before being 100% independent in an off-campus apartment after that.  I would like my kids to have the possibility of that easier transition, but looking at the costs, that seems highly unlikely.  Unless some grandparents were to offer to help with that cost, I assume my kids will have to go straight to independent living so that they can cook and live more frugally.

I don't know.  I think you have to measure costs carefully.  All the parents on my older kid's board that just graduated said it would be cheaper out of the dorms but once you started weighing other costs, it really was close to a wash.  He rented a house his last year and the rent was SO LOW.  But ugh, so much nickel and diming on utilities, wifi, etc.  Then they were further from campus so eating on campus made sense more again.  Also their stove broke several times during the year, it was 4 of them, they had a tiny fridge.  Just other stuff to deal with.  

My freshman is in a dorm now and parents are saying the same, but looking at rents (and she is urban large city) I am not convinced.  We were only able to chose this school thanks to generous merit on the tuition end.  We're paying a lot more for housing than tuition.  

[Arcadia]

1 hour ago, Condessa said:

Unless some grandparents were to offer to help with that cost, I assume my kids will have to go straight to independent living so that they can cook and live more frugally.

There are lots of factors to consider though. For example, a friend’s son drives so parking on campus cost $243 per quarter.  A commuter student who was part of the student panel for orientation told the audience that she scheduled her classes so that she needs to be on campus for at most three days a week and she could take the public bus from home. So basically she could pack lunch for the days she is on campus and be home by dinner time. Another student said she moved from a further away rental to one that is a mile away from campus for her final year to save on traveling time. 
Where DS18 is going to this month, his on campus dorm cost about the same as a room in an apartment/house off campus. It would be cheaper if it is two to one bedroom. Landlords are asking for $1300 to $1500 per bedroom and he would still have to take public bus and walk or drive. Some landlords would require a year round lease which would be ok if your child intend to take classes in summer.

[Miss Tick]

2 hours ago, Condessa said:

I thought that living in the dorms my freshman year was a good way to transition to living away from home before being 100% independent in an off-campus apartment after that.  I would like my kids to have the possibility of that easier transition, but looking at the costs, that seems highly unlikely.  Unless some grandparents were to offer to help with that cost, I assume my kids will have to go straight to independent living so that they can cook and live more frugally.

Many schools we looked at required freshmen to live in the dorms. There may be exceptions made, but you may want to ask about that up front. One school required at least 3 years on campus!

Edit - not my intent to pile on, I just type really slowly! The Hive will help if you need to make off-campus living work!

Edited September 12, 2023 by Miss Tick

[Kassia]

7 minutes ago, Arcadia said:

 Some landlords would require a year round lease which would be ok if your child intend to take classes in summer.

or if your child has a local summer job or internship

Just now, Miss Tick said:

Many schools we looked at required freshmen to live in the dorms. There may be exceptions made, but you may want to ask about that up front. One school required at least 3 years on campus!

Good point.  That would be waived if you're close enough to commute, though.  At least it has been at schools we've looked at.  

Two of my sons moved off campus and it was significantly cheaper, but they were at a school where there was a lot of off campus housing available and they shared apartments with several other students (4-5 in the house/apartment).  Dd went to a school where there was very little off campus housing available and rent was very high if you wanted to be somewhat close to campus.  

[Condessa]

Dd14 is currently interested in attending the same school I did.  There a car is a luxury.  There is lots of off-campus housing within a short walk of campus, and the school provides bus service throughout the community that is free to students, so grocery shopping was pretty easy.  Parking passes are limited and extremely expensive.

One thing that has changed, though, is that it looks like all of the off-campus student housing now requires year-long contracts.  They didn’t when I attended.  You paid for the school year, and consequently if you stayed for summer term, housing was extremely cheap then.

Freshmen are encouraged to live in the dorms there, but not required.

Edited September 12, 2023 by Condessa

[MEmama]

Our situation is a bit different since DS is overseas, in a city with a massive housing shortage. The past two years he was lucky to get an on campus apartment, but this year he didn't (first year international students are guaranteed but after that it's a lottery system). We spent all summer searching for housing for him and a friend, and they finally secured a flat this morning. At €2800/ month (split between them, not including utilities) it's more expensive than on campus, but we're in no position to turn it down. There is literally nothing available.

Food, however, is much less expensive than in the US. Last year we allocated €200/month for groceries, personal items and the occasional going out to the pub and I think he had some left over. He's frugal but insisted it was enough.

[MEmama]

1 hour ago, Arcadia said:

There are lots of factors to consider though. For example, a friend’s son drives so parking on campus cost $243 per quarter.  A commuter student who was part of the student panel for orientation told the audience that she scheduled her classes so that she needs to be on campus for at most three days a week and she could take the public bus from home. So basically she could pack lunch for the days she is on campus and be home by dinner time. Another student said she moved from a further away rental to one that is a mile away from campus for her final year to save on traveling time. 
Where DS18 is going to this month, his on campus dorm cost about the same as a room in an apartment/house off campus. It would be cheaper if it is two to one bedroom. Landlords are asking for $1300 to $1500 per bedroom and he would still have to take public bus and walk or drive. Some landlords would require a year round lease which would be ok if your child intend to take classes in summer.

DS has a couple friends from a small town in the middle of Ireland who commute together to campus every day. It takes a couple of hours by train, but they both live at home with their parents so it saves a lot of money. There's just no housing in the city so most people have to get creative/be okay with giving up a lot of time and/or money and convenience.
 

Something has to give.