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Quote by: Muckraker That makes sense and I would agree that the $6500 average is probably per school year. Although this adds an additional wrench into the plan. If you do plan on going home for the summer then you are most likely stuck in a year lease and will be paying 12 months on the apartment even if you aren't living there. At least that is how it was with my apartment. It was leased by the year and I just ended up living there all year and going to summer school so I could make use of the lease. You could always find someone to sublet to if needed but that could be a pain too. |
That's a good point, but at least you have the option of what to do with the place you're paying for. In a dorm, you're flat kicked out at the end of the school year.
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That $325 price was from ten years ago. People would probably commit murder to secure a $325/month two bedroom apartment today :)
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Maybe, but as I showed with the Duplex it still doesn't change things that much.
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Except you still haven't factored in the monthly cost of food, which is included in the college's room and board figures.
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Well as I already sort of dived into, not so much. You're prevented from actually using the bulk of the money you pay for food ON food. Additionally, most college provided food is subpar (I would say not edible in many cases) and continual exposure tends to make people sick. You still have to pay for outside food in order to balance everything out, and you have to figure in the many occurrences when food services simply aren't available.
In the end you break about even between living on campus and living off financially. The only difference is that you have greater control over what you eat off campus. It's also typically 7 million % better for you. LOL.
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AND, another big item that would probably play more of a role for the parents if they are helping out with his/her education at all is that the room and board should be tax deductable whereas paying for an off campus apartment and a year of McDonald's isn't.
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But it isn't always.
The tax incentives that are typically there are general in the sense that they're for parents paying for college period, not only for parents paying for on campus housing.
If we continue using this logic regarding tax incentives as a reason to stay on campus Universities should drastically raise tuition and board so that parents could better benefit in breaks later...
...logic which I think falls flat.