One of the most common misconceptions people have when comparing the residence halls and Greek Court to living off-campus is not recognizing all of the hidden costs associated with living off-campus. These costs in-clude monthly utilities (i.e., water, electricity, local phone service and trash removal), cable, installation fees, buying furniture, paying for repairs, or buying groceries. The price advertised in an off-campus lease generally includes the cost of housing accommodations only, while the remainder of the costs are each paid separately. Residence hall residents don’t have to worry about paying these hidden costs, because they are all included in the room and board (meal plan) contract. In short – one price does it all.

The following worksheet contains an itemized list of costs associated with living on or off-campus. I invite you to photocopy or cut-out this worksheet for your personal use. I hope this worksheet will help you make the best decision in regards to your housing accommodations for the upcoming academic year.

Tips for students looking at off-campus housing:

1. Be honest with yourself when it comes to the cost of food. Budgeting yourself a paltry sum of money in which to purchase food can only end in hunger. No one wants to live on rice and Cheeriosr for a year when they don’t have to.

2. Call the local utility providers about mandatory monthly service charges and hook-up or connection fees.

3. Ask the owner of the property to give you the average cost of the monthly utilities. If he/she is unable to do so, ask the current residents what their lowest and highest utility bills were for each utility. If you divide the sum of the least and most expensive bills by two for each individual utility you should be able to get a rough estimate of the average monthly utility costs.