Living On Campus vs. Living Off Campus

Okay so we all know that living on campus entitles us to a roof, extra long twin bed, café food, and of course the easy walk to and from classes, but what does living off campus entitle us to?

            As college students many parents and their dependents (aka US) often only see dorm-ing as the only way to live away at school. Some schools, like Quinnipiac University, often guarantee only three years of housing, if that. Recently, however, Quinnipiac has been working to get more and more students on campus, and are therefore now able to offer students four years of housing. Some students, however still opt to move off campus their junior and senior years

Saira Zafar, 19, a sophomore, speaks out about what it is like to live on campus and why she decided to move off. She anticipates parking to be the biggest issue when living on campus, because she feels that the cost will ultimately be cheaper to live off campus, but the aggravation of finding a spot in the commuter lot in the mornings may not be. 

 

Rachel Hellman, 20, a junior went so far as to create an excel sheet for her parents to prove her point. "It will always be cheaper to live off campus," Hellman said, "because when living on campus each student pays approximately $14,200 to live in a room made for 7 when in a house you will be splitting it two, three or four ways and you have your own bathroom, kitchen, laundry etc. It will be cheaper, I know it will be." 

      Most Quinnipiac students live in Seramonte, Aspen Glen, Hamden Center Apartments, and Broadmoor. Of course there are more apartments and houses throughout the Hamden Area. Many students find their houses through realtors or an online google search. The best website to use is Rent.com. This website allows a student to send the landlord an email to inquire about rent, and the actual facilities. It also pays $100.00 if you happen to sign a lease with a policy you found on their website. 

Ultimately many students are currently happy to move off as they feel it gives them a taste of the real world while still being sheltered in the bubble of Quinnipiac. This may change, however, as more and more dorms begin to open up on York Hill and the North Haven campuses. 

   As someone who lives off campus and throughly enjoys it I say its something everyone should do, but if you don't believe me think about this- if you live off campus you DON'T have to eat the 80g of fat hamburger found in the cafe, how's that for a reason to move off campus? I think it's a pretty good one. 

Ways to Budget Your Money

Okay so whether you are a freshman or a senior, you always need to learn new ways to save money!

I have been budgeting for the past three years and yet feel as though there are still some things to learn. One of them is that you can never plan for that 3 a.m. dominos or the "emergency" trip to the nail salon, but you can plan for food shopping, going out, magazine subscriptions and eventually electric and cable bills.

Despite the hundreds of budgeting programs out there, the easiest way to create a budget (and stick to it) is to use good old pen and paper (and then sync it to your calendar on your computer and to your cell phone, etc.)

First determine how much you "make" each month- it can be how much money you make from a job, how much your parents send you, or how much you find on the floor- doesn't matter as long as it totals some amount.

Then, a good thing to do, would be to add up all your expenses- I'm talking everything- manicures, waxing, iTunes purchases, going out, etc.

Once you have that you subtract what you spend from what you earn- simple isn't it? And then you just try to not spend more than what you allocated for that month or week.

This to me is the hardest part of the equation.

Some ways I solve this problem-

I live off campus, so I have more opportunities for cheap eats- for example I can get to Kumo during the week between 11 and 3 when all their sushi is half off, and I can buy 5 lbs of Chicken in Stop and Shop and use it for about three weeks, but what should you do when you live on campus? A good thing to do would be to eat in the Dining Hall as much as possible- I know the food sucks, but you can create a variety of okay meals but just asking for substitutions, and that way you can save on your grocery bill. Another way to save on grocery shopping is to have it delivered. That's right I am telling you to have your groceries delivered to your dorm room- I'm not completely sure if this will work, but it is definitely worth a try!

To do this go to peapod.com and then follow the "easy" instructions and ta-da! You have just food shopped via the internet- isn't it a wonderful thing? I've been doing this since I got back to school and you know what- I've been saving money! I avoid the hunger pains that always overcome me as I enter Stop and Shop and ultimately only buy what I need instead of what looks sooooooooo good! It really does work, it might be lazy, but hey at least I have extra time to go to the gym! (That's another budgeting lesson for another day- budgeting time- that one not so simple)

Another way to save money is to try to always take the shuttle into New Haven if possible- and if you happen to be staying in Hamden for the night, then carpool and rotate the DD. Cabs around Hamden aren't really that expensive, but can add up, so having someone DD eliminates the expense and could potentially save you from going home with a Mr. Oh-So-Wrong.

Other than that, all I can say is try to budget, try to save, but most important try not to let it consume your life- if you are constantly worried about saving/budgeting, you won't enjoy the great time you could be having with your friends, because College only happens once- so enjoy it!