Doubtful if you look at the whole cost:
Right now my daughter is in a dorm. It costs $2,392.50/semester, and her meal plan is $1,035/semester. Her total room and board is $6,855/year. Predictable, all-in-one cost. Furniture, utilities, housekeeping for the public areas included. She's happy, and she wanted to stay in her same dorm next year ... but she didn't make lottery, so we've been searching high and low for an apartment.
She and her roommate have found a two-bedroom apartment they like for $950/month (divided by two, of course); it's not a ghetto, but it's also not fancy -- it's a throwback to the 70s with two bedrooms /one bath /no washer and dryer in the unit. Most of the apartments in her college town run $1,100-1,200/month, and they seem to top out around $1,400/month. Anyway, you have to look at the numbers beyond the rent:
- When you rent an apartment, you're probably going to be forced to take a 12-month lease ... so my daughter will pay $5,700/year ... whereas the dorm would've been $4,785. Even if the OP's son intends to go home for the summer, he has to pay for the apartment year round.
- We are fairly concerned about taking on a 12-month lease because my daughter and her roommate will both be seniors next year. In their last semester, my daughter will be doing Fieldwork, and the roommate will be doing student teaching. Where will they be assigned? They're allowed to express a preference, but they may be assigned somewhere inconvenient for the apartment. Regardless of where they're assigned, they're committed to the apartment. Yes, hopefully they could sub-let, if things don't go their way, but they have no guarantee that would happen ... and sub-letters tend to pay less than the total rent. As I said, we're concerned ... but, having lost in the lottery, we're stuck.
- It's not just the rent: As I said, my daughter's in the middle of this right now. We had to pay a non-refundable $90 application fee and a $475 security fee, which the apartment will hold as long as they live in the complex. The roommate had to pay the $90 application fee as well, but I covered the security fee for them both (with the understanding that I get it back when they move out).
- Here's one you probably haven't considered, but we're in the midst of this problem right now: I expected to co-sign for my daughter; she has no credit. With me as co-signer, my daughter qualified for the apartment -- no problem. The roommate's parents, however, did not qualify. She's trying to find someone else to co-sign for her, but she may or may not manage to do this. If she fails, she's out the $90 application fee, and my daughter is committed to an apartment ... with the whole bill.
- The son may not be able to move in when he wishes. My daughter and her roommate need to move in mid-August just before classes start; however, the apartment complex says the apartment will be open mid-July. Their choice: Start paying rent mid-July, or go somewhere else.
- In addition to the rent, you'll have to pay utilities. Electricity, water, internet, possibly cable ... they'll add up. The apartment complex gave us a flyer with phone numbers for setting up utilities, and it states that the water department will not give college students service without a $200/security deposit, which they will keep for one year.
- You'll have to furnish the apartment. At first glance, you might say, "No problem! We were going to buy a new sofa anyway -- he can take the old one, his aunt will give him an old bed, and we'll pick up an old table at Goodwill." Yes, those are the big things, and you don't mind if he has old stuff ... but my daughter and I were just out picking up a few things for her apartment, and there's going to be more than you expect. We decided to go ahead and outfit her bathroom: She has towels, which we purchased for her dorm ... but she needed a shower curtain, liner, hooks, two small bath mats, a plunger, and soap dish -- it totaled to just over $60. Consider pots and pans, dishes and silverware, kitchen linens, lamps, a microwave, a vacuum cleaner ... even with cast-offs from family and/or thrift store purchases, it will add up. And you have to move it all.
- If you're looking at a roommate (and most college students are), you risk whether the roommate will pay his or her part of the rent and utilities.
- A couple people mentioned the time spent commuting /being distanced from campus activities. Consider, too, that when you drive to campus, you'll have to have a parking permit (which my daughter does not have now). At my daughter's school, these are about $600/year.
- This isn't a financial cost, but consider that your college student isn't doing any bathroom cleaning or cooking any meals in the dorms. Also, he isn't buying toilet paper, napkins, and other house hold goods. Consider the time /effort that goes into these things.
- Things look better when you look at the cost of food. As I said, I'm paying $1,035/semester for my daughter's meals. With 14 week semesters, this is about $73/week for food. Yes, she can cook meals for less ... or she can go through drive-throughs a couple times a week and spend more. But, yes, it's quite possible to save here.
Even if everything with this apartment goes perfectly, I am 100% certain we are going to pay more than $6,855 for her senior year housing.