Current Students: Living on campus vs off campus

[vermont11]

Hi! I'm hoping current students can shed some light on what seems preferred in terms of living on or off campus. I know this varies from person to person and that both have positives and negatives but any insight would be great. Thanks!!

[uscbigdawg]

I'm not a student, but know the area well. If you're single, then living on campus is not a horrible option. The price is more than fair and obviously access to on campus facilities (gym, cafeteria, etc.) is convenient. There's a decent sized shopping center right across the street as well as a post office. You're less than 30 minutes from Glendale and Scottsdale for sporting events (AZ Cardinals, Phoenix Coyotes) and hangouts (Old Town Scottsdale, north Scottsdale, downtown Phoenix, Mill Ave in Tempe).

 

Currently we live in east Mesa and while it's only like a 35-40 minute drive from our house, if I attend Midwestern, we'll likely move to either Tempe or Scottsdale. That will cut the commute in half while still being able to live pretty central to everything. Apartment rent covers the full range as houses aren't much more expensive. A good friend has a 3 story townhouse that rents for around $800 with a garage. Our house is an even $1000. Roommates opportunities are always abound. When I lived here in 1998, I was living with a married couple in a HUGE house in north Scottsdale. Basically had my own half of the house. Rent was stupid cheap (compartively). Point being is that there are options.

 

Hope that was helpful.

 

Rich

 

ETA: At the end of the day, it more likely comes down to how do you study. If you're a library rat, then on campus might be favorable as you're stumbling distance home. Do you like having groups over and studying together? An apartment might be better. If you like studying at home alone, renting a room is likely best. Just comes down to you but again...there's a lot of options here.