Have you ever wondered, how much money you could save if you moved off campus at The University of Akron?
As college tuition continues to rise, student housing seems to go right along with it. As the owner of Roo Town Rentals, I started wondering just how much money students save when they move off campus and live in one of our houses or apartments at The University of Akron. I did a little research and found the answer is a shocking $4,324 per year! This savings could add up to $17,296 over the course of a student’s college career. Let’s take a closer look at exactly where all these costs are and how you can save thousands of dollars!
In this article I will review not only the costs, but the good, the bad and the ugly of housing options at The University of Akron. This will include dorms, off campus apartment complexes and off campus houses. I will do my best to drill down the costs of each and also try to help you find the best bang for your buck. In the end if you sense my bias toward renting a house or apartment from Roo Town Rentals, then I have done my job. (Well hey, it’s my blog after all!)
Dorm Living
Let’s start where most students start, which is the dorms. The University of Akron has done a great job remodeling and building new dorms over the past 10 years. There are some super nice options, even including “apartment like” dorms. Most freshman come to campus and need the opportunity to really get to know college life and meet new friends. Living in the dorms is absolutely the best way to do this, without a doubt. The only problem is, it comes at a price. Let’s take a closer look.
The average cost to live in the dorms, as advertised on the University of Akron’s website is $4,104 per semester. In addition, you will be required to purchase a meal plan at an average price of $2,175 for a total of $6,279 per semester. Double that, to include Fall and Spring semester for a grand total of $12,558. The dorms shut down for winter break, so you only have access to your room and the dining halls for 7 ½ months out of the year. This equates to students paying an average of $1,674 per month to live in the dorms and eat at the dining hall. Just like any other dorm you should expect it come with, a community bathroom, no kitchen, a shared bedroom with no privacy and a Resident Assistant making sure you don’t play your music too loud!
To sum it up, this is a fantastic way to meet new friends, have fun and get comfortable living on campus. Freshman often find this to be a great transition between home and completely living on your own, but all that fun certainly comes at a steep price!
Large Fancy Apartment Complexes
In the past 10 years the University has seen the addition of several large apartment complexes to the student housing scene. The two largest and closest to campus are The Depot and University Edge. Both of these facilities promote high end amenities, such as, a fitness center, yoga rooms, gaming area and one of them even has a pool. This sounds impressive, but when you really stop and think about it, you are already paying for all of these amenities as a student at The University of Akron. Do you really need to pay for another fitness center with just a few machines when the Rec Center provides a state of the art facility with every piece of equipment imaginable plus 2 swimming pools? Just some food for thought.
The Depot and The Edge also include your basic apartment furniture, including a couch, a few chairs, your bed and a dresser. Both provide modern finishes and cater to the convenience factor that many students are looking for. This all comes, again, at a huge price. At the time of this writing both communities are advertising 3 bedroom apartments for rent at a price of $729 per month, which does include utilities. Some of the things they don’t like to mention is the fact that The Edge does not have any parking of their own, so if you have a car it must be parked across the street in a University parking deck. Not only are the parking decks super crowded, but you also have to climb a million steps or wait for the elevator, all while carrying groceries or back packs. I have heard more than a few students admit to forgetting exactly what level they parked their car on and end up searching the entire deck. The Depot does provide its own parking deck, but of course that comes at a price of $40 per month taking your rent to $769 per month.
To live in either of these complexes will cost you nearly $10,000 per year and that doesn’t include food. The average college student will spend approximately $275 per month on groceries and other food taking your total closer to $13,000 per year. It is difficult to compare prices to the dorms, because you have a 12 month lease compared to only 7 ½ months in the dorms, but in the end you will still be spending the same amount of money, just getting a longer lease by living in either one of these buildings.
But How Do I Save Money????
This is a great question and probably one that should be asked more considering the levels of student loan debt in this country. The short answer is you call Roo Town Rentals immediately and schedule a tour of one of our great off campus houses or apartments! Ok, I am obviously biased, but let’s take a closer look.
Roo Town Rentals offers great houses and apartments that are all very close to campus. We have worked extremely hard over the past 20 years to provide homes to students at The University of Akron that are safe, clean, close and affordable. Our residents continue to give us great feedback and most commonly give us 5 star reviews on google. A typical student will spend roughly $385 per month (on average) to live in one of our houses or apartments. This does not include utilities, which on average add approximately $83 per month. Throw in grocery money of $275 and most students have a total monthly living expense of $723 per month or $8,676 per year.
This means Roo Town Rentals is approximately $4,324 cheaper than both the dorms and the large apartment complexes! Clearly this is a no brainer! The only downside is that not everyone can live in one of our houses. We only have room for just under 100 students per year. With roughly 20,000 students that attend the University, our houses go quick. This is exactly why you should call us today, before it’s too late, and let us help you find you a great place to live!
Questions? I am just a phone call or text (330-571-0263) away and am happy to answer any questions you might have. We hope that you will consider renting one of our great houses or apartments and look forward to helping you!
John
