Students
off-campus are trading in meal plans for cable bills and resident assistants
for landlords.
Off
campus, students have to pay rent, cable/internet bills, electricity bills, and
any additional services that are not provided by their landlord, such as garbage, every month. According to FindTheData.com, the average rent in La Crosse is
$608 per month. The site doesn’t specify if that is per person or per household
though. The cost of rent usually increases if a student decides to live in a
house rather than an apartment or decides to live alone as well.
According
to the UWL website, the cost of living on campus ranges from $1,750 to $2,675 a
year, depending on which hall the student chooses to live in and how many
roommates they have.
With
the exception of Reuter, it is required that every student has a meal plan
while living on campus. Depending on the meal plan a student has, it can cost
between $620 and $1346 a year. Students pay room and board every semester, not
every month, which could be a convenience factor for some.
Although
some students decide to opt out of an off campus meal plan, they are still
spending money on groceries or are going out to eat. According to College
Confidential, the price range is about $60-$200 a month on food per person.
If a student can
budget money well and find a cheap place
to live, living off campus could be cheaper. But, it is not really the cost of
living students are concerned about when they move off campus. Many students
just want the freedom and experience on living on their own.
