Is living on campus worth the expense?

Danielle Reid (Whetstone Contributor)

Looking at his account balance, senior Omega Dabale was unsure how he would make ends meet.

“Due to financial constraints, I realized that I needed to live off campus in order to pay for school,” he said.

Debale is one of many students struggling to pay for school. With Wesley’s already high tuition, adding housing expenses and a required meal plan equal to more than half the cost of tuition leaves many students wondering how to make it work.

Tuition at Wesley College is $23,590, including fees like “Student Activities,” but without the expenses of housing and meals. Any student living on campus is required to purchase a meal plan and, regardless of how often they plan to eat in the cafeteria, different plans are mandatory depending on which building a student lives in.

“You don’t have to cook your own meals or clean up as much,” junior Chris Maranan said about living on campus. “That meal plan, though, really isn’t worth it. Convenience-wise it’s awesome, but it’s just way too much money.”

Maranan lived on campus for two years before moving into an apartment at the start of his junior year.

Living off campus does not come without expenses for most students. Monthly rent around Dover averages $800-$900 for a two-bedroom apartment. Living in an apartment also comes with expenses for utilities and groceries.

“It’s nice because I can buy whatever I like and don’t have to pay to eat in the caf, but if I have friends over I’m paying for them, too,” Dabale said.

Even though he might pay for food when his friends came over, it’s still cheaper than the meal plan, he said.

Dabale said he estimates about $150 for groceries and utilities per month; if you’re splitting the rent with a friend, you may end up paying about $600 a month – less if you have more roommates.

“Our expenses aren’t too high,” junior Zac Lebeau said. “When we split up (utilities and groceries and other expenses) it usually isn’t more than $100 per month.”

Lebeau lives in an off-campus apartment with two friends.

According to Wesley College’s website, students pay anywhere from $10,216 to $14,600 to live on campus for about eight months. One advantage in living off campus is having a home year-round; however, if you don’t live in Dover during the summer, the student pays for something he’s not using.

“When you are paying rent, it’s for twelve months,” Maranan said. “I’m still paying while I’m not there for three months and that’s the worst part.”

For people who plan to stick around, though, it is worth it to pay less and get more.

“I never lived on campus, mostly because of how expensive it is,” Lebeau said. “But I needed to get away from home so I like that I can live in my apartment year-round.”

The biggest drawback to leaving campus is being out of the loop. Dabale said he became less involved when he moved off campus.

“My first two semesters I used to play soccer but I stopped in 2011 when I moved off campus,” he said.

But living on-campus has many advantages: your friends may be down the hall, or across campus; when there is an event, it’s usually a few steps outside the door. Living off campus does not necessarily come with the same luxuries.

“I really miss living on campus,” Maranan said. “There was always someone to talk to or things to do. But I moved off campus to try and save money.”