By Loutchina Jacques and Nazire Jordan; The Whetstone

When senior Madi Cook transferred to Wesley last fall, she decided to commute to Wesley and not live on campus.

“I made the choice to stay off campus after realizing that I would be spending close to $10,000 in housing,” she said.

She splits a monthly rent of $1,255 with two other students. She pays $418 a month in rent, plus $40 in utilities.

“I am saving close to $500 a month, and have a full year’s lease,” she said.

Wesley students may only live in their dorms when school is in session, or they must pay extra.

Many students at Wesley College say they have found that moving off campus helps them save a lot of money.

Senior Chardae Booker-Hayes said she moved off campus last semester for financial and other reasons.

“There was no freedom, you couldn’t be too loud, you always had people coming to your room asking about the smell of weed even it wasn’t you, and having roommates can bother you, sometimes getting in your personal space,” she said.

She said she saved about $4,000 living off campus.

“It’s like $10,000 to live on campus and I pay about $6,000,” she said.

Junior Jay Simon said she saved money moving off campus and has several roommates.

“My tuition (with room and board) used to be $12,000,” she said. “Now, it’s only $2,000 per semester. I have five roommates and we split the bills evenly each month.”

Junior Niyah Thomas said she also saves a lot of money living off campus.

She pays about $2,682 in rent each six months.

“That’s compared to $5,000 to stay on campus per semester,” she said.

Wesley Alumna Monshea Newsome said she always owed the school money when she stayed on campus.

“I had to take out loans from the bank to help me pay for school, but when I moved off campus I didn’t have to worry about taking any extra money out because my apartment is way cheaper than staying at Wesley,” she said.

Junior Brandon Holland said it wasn’t difficult moving off campus.

“All I had to do was sign a paper to move off campus,” he said. “It was almost $15,000 cheaper than staying on Wesley campus throughout the year.”

Senior Sidney Brokenborough said she saved a lot of money when she moved off campus last year.

“I got back from the school $6,000,” she said. “Moving off-campus my junior year saved me a lot of money. I did not have to eat out as much. I just had to budget for bills. It was easier to save because a lot of my bills were fixed already, I knew where my money was going each month.”

Senior Kate Watson said she loves living off campus

“I never had a kitchen in my rooms at Wesley and not everything worked in my room,” she said. “Moving off campus I don’t have to worry about that.”

Watson said she has three roommates.

“We split the rent bill evenly, $484 each, and also evenly split the $100 electricity bill and the $36 water bill,” she said. “Throughout the year, we spend a total of $6,240, saving $3,860 compared to staying on campus.”

Senior Connor George said this year was his first time living off campus.

“I honestly don’t know the exact amount of how much I saved,” he said. “But I know it’s around $4,000 a year.”

Junior Troy Hamilton said he didn’t save much.

“When I lived in Zimmerman Hall I had to pay close to $3,000 each semester, and when I moved off-campus all I had to pay was $ 1,800,” he said.

Each of the dorm halls have different prices depending on the room and dorm hall, including Carpenter, Roe, Malmberg, and Zimmerman halls. The bigger the room the more money a student will pay.

Students have different options when it comes to choosing where to live on campus, and their meal plans, including the Unlimited plan; Fabulous 14, 14 swipes per week; Weekly 10, or 10 swipes per week; or Social Life, 100 swipes per semester. Students may also swipe for guests.

 

Total Annual Cost for Housing & Meal Plan Combined

Carpenter Hall:  $11,718.00 (all freshmen)

Roe Hall: unlimited plan $11,718.00; Fabulous 14: $11,412.00.

Malmberg Hall double rooms: Unlimited plan $14,656.00, Fabulous 14 $14,350.00, Weekly Ten, $12,916.00.

Malmberg Hall, 4-person suites: Unlimited plan $13,928.00; Fabulous 14 $13,622.00, Weekly Ten, $12,188.00.

Malmberg Hall, 6-person suites: Unlimited plan, $13,302; Fabulous 14, $12,996.00, Weekly Ten, $11,562.00.

Zimmerman Hall: Unlimited plan, $15,700.00; Fabulous 14 $15,394; Weekly Ten, $13,960.00; Social Life, $12,512.00.

 

Meal Plans cost per semester

Unlimited plan: students with 30 or fewer credits living on campus, $3,023 per semester.

The Fabulous Fourteen: students with 30 or more credits living on campus, $2,867 per semester.

The Weekly Ten: students living in Malmberg or Zimmerman halls, $2,132.

The Social Life: students living in Zimmerman Hall, $1,390.

 

The Cost of housing per semester

Carpenter Hall, $2,909 per semester.

Zimmerman Hall, $4,900 per semester

Roe Hall, $2,909 per semester

Honors House: $3,753 per semester

 

Malmberg Hall:

6-person suites: $3,701 per semester

4-person suites: $4,014 per semester

Double rooms: $4,378 per semester