Imagine choosing a 180 square foot room without a kitchen and having to share a bathroom with 10 other people over choosing an 800 square foot space with a kitchen and your own bathroom when the 800 square foot apartment may cost as much as $150 less per month. Many freshmen will be doing just that this fall when they choose to live in a residence hall rather than renting an apartment or house.
Prices of residence halls have increased by an average of 7 percent per year since the 2002-2003 school year, making the price now comparable to, if not more expensive than, many apartments or houses.
Jim Van Arsdel, director of Residence Life, said this year the price of residence halls has gone up by 7.04 percent. He said the percentage increase is different every year and said the increase is driven by many factors.
"This year we needed to generate more revenue in order to pay for a multi-phase building renovations project," Van Arsdel said.
The halls open August 18 and close May 13, and are also closed to students the month of Winter Break, making the time students spend in the hall close to eight months.
The cost of living in the most expensive residence halls averages $550 a month, while the least expensive halls are about $450 a month. Sky View Apartments, leased by Residence Life, is about $700 a month. A two-bedroom at Sky View is about 800 square feet, as opposed to most residence hall rooms which are usually about 200 square feet.
Gary Sax, owner of Apartment Locators, a free service that helps students find apartments, said most two-bedroom apartments that cater to students run about $350 to $500 a month.
Sax said some apartments offer basic utilities while others do not. He said the price of renting an apartment does not differ much in reference to whether it is near campus or not.
Three percent of this year's residence hall price increase was needed to pay off bonds used to replace the plumbing in the Maricopa and Sonora Residence Halls. Work was supposed to begin in May, but has been delayed. Van Arsdel said they hope to begin the project next month.
Last year a similar amount of the price increase was used to replace the plumbing in the Arizona, Gila, and Yuma Residence Halls. Last year's project cost about $7 million, said Van Arsdel.
"There are a lot of old halls that were built within a 10 year period, they are starting to need infrastructure replacement," he said, "We're hoping to have it completed in four years, but there's already been some slippage."
Other factors that go into the increase are staff salaries, new buildings and any increase in the cost of utilities, which are included in the cost of living in a residence hall.
Factors are considered by the Residence Hall Association, with the Associated Students of the University of Arizona sometimes getting involved. The amount of increase is decided by the Arizona Board of Regents at the same time they decide the amount of tuition increase.
Van Arsdel said the price goes up every year. He said it can increase by as little as 2 percent or by as much as 9 percent.
"When there's a higher number it's usually because we have to do some sort of maintenance or because there's a new Residence Hall," he said.
Much of the increase in price has been a result of student input, Van Arsdel said.
He said the attitude used to be that the cheaper a dorm was, the more successful Residence Life was.
"But the halls were beyond anything you could imagine. If something broke, it was removed, not replaced," he said.
Van Arsdel said schools began to discover students didn't just want cheap housing; they wanted quality housing.
"We try to guarantee to students that we won't just arbitrarily pick a number because we want more money," he said.
Students may also save money in apartments because they have their own kitchen as opposed to a kitchen used by the whole hall, Sax said.
"A lot of kids find that if you don't mind cooking, it's a lot cheaper than eating at a cafeteria or restaurant," he said.
Although students may be able to find an apartment that is cheaper than a room in a residence hall, they still may have to sign a 12-month lease. Many students, especially freshman, return home during the summer.
Students can also rent a room in a house. Classifieds in the Wildcat feature rooms between $300 to $500 a month. Most include some utilities and many let students pay on a month to month basis.
Sax said some apartments are beginning to offer nine-month leases although they will most likely charge a little more per month.
"It's a business based on the market, so if students want nine-month leases then they'll do that. It may end up being cheaper for a student to leave their things there over the summer if they plan on moving back," Sax said.
Amanda Brown, a family studies and human development junior, said she lives in a two-bedroom apartment where she pays $550 a month including utilities. She said even though she will be returning home after Summer Session One, she will still be paying the rent through August.
Brown said as a freshman entering in Fall 2002 she lived in the Arizona/Sonora Residence Hall. The cost between entering the residence halls that year and entering this fall has increased by about $1,850.
Brown said even with the increase in cost, students should still live in the dorm for the social experience.
"There were always people around and always something to do," she said.
Felicia Chin-Braxton, an incoming freshman from Oregon, said she will be living in the Cochise Residence Hall.
Chin-Braxton said she would not be able to live in the dorm or come to school here if it wasn't for a scholarship she received. She said she chose the dorm for the social aspects.
"I'm from out of state, so I thought it'd be easier to meet people and it's close to campus," she said.
Joe Bilunas, a parent from Scottsdale, said he has a freshman daughter who will be living in the dorms this year and a senior son who lived in the dorms his freshman year.
Bilunas said he and his wife definitely noticed the increase in cost.
"We weren't happy about it, but our daughter applied to out-of-state schools where it was higher. It's still a good buy," he said.
Bilunas said they wanted their kids to live in the dorms since they would be in a new city.
"It's harder for new students. You want them to make friends and feel comfortable," he said.
Sax said most of the calls they receive from students are from sophomores, juniors and seniors.
"Freshmen tend to flock to the dorms," he said.
Van Arsdel said often it is the parents who want their student to live on campus.
"It's close to classes and it's densely populated with students. It's hard not to have a social experience in the dorm," he said.
Studies have shown that students who live on campus their first year tend to get higher grades and have a lower drop-out rate, Van Arsdel said.
"People who lived in dorms their first year graduate within six years at a rate 14 percent higher than those who don't," Van Arsdel said. "We try very hard to support students academically."