Residence or Off Campus? You Choose!
By SABRINA BRADEY, MACINSIDERS
As we enter the new year many first year students will be turning their attention to the idea of living arrangements for next year. Myriads of first year students spend their first year in one of McMasters 12 residences and then look for housing off campus.
Some of the questions you may be asking yourself are what is the price difference between residence and off campus? Many students move into a house thinking that it’s going to be cheaper for them but this really depends on several factors: how close are you to campus (sometimes it effects the price), what is the condition/ age of the house you intend on moving in to, do you cook/are you willing to learn/ can you budget your money?
LIVING OFF CAMPUS
Let’s look at my expenses as an example. I live very close to campus, less than 5 minutes away in fact and I pay 350.00 a month in rent for a 5 person house with two bathrooms, a kitchen, living room, laundry facilities and small storage shed. I pay roughly 10.00-12.00 a month for my share of the internet (we don’t have cable). The Hydro bill is every 2 months and that is usually about 65-70 dollars depending on the time of the year (higher in the summer because of the AC). The gas bill is 20-40 dollars depending on the time of the year (the gas bill is higher in the winter because our heating is run off of natural gas). Then there’s food: the amount I spend in a month on groceries and take out adds up to about 35-40 dollars a week.
Taking all of these examples and using the most expensive possibility I spend anywhere between 442.00 to 512.00 depending on whether or not there is a hydro bill due that month. In 8 months my living can total up to 4,092 dollars. This does not include personal expenses: entertainment, clothing, gifts, travel (I have to take the GO home), etc. Keep in mind that if you eat out a lot or buy expensive food items, have cable, etc your bills will pile up quickly.
HOUSE HUNTING
First: When you’re looking for a house in the new year remember two things: You do not have to rush to sign a lease right now. There will be places that are looking for renters in the summer, but you may not find a house that is completely empty for you and your future roomies to occupy; there may be boarders in there already.
Secondly: Your best friends do not make the best roommates. Yes you may have lived with them in residence but it’s a different experience living on the same floor vs. living in the same house. In a house you have to share common spaces that have to be cleaned by you, like bathrooms and kitchens. Pick who you live with carefully. You can try to figure out who you’d work best with by making note of how they keep their room in residence; no matter how much they promise that they’ll keep the tornado style mess to their own room I promise you that it most likely will not happen that way. See MacInsiders' article
Surviving Your Roommates and
Surviving Your Roommates pt 2 for tips on dealing with common issues.
When moving into a house you have to consider what condition it is in, and I don’t just mean whether or not it has bugs or not. The older a house is the harder it is to heat or cool which means your heating bills can get pretty high in the winter.
Your landlord is compelled to keep the house up to certain standards (See the
1997 Tennant Act and the
Ontario Building Code) and it is your right to see that these are adhered to but if the landlord is showing the house while it's in bad condition the odds of them being willing to fix it up once they've locked you into a contract are slim. It's not worth the effort it would take you to fight the landlord on these issues so stick to houses that are in decent condition.
The condition of your house also affects the price of your rent. The rent in a student house tends to be cheaper on two main factors: its location in relation to the University and the condition it is in. While looking for a house in my first year two of my current roommates went to see a house that was $250.00 a month. Not only was the house far away from campus but it was a dump. You get what you pay for.
If you have the option, take your parents with you when you narrow it down to a house or two, they likely have more experience in looking for houses than you do. You do not want to live in a house that has hidden problems. Your parents have probably run into these things before and for once… your parents do know best.
If you cannot have your parents or someone experienced around to help you, here is a
website that covers some common problems that you find with houses. Note that not all of these apply to student houses as you’re not actually buying the house but scroll down to where it begins with “Home Condition Inspection”. You can Google terms or simply ask “What are common problems with houses” and you find a litany of things to look out for.
MacShare is also a great McMaster resource when you're looking for a student house as the homes are listed and rated by your fellow students who have lived there before.
LIVING IN RES
When thinking about residence you should consider the following:
1) Are you okay with the possibility of living with primarily first year students?
2) Are you okay with sharing living spaces (like bathrooms) with people you may not know?
3) If you prefer studying in your home (as opposed to a library or classroom) will the noise of others in close proximity bother you?
4) What is the cost and comfort difference?
1) 80% of Residence spots are reserved for first year
students. That being said there are some buildings (like Bates) where there tend to be more upper years. With residences like Bates and Keyes you can request to be with other upper years in an apartment style if that suits you. You can also request fellow upper years in traditional residence styles or just a single. As with any time you apply to residence, this is not guaranteed and you may not be placed where or with who you want.
2) In every residence except for Les Prince you’re almost guaranteed to share your bathroom with someone. Traditional stall style bathrooms are shared by a floor, which bothers some people. In a house you may still have to share a bathroom with someone but it’s going to be less people and hopefully someone you know. On the flip side, residence bathrooms are cleaned daily (mon-fri) whereas your home bathroom is between you and those you share it with. This also applies to kitchenettes in residence: Custodial staff will clean in there but they will not clean up for you (ie: your dishes, food remnants), if you like to cook this may be something to consider.
3) Residence can be noisy, even during exams, despite the efforts of CA’s. If you enjoy studying in your own comfy abode but cannot tolerate noise this may discourage you from living in residence. That being said, residence is not a free for all and so that doesn’t mean it will always be noisy but what it does mean is that you cannot predict the disturbances as well as you may be able to in a house. In a house there are less people to contend with and hopefully they are more considerate of your needs.
4) Cost and Comfort: We’ve already looked at an example of living off campus (other SOCS who are reading this, please, feel free to add your own examples to give a better representation), so what about residence? Let’s go with a traditional double room example and a regular sized meal plan.
As per the Housing and Conference Website (
Click here for a list of Residence room fees) a Double Room (two occupants) is $4,550 for the year. Keep in mind that this includes your hydro usage, water, heating, etc. Your cheapest option in residence is a Triple Bunk/Loft Room (three occupants) at $3,805 and the most expensive option is Mary. E. Keyes Suite at $6,110.
On top of this is your meal plan. According to the Housing website (
Click here for a list of Residence meal plan fees) the Regular meal plan is $2900 for a year, and that is only if it lasts you the entire year. The cheapest option for a traditional room (non-Bates or Keyes) occupant is the Light at $2500 and the most expensive is the Extra Large at $3300. Keep in mind that you have to have a meal plan in residence, there is no opt out option, and you may only have a reduced meal plan if you are living in Bates or Keyes because those residences offer kitchens inside the apartment.
Taking the Traditional Double room and the Regular meal plan you’re looking at $7,450 dollars for living on campus. Your cheapest option on campus is a Triple Bunk/Loft room with a light meal plan which comes up to 6,305 dollars. Keep in mind that if you are living in Bates or Keyes you can have a reduced meal plan but with that comes buying groceries.
Now comfort: this is very subjective and depends on the persons preferences. I lived in residence and did not regret my experience at all, however, I prefer living in a house because it offers me a privacy that residence did not. While living on campus everything is much closer to you, so if you prefer to sleep right till 8:00 for your 8:30 you can, that being said, residence life is not for everyone. I would suggest talking to others about their residence experience because everyone’s is different.
Just like in first year, you have to make an academic cut off in order to be given a residence spot. You must maintain a 5.0 sessional average in order to get and maintain a spot on the guaranteed list, if you fail to meet this requirement you are moved to the waiting list. The closer your average is to the 5.0 requirement the higher up you are on said list. As with first years, all allocations are subjected to the lottery system which means you may not get the residence or style of room that you selected. All of this information and more you can find on the
Housing and Conference Website.
Check out some of MacInsiders' related articles on student houses and residence:
The Pros and Cons to each of McMasters 12 Residences
How to Deal with Creepy Crawlies
Article Rewind: Off-Campus Living
How to Choose a Residence
Off Campus Housing Hunt Begins
Also search the
Off Campus and Residence Living Forum for more articles including Survival Guides for both Off Campus and Residence!
