How to Convince Your Parents to Let You Live Off Campus

By Danielle Wirsansky on August 21, 2017

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At first, going to college is the dream for a high school student. Once a high school student gets to university and becomes a fully-fledged college student, the next thing on their mind is usually … how do I convince my parents to let me live off campus?

Living in the dorms is a great building block to friendship, community, and networks, especially for a student transplanted from home. They need those ties in order to create a home for themselves in a new place. However, after that first year and a student has become established, they are often chomping at the bit to gain a little more freedom and to take the next big step of their college career: moving off campus.

Now they may think that they are ready to move off campus and they may really want to, but they are not the person whose opinion is most important on this matter: it’s their parents. Since a majority of college students have at least a portion of their college tuition and living expenses paid for by their parents, their parents definitely have a say in where they will be living.

So what arguments do you make? What do you do to persuade them? Read on to learn how to convince your parents to let you live off campus!

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Cost

The cost of living off-campus versus living in a dorm is always a good place to start when trying to convince your parents to let you move. Your parents may think that living off-campus may cost more — you will have utilities to pay, like electric, water, trash, and more, and you will have to buy your own groceries rather than using a meal plan.

But, depending on where you live and how thrifty you are, this can be a major misconception! Often living off campus can be cheaper per semester, especially if you are living with roommates.

A dorm may cost upwards of $1,000 a month depending on your school. But you can get at least a studio apartment for that price, where your room will probably be more spacious than your dorm room and at least there you will not have to share the room. If you get a bigger apartment or house with more bedrooms and live in it with roommates, the cost will go down as well.

Utilities are split between the roommates and usually come out being cheaper with rent still than it would if you lived on campus in a dorm. And remember, your housing off campus is probably much more spacious and you would not necessarily have to share the bathroom with quite as many people.

A meal plan can also be quite expensive and is often required when you live on campus. You do not often eat as many meals as you pay for. By grocery shopping, you can cut out excess waste of money on food by only buying what you plan to eat.

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Independence

Another great way to convince your parents to let you live off campus is to remind them of how the experience will not only teach you but force you to become more independent.

You might just be trying to use this as a selling point but it might be a good idea to realize that living off campus really will make you more independent (and hopefully more responsible too). There will not be an RA monitoring your every move and punishing you for your infractions. There will be no rules to follow that truly guide you in how you can live your life. It will all be on you and it will be your responsibility to keep yourself out of trouble.

When you live in a dorm, you just pay a flat fee and you get your dorm room, which comes furnished, and all your bills are paid. In an apartment, you have to supply your own furnishings (which can add up!) and pay several separate bills for electric, water, the internet, and more. And you have to remember to pay each one monthly as well!

In a dorm, things like toilet paper are magically left outside your door once a week. When you live off campus, you have to supply your own little toiletries and sundries. On campus, your meals are prepared for you (if you have a meal plan) and if something breaks in your room, it will be taken care of immediately. Off campus, you have to buy your own groceries, have all your own kitchen supplies, and then cook your own food. And if something breaks, you have to put in a report and then wait for a maintenance guy to come fix the problem if he even can. It can be more of a drawn out process with no guarantee a repair will be made, or even done speedily.

When you live in the dorm, if you have questions or concerns, you can go to your RA or even the front desk but there is no such guidance when you live off campus. And in your dormitory, you know everyone living on your floor, if not in the entire dorm and have people to turn to in case of an emergency. You might not know your neighbors while living off campus.

So in addition to showing to your parents that living off campus will make you more independent, you have to prove to them that you are responsible enough to handle such independence and freedom.

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