When incoming freshmen weigh the pros and cons of living on campus versus living off campus, there’s much more that goes into the process than just comparing prices.

Regardless of how unglamorous the dorms may seem, they are in demand every year and, as a result, not everyone who applies for a room gets one.

“I have people coming to me every year saying that they’re 175 on the waiting list to get a room in the dorms,” Shane Robinson, senior leasing agent of The Villas Park Merced apartments said. “A lot of our apartments are closer to parts of campus than the dorms anyway, so it’s almost like on campus.”

The cost of living in the dorms varies depending on the three different meal plans offering 10, 15 or 19 meals a week. Getting 10 meals a week provided in the dorms’ dining center will cost a total of $8,956 for the academic year. The totals for each plan are prorated to take winter break into account. Fifteen meals a week costs $9,180, an additional four meals is another $104.

“The food sucks anyway, so no matter what plan you get, you don’t go that many times,” said Thomas Reyes, an 18-year-old environmental studies freshman who recently moved out of Mary Ward Hall to live in an off-campus apartment. Reyes also said living in a dorm room comes along with intermittent, middle of the night fire alarms where all residents must evacuate the building and wait outside until the building is checked and secured.

They are small and shared with another person, but dorm rooms come furnished with beds, bookshelves, closets and computer desks. Each floor has a bathroom with shower stalls and lockers that residents of the floor share.

One-bedroom apartments in The Villas usually start at $1,645 a month, but may be less when they have a promotion. A few blocks down 19th Avenue are the Stonestown Apartments. Recently purchased by SF State, there are 14 housing complexes sitting on almost 25 acres. Getting into a one-bedroom apartment at Stonestown will cost at least $1,595 a month. These complexes are close to campus, so transportation is not an issue, but living off campus requires a few extra expenses that dorm residents don’t have to deal with.

Food and utilities are included in the dorm package, while an off-campus house or apartment just seems to offer more freedom.

Having lights is going to cost, so is an Internet connection and a cable hookup if you want to be able to catch your favorite shows. Getting housing further out from campus means another expense for transportation, and whether it comes in the form of a $1.50 MUNI fare or as gas and parking and DPT tickets, it’s going to stack up over time.
Signing a lease at Park Merced, Stonestown, or any other place doesn’t come with a meal plan so eating is another expense.

“The (dining center) wasn’t that great but it was always there…now I can’t always eat every time I get hungry,” Laura Campi, 19-year-old business administration sophomore and former resident of Mary Park Hall said. “And I have to be crazy about turning lights off now because of PG&E. I love my apartment and not being inside a cramped little dorm room with another person, but I do miss some things about living on campus.”

There are plenty of pros and cons to each side of the housing situation. When it comes down to it, its up to the student to make his or her own comparisons and there own decision on where to live.

“Overall, living in the dorms was a good experience. I met a lot of people and had fun but I couldn’t do it for more than a year, ” Campi said.