All incoming NC State freshmen will be required to live on campus starting with the fall 2017 term. The university cited a decades-long study showing that students living on campus have higher GPAs and graduation rates and are more involved with the NC State campus community.
I live on campus, as do most of my friends. I have experienced some of these benefits. I am involved in several student organizations, and I have made several close friends among those who live with me. Upon first read, I found this to be a great plan that could benefit all incoming freshman.
Until I looked at the costs involved with living on campus.
The most common room on campus, a double occupancy room, costs $2,995 per semester, or $5,990 per academic year. With a first-year living requirement, this is a cost that cannot be avoided.
As of now, there are no exemptions for this rule based on proximity to NC State, so a first-year student cannot commute to campus to cut costs. Even someone living within walking distance must pay the $5,990 housing fee if they want to go to NC State their freshman year.
The incoming first years are also required to purchase a meal plan, which ranges in price from $1,120-$1,815 per semester. The cheapest meal plan, 130 meals per semester, will cost $2,240 per year. Totaled with the housing fee, this adds up to a grand total of $8,320 per year. Keep in mind that that represents the cheapest meal plan. There are also no exemptions for students who live nowhere near a dining hall, such as in North, Wood or Avent Ferry residence halls.
I have a friend that commutes to campus every day. He told me that he has totaled how much he spent last semester compared to how much he would have spent had he lived on campus. He said that he saved an estimated $3,000 last semester, and he guesses that he will save another $3,000 this year, just by commuting. Every day he eats two meals at home and one on campus. He has the commuter-dining plan, which only costs $750 per semester.
While he did tell me that he probably would have gotten more out of staying on campus this year, he is glad that he had the opportunity to live at home and save upwards of $6,000.
About 22 percent of incoming freshmen, data from fall 2015, did not live on campus. This mandate will require almost all of them to live in dorms and eat in already crowded dining halls. It is unclear how University Dining aims to prepare for these new arrivals, as they have not released any statements or put out any comprehensive plans that I could find.
With all of these required plans and fees, I have come to the conclusion that next year’s first year living requirement is unfair and unjust to those who cannot afford the already astronomical costs of attending college or simply just want to live at home. First-year students should not be entrenched in more costs for gradual GPA benefits or the aim of being more involved on campus. While well-intentioned, the university should not be telling students where they have to live and what they have to eat, especially if there is a required charge for said activities.
