How much more expensive are other expenses compared to tuition for college students in Florida? How are they affected by this?
Several data research studies are showing college housing is more expensive than tuition in Florida, by far.
In the past few years, college students have time and again shown their frustration at how choosing to pursue a degree has affected their financial situation in multiple aspects, often leaving a great number of them in what seem to be never-ending debts, and with most students describing the ultimate experience of “college life” as “overrated.”
College Insight, an online resource site that provides detailed data, has done thorough studies on the costs of tuition, housing, dining plans, books, and other fees, around the state of Florida.
Studies by this online resource found that the average cost of tuition per academic year is $10,471. However, expensive as it is, the average cost of college housing per academic year is even more — about $16,054.
Chiara Bergamini is a senior studying at FIU and living at The One, an off-campus apartment complex. She moved to the building at the beginning of her junior year. Prior to this, she lived at the Everglades Hall on campus.
Chiara said she moved to The One because, compared to on-campus buildings, it has better living conditions. She gets to choose who she lives with and can have her own bathroom.
“There’s just so much more benefits to living in buildings like this one than anywhere on-campus,” she said. “It is not only cheaper, but you have more freedom.”
She thinks the prices to live on campus are “too expensive, especially for us students constantly on a budget.”
As Chiara was shown with the data College Insight has been able to collect about the difference in costs for housing and tuition, she said she was not surprised by how much more expensive housing is.
“I do find it shocking how even with this data out in the world, most colleges just don’t do anything about it,” she said.
Chiara has no plans on where to move after she graduates next summer. She is still deciding whether to stay in Miami or move back to her home country, Italy.
HomeSnacks, an online data collector that presents summarized, bite-sized data, calculated the average off-campus monthly rate cost per county in Florida. South Florida counties, including Miami-Dade, Broward, and Monroe, reached an average rent cost of $2,406 per month.
With prices ranging from $886 to $3,422 per month, students keep struggling to afford decent-level living conditions.
Sergio Moya, a junior-year FIU student, is currently living at the 4th Street Commons apartment complex near campus. Moya thinks the building could improve its cleanup.
“Although I like the building, I think it could do better on the cleaning side,” he said. “Sometimes hallways smell really weird, or other times you may see a lot of trash too.”
Moya thinks that if more buildings for students are built, it may lower rent costs, but he does not think it would improve living conditions.
“New buildings would most likely lower the cost of rent, which we could all benefit from,” he said. “But I have been at the newest building, The One, and it is also a mess, the ceilings aren’t even painted.”
Many students incur a great debt paying for often unavoidable housing and tuition costs, and see themselves impacted by it even after they have completed their studies.
The John J. Heldrich Center, a research organization, conducted an online survey in 2012, in which they asked 444 graduates the impact college debt has made on their financial and life decisions.
The aftermath a college debt has on a student can vary greatly. Juan León, an FIU student who is graduating in December and has been living in the 109 Tower apartment complex since the beginning of his junior year, thinks it will take him many years to pay his debt in full.
“If housing is more expensive, how does every building seem to have damages?” he said. “It’s like the school only wants our money.”
León said the high living costs have impacted his mental health as well.
“Us students are always on tight budgets,” he said. “It is almost impossible not to feel worried about expenses all the time.”
The results from the John J. Heldrich Center online survey reported all 444 graduate students were affected by college debt, with the majority saying they either had to postpone important life decisions or change their lifestyle to save more money.
FIU’s Counseling & Psychological Services provides mental health services that can facilitate and enhance personal learning, emotional wellbeing, and academic skills development, and are available for every student.
Data Sources:
- College Insight. (n.d.). College Insight. https://college-insight.org/?op=add+to+list#explore/go&h=88d7943020cb1db051c0c6340ca8a724
- Statista. (2021a, January 26). Statista. https://www.statista.com/statistics/237829/tuition-costs-and-fees-in-the-us-by-state/
- Statista. (2021b, January 26). Statista. https://www.statista.com/statistics/237837/university-attendance-costs-in-the-us-by-state/
- HomeSnacks. (n.d.). HomeSnacks. Retrieved November 16, 2021, from https://www.homesnacks.com/cities/average-rent-in-florida/
- Zillow. (2021, March 25). Zillow Research. https://www.zillow.com/research/data/
- Statista — John J. Heldrich Center Survey (2019, April 29). Statista.- https://www.statista.com/statistics/235225/impact-of-college-debt-on-behaviour-in-the-us/
