When choosing where to live during college, most students would prefer to stay on campus. However, residence on campus is expensive. While you are probably going to be sharing a small room, there are other reasons why it is so expensive. Your needs are all taken care of, leaving you to focus on your studies.

To avoid the expense (or to lower the total value of their student loans), many students choose to live off campus with roommates. But is this really cheaper?

The rent you are paying on your apartment will certainly be cheaper, but that doesn’t mean you are going to save money. Here are some things to consider.

Not all expenses can be split

The benefit of renting with roommates is that you split the cost of rent and other expenses. These include things like utilities, basic necessities, and cleaning supplies. However, not everything can be split.

You will have to pay for your own personal hygiene products. The same is true of any extra furniture you need for your room. Also, not all insurers allow you to add roommates to a renters insurance policy. As such, you will probably have to get your own insurance to cover your personal possessions.

Groceries are expensive

Students who have never lived alone generally have no idea how much groceries cost. Most students underestimate this expense, especially if they are considering it in the context of meals. The reality is that you’re not going to buy exactly what you need for individual meals, but will have to get some pantry staples as well. You’re also likely to waste some perishables no matter how hard you try not to.

The amount budgeted for groceries is also often optimistic. You go into it with the best intentions of cooking every night, but ultimately find that you don’t have the time. You end up spending money on both groceries and takeout. The money you spend on food builds up, even as you try your best to keep it to a minimum.

Entertainment

You don’t want to be stuck in your apartment every single night, and therefore need to budget for entertainment. Entertainment is, of course, something every student needs to pay for. However, when you live on campus there are many more free options. Instead of going out to bars or clubs, you can go to campus parties. Instead of paying for expensive events, there are regular free events on campus.

The amount you need to budget for entertainment will depend on your personality, but it will come to a fair amount of money. It is yet another aspect which makes the cost of living on campus seem more reasonable.

Interest on student loans

While there are other expenses to consider when renting off campus, that does not necessarily make it more expensive. This is true for a lot of people using student loans to pay for their residence. Student loans can save you money you would need to spend monthly for the years you are studying. However, you’re going to need to pay them off eventually.

When you start paying for your student loans, you’re going to have to pay for interest too. The higher your student loans are, the more you will pay in interest. As the total amount of your loan builds up, your loan ends up costing a lot more because of that interest.

In other words, while you may not have to pay for food and entertainment, you will pay extra for them in the long run.

A major advantage of using your student loans to pay to live on campus is that you can postpone paying for rent until you are earning a full-time living. You may not have the ability to earn enough to pay for rent while you are still studying.

In the most simple sense, renting with roommates is less expensive than staying on campus. However, there are other costs to consider which may cancel out your savings.