The Most Common Student Housing Problems

Every single college student wants to have a comfortable, safe place to live in. This is a huge part of actually being able to do well in school. The problem is that student housing does have some problems that appear and that can influence many different things. The work of student housing architectural firms should never be taken lightly as these specialists understand what the student needs. Ozarch, one of these firms, highlights the following as the most common student housing problems that have to be solved.

Convenience And Accessibility

This is quite a clear student housing problem. Students need to live in a location that is close to the campus. Due to this, on-campus apartments and dormitories are very popular. They are a great solution, although large universities also use auxiliary campuses and a bus system that aims to offer the necessary accessibility.

The urban campus students have some off-campus options but only in the event that they own a vehicle or they can deal with daily public transportation use.

Costs

When there is a high student housing demand close to large schools or urban campuses, real estate prices rise. This means that nearby rental houses and apartments become unaffordable for many students. Off-campus housing puts the full burden of utility service payment on the student, just like with commuting. If the student takes out a loan to get the money needed for education, even dorms can become expensive, especially when they force students to buy one of the available meal plans. Such expenses add to the overall graduation debt.

Security And Safety

This should come as no surprise. Safety is always important. All schools employ some sort of security staff in order to guarantee dorm safety. However, unsafe behavior, like situations involving alcohol, can still happen. Moving off-campus means campus security is no longer available. This is important because student neighborhoods are often targeted by burglars because of the money, cars, and computers students have, which are disproportionate when compared to the surrounding area income level. Student renters are also not experienced and might not take any needed precautions, like using an alarm system or barring windows.

Privacy

With student housing solutions, a lot of people live in space that is limited. This can easily lead to privacy problems. In a dormitory, roommates often share bathrooms. Private baths and rooms are just available in some schools and will have an extra cost. In shared spaces, like kitchens and study lounges, students might not have a good environment needed to do study work.

Space

The last thing that needs to be highlighted is that dorms are almost always cramped. Off-campus apartments are not necessarily better. This is very important for the students that require some good space to work, like the music students that have to rehearse in a quiet space or the art students that need access to store supplies and a good place to work.

With on-campus facilities, the solutions available are not as convenient but renting offices or studio space is usually too expensive. Students do not have access to the luxuries associated with working from home, like a garage or a backyard.