Spartan Daily - Serving San Jose State University since 1934

Issue date: 2/19/07 Section: News

Media Credit: Ali Sajjadi

Independence, convenience, a sense of community and affordability are a few of the factors that some students said affected their decisions on whether to live on or off the San Jose State University campus.

While sitting on the stairs to her Santa Clara Street apartment facing the SJSU campus, Christine Allen-Blanchette said, "I'm an engineer (major), and that's the engineering building right there. It takes about seven minutes to get to class."

Allen-Blanchette, a senior majoring in mechanical engineering, said she pays $600 per month in rent and an additional $100 per month for utilities like electricity and telephone for her one room in El Dorado Apartments on the corner of Seventh and Santa Clara streets. She said she has the smaller of two rooms in the $1400 per month, two bedroom, one-and-a-half bathroom residence.

An average taken from fifteen residences within a two-mile radius of the university campus showed people living off campus would pay a monthly rent of about $672 per person, according to students, property managers and rental listings.

On-campus student housing costs range from an average of $653 to $1,445 per month. The price depends upon which building the student lives in, how many roommates the student has and whether or not a meal plan is included, according to the SJSU housing Web site for Fall 2007. The department of housing at SJSU was unable to provide figures that would show how much students currently pay on average to live on campus.

However, according the SJSU housing Web site, Fall 2007 rent for a single occupancy room in a campus apartment can cost $998 per month with no meal plan. A single occupancy room in the Classics, the red brick residence halls, can be up to $1,349 including the mininum mandatory basic meal plan.

Though more expensive at times, living on campus can not only provide easy access to one's room and personal items, but also to the network of friends that is created by living with and near other students, said Matthew Salud, a freshman majoring in business.

Salud lives in Washburn Hall in the Classics student-housing complex. He likened his residence to "a big locker room."

"I like it. You're really close to your classes," Salud said. "It's a good community. It's a good place to meet a lot of people. We have a lot of good events over here."

Salud said his parents pay $876 dollars a month for his single occupancy room in Washburn Hall.

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