[gherkin0]

> Housing is killer. On-campus was over $600/mo, higher than median apartment rent, and they shared with 3 other students.

That's insane. The whole point of on-campus housing is to provide very cheap but spartan accommodations. If nearby apartments are cheaper, there's no point to it.

[nilkn]

This has long ceased to be true at many American universities. The dorms command a premium because they're on-campus (short walk to class and dining halls, many of which are right in the dorms) and they foster an integrated social environment that you can't fully appreciate when living off-campus typically.

Dorms are also becoming increasingly luxurious in some cases. In my old college suite, we had maids come by every morning to take out our trash and recycling and every weekend they'd thoroughly clean the entire bathroom, shower, sinks, and toilet. Just to be clear, these were private bathrooms in individual suites that they'd clean, not just the shared communal bathrooms.

[SilasX]

I think there are two phenomena here:

1) Opportunity cost: The land on campus, due to being near campus stuff, has appreciated a lot in value, so it doesn't make sense to use as dorms (instead of whatever else) unless you can charge out the nose for it.

2) Access to loans "for education" is easy to get, and this counts as part of the education package, so students figure to pay for not having to park or to walk as far.