Off-campus summer housing offers convenience, lower cost

“I’m a chemistry major, and almost all of us stay on campus the summer before senior year,” Leypunskiy said.

Unlike during the school year, when staying on campus means living in a dorm, a substantial contingent of students like Leypunskiy chooses to live off campus, citing cost and convenience.

On-campus summer housing costs $180 per week for a minimum of four consecutive weeks. A full-length contract, from June 7 to Aug. 30, costs $2,160. This is roughly the same cost per week as during the academic year, when students paid $6,340 overall: A student who moves in on the first eligible day in September and moves out on the last day of exams pays $176 per week.

Mike ’11 said in an e-mail that he chose to live off campus while conducting research last summer in part because “the University holds a monopoly on housing and ... almost gouges the students,” adding that he and his three roommates paid a total of $2,100 for summer housing. Mike was granted anonymity because he and his roommates violated University rules by subletting an apartment from a graduate student.

Mike added that the University’s accommodations and facilities were of lesser quality than the apartment he lived in. “The buildings they give to the University students are the ones they are planning to do construction on over the summer — they give the nicer dorms to the high-school sports camps and researchers from other schools,” he explained.

Like Mike, Talia Chapman ’10 chose to live off campus rather than apply for summer housing while conducting research on campus. Last summer, she lived off campus with two of her friends, who were coordinating freshman orientation trips.

“We wanted to have access to a kitchen and save money,” Chapman explained. “Plus, we thought it would be fun.”

Leypunskiy lived in a dorm the summer after his freshman year and found the rooming situation “uncomfortable.”

“I was lucky enough to get an air-conditioned dorm, but the air conditioning was poorly controlled, and it got hot during the heat wave,” he added. “Cooking was also uncomfortable in the communal kitchens."

Mike also noted that “the kitchens provided on campus are inconvenient and insufficient.”

Roughly 350 spaces are available over the summer on the fourth floor of Scully Hall and in Henry, Patton, Wright and Foulke halls this year. All dorms except Foulke offer kitchen access, but only Scully offers air conditioning.

Students who are staying on campus to conduct research for their junior paper, senior thesis or other independent work receive preference over other groups in the summer housing application, followed by those who are working full-time for the University. Non-Princeton students working for the University receive preference over University students performing community service in the area or staying on campus through a sports teams or student organization.