College · College Success

Compare places to live
before you sign

A room in a house can look cheapest until the 12-month lease, the utilities and the long walk home at night are counted. Add every real option, a residence hall and home included, rate each one, enter the rent and utilities, and see the true cost for the year.

Start a comparisonWhat you get

Comparisons

The worked example is made up: a residence hall, a shared apartment and a room in a house for a student who counts cost and safety as must-haves. Use initials or a code.

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What you get

College · College SuccessFree

What you finish with
A saved comparison per decision: how much total cost, the commute, lease terms, safety and daily life matter; each place rated 1 to 5 with your rent and utilities a month; seven questions such as lease length, deposit and reading the whole lease marked answered or still to ask; and a next step. The flags rank the places, turn each monthly total into a 9-month school-year and a 12-month lease cost and flag a must-have rated 2 or lower. A side-by-side table prints.
Who it is for
College students choosing where to live, especially after the first year, and the families helping them.
Format
Browser tool with a saved record per decision. Prints a side-by-side table with the scores, the full record, every comparison in a table or a blank form; downloads a spreadsheet (.csv); exports and imports a file.
Access
Free. No account, no sign-in and nothing to install. Everything you type stays in this browser; nothing is sent to Caveat.
Where it lives
The College Success space in Caveat College.
Support
Questions about access, an order or a correction: team@caveatacademic.com.

How to use it

  1. Add every real option.
  2. Enter rent and utilities.
  3. Weigh cost, safety and the lease.
  4. Rate each place.
  5. Print the side-by-side table.

Start a comparison

Before you sign a lease

Five checks before signing1LengthTwelve months, or only theschool year.2MoneyRent, deposit, fees and whopays which utilities.3ConditionLocks, smoke alarms, heat;photos on move-in day.4PeopleWho signs, and whether oneroommate owes for all.5ExitSubletting, breaking the leaseand getting the deposit back.Five checks before signing1LengthTwelve months, or only the school year.2MoneyRent, deposit, fees and who pays whichutilities.3ConditionLocks, smoke alarms, heat; photos onmove-in day.4PeopleWho signs, and whether one roommate owesfor all.5ExitSubletting, breaking the lease andgetting the deposit back.
Tenant law differs by state and city; a college's off-campus housing office or student legal services can explain local rules.

Joint leases

On many shared leases every roommate signs one lease and each can be held responsible for the whole rent if someone leaves. Ask whether you would sign an individual lease for your room or a joint lease for the unit, and decide with your roommates what happens if one of you moves out.

Housing and financial aid

A college's cost of attendance includes a housing and food allowance that differs for students on campus, off campus and living with family. Federal Student Aid explains that aid is based on that budget. If you move off campus, ask the aid office how your allowance changes.

Sources

  1. U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Tenant rights, laws and protections by state (hud.gov).
  2. U.S. Department of Education, Federal Student Aid. Cost of attendance (budget), including housing and food (studentaid.gov).
  3. U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Fair Market Rents (huduser.gov).
  4. U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. Smoke alarms and carbon monoxide alarms (cpsc.gov).

The worked example, its places and its prices are made up. This is general information, not legal advice. Nothing you type is sent to Caveat. Support: team@caveatacademic.com.