When deciding whether to live on- or off-campus, one of the biggest factors to consider is how much your overall cost of living will be.
While this may seem like a pretty straightforward question, rental rates vary from apartment to apartment and added on fees can make a big difference in the final amount.
Read Next: 6 Ways to Save Money on Off-Campus Student Housing Apartments near Georgia Tech
At Whistler, we know how important budgeting for your next year at school is, so we have written this article to explain:
- How student housing apartments calculate rental rates
- Which factors affect the price of monthly rental rates
- Other fees to consider on top of monthly rental rate
In general, it can cost anywhere from $800 to $2,500 per person, per month to live near Georgia Tech. This cost is affected by a number of factors including location, amenities, year built, and the floor plan you select. We explain how these factors will impact your cost of living in the article below.
How Student Housing Apartments Calculate the Rate of Rent
To understand how much your cost of living each month will be, it’s important to understand how rental rates are calculated in the first place.
Your rental rate will typically be calculated one of two ways depending on what type of housing you opt to live in.
In a traditional house or traditional apartment, you will typically sign one lease total for the entire unit. This means you and all your roommates will sign one contract together with the landlord, holding all of you equally responsible for rent and any damages to the property during your lease.
If you opt to live in a student housing apartment, you and each of your roommates will each sign your own individual lease, or “by the bed lease” with the landlord. Because of this, you will only be held responsible for your portion of the rent as specified in the lease. You will also only be held liable to damages in your own room, own bathroom, and any communal spaces.
Understanding the difference between a traditional lease and individual lease will help you to determine if rental rates are listed by the bed or for the entire apartment. Its also important to understand what the duration is of the lease you are signing.
In a student housing apartment, you will likely sign a 12 month lease starting in mid August and ending in late July of the following year. While this is the typical time frame for most student apartment leases, some apartments may offer early move-in options or shortened six month leases to students who are graduating mid-year or studying abroad if there are rooms available.
On the other hand, on campus housing tends to offer nine-month contracts that last from mid August to early May. This allows students to be on campus only for Fall and Spring semesters without having to worry about finding a subletter for the summer. The downside to this is that most on-campus housing closes over breaks, meaning you do not have the option to stay during winter break, spring break, etc.
Factors That Affect the Price of Monthly Rental Rates
Rental rates both on- and off-campus can greatly vary based on several factors. Your rental rate may fluctuate based on type of housing, larger or more desirable floor plans, age of the building, and individual room features such as windows.
1. Housing Type
Georgia Tech students have several living options to choose from that are just steps from campus.
The most popular types of housing for Georgia Tech students are:
- Residence halls
- Greek houses
- Student housing apartment complexes
- Traditional apartment complexes
- Traditional houses
Read Next: What Types of Housing are Available for Students Near Georgia Tech?
Residence Halls
Armstrong residence hall at Georgia Tech. Photo courtesy of Georgia Tech.
Residence halls are Georgia Tech-owned, on-campus living options for students.
For first years, these halls take the shape of dormitories and provide students with the typical college “first-year experience.” Most of these dorms come furnished and feature small rooms to be shared with a roommate and community bathrooms to be shared with hallmates.
For all other students, Georgia Tech offers apartment-style residence halls. These apartments come fully furnished, are typically four to six bedrooms, and feature private bedrooms and shared bathrooms.
All residence halls are located on campus and include access to Georgia Tech wifi and laundry. Depending on the specific residence hall you chose to live in, you may have access to other amenities such as study spaces, a gym, and the Georgia Tech meal plan. Pricing for residence halls is dependent on which option you chose.
For dorms, the meal plan is required for all first year students when they sign the housing contract. This means that the total cost of living in the dorms, plus the cost for the meal plan totals around $6150 per semester or $12,300 per year.
For apartment-style residence halls, you have the option to opt into the meal plan, but it is not required. The rate to rent one of these apartments is around $9700 per year, not including the meal plan.
It’s important when comparing the pricing of the different housing types to note that the contracts for both dorm style residence halls and apartment style residence halls, as well as the meal plan, are nine month contracts lasting from mid-August to early May.
If you would like to learn more about residence halls, visit the Georgia Tech Housing and Residence Life page.
Greek Houses
Phi Gamma Delta fraternity house at UGA. Photo courtesy of Hodges and Hicks.
The next on-campus housing option we will explore are Greek houses. With over 40 Greek houses on campus available for students to live in, many students who are closely involved with their fraternity or sorority opt into living in their respective houses.
Greek houses typically feature small rooms that house two to four members each and have shared community bath spaces. The quality of space you are living in as well as the amenities you have access to is largely dependent on what Greek organization you are a part of.
Like residence halls, many sorority and fraternity houses are closed or partially closed during the summer, so your housing contract will be for the nine months of Fall and Spring semester. Some Greek houses even offer leases for just one semester if rooms are available. This can be beneficial for students who are graduating after the fall semester or planning to study abroad in the spring.
For those who wish to remain in greek housing for the summer, many fraternities and even some sororities open rooms to be rented out to any students, not just its members, for a low rate.
Pricing for living in Greek houses can vary depending on which organization you are a member of. The houses are run by their Greek organizations and will typically charge its live-in members a lump-sum rate that includes rent, utilities, dues, and the Greek meal plan for the term of the lease. Because the rate includes all of these additional fees, living in Greek houses is typically cheaper than most other types of housing, both on- and off- campus living options.
Student Housing Apartments
Whistler offers a prime location just two blocks from Tech square.
The most popular option for student living off-campus near Georgia Tech are student housing apartments. These locations offer higher-end apartments tailored to student’s needs with a similar price tag to on-campus residence halls.
Read Now: Best Student Housing Apartments Near Georgia Tech
Student apartments offer individual leases or by-the-bed leases, perfect for students who are looking for a little more flexibility in subleasing their leasing process.
Another bonus is that student apartments offer trendy, state-of-the-art amenities like saunas, yoga studios, golf simulators, pool decks, fitness centers, and more.
Read Next: 7 Best Apartment Amenities Near Georgia Tech
Because student apartments near campus are all relatively new, prices for these apartments range from around $1000 to over $2000 per person per month depending on location, amenities, size of apartment and other factors.
Traditional Apartments
The next form of off-campus housing are traditional apartments, located all throughout the Midtown area.
Unlike student apartments, these apartments offer traditional or “by-the-apartment” leases and may feature less amenities or amenities that aren’t as valuable to college-aged students.
Because there are so many traditional apartments in Midtown varying in age, location, and target market, the prices for these apartments can fall on either end of the spectrum, ranging from around $700 to over $2500 per person, per month.
Traditional Houses
The final option for students looking to live off-campus are traditional houses. Traditional houses, typically located in Home Park, are houses available for students to rent in the form of a year-long, traditional lease.
These houses may come unfurnished, lack amenities, and be located further from campus. Because of this, pricing for these houses fall on the low- to mid-end of the price range and can be anywhere from $800 to $1000 per person, per month.
2. Floorplans
After selecting your ideal type of housing, the next thing to consider is floor plans.
Floor plans with more bedrooms will typically have a lower price point per person per month. For example, a two bedroom apartment will likely have a higher rental rate per person than a four or five bedroom apartment.
Apartments with shared bathrooms or a less popular floor plan will also come at a lower rate.
3. Building Age
The next factor that can play a role in the overall monthly rental rate is the age of the building you are considering.
For traditional apartments, this is especially true– older apartments come at a lower rental rate than newer apartments. Greek houses and traditional houses tend to be priced similarly.
Most of the student housing complexes in the Midtown area are relatively new, so the price range for these apartments are all fairly similar.
For Georgia Tech-owned residence halls, the price point is pegged to the tuition rate, not the building age. So, even though the buildings are older, the price point will only increase as tuition increases.
Building age also plays a factor in amenities. Newer developments will likely have newer, trendier, and more luxurious amenities while older locations may have less amenities.
4. Unit / Room Features
The last factor to consider are the features of the individual unit that will affect your rental rate. Outside of number of bedrooms and bathrooms, the following may also impact your overall cost:
- Is your unit furnished?
- Does the unit have a balcony?
- Do you have your own bathroom?
- Is your bathroom attached to your bedroom?
- Do you have windows in your bedroom?
- Does your unit have a washer/dryer?
- What floor are you on? Are you on a quieter floor? One with better views?
If any of the answers to these questions is “yes,” you can expect to see a higher rental rate.
Other Fees to Consider On Top of Monthly Rental Rate
When budgeting for your next year, it’s also important to consider the costs associated with living that are not included in your rent. These additional costs may include:
- Parking
- Utilities
- Rental Insurance
- Trash
- Moving fees
- WiFi
- Cable TV
- Pet Fees
- Technology Packages
- Security Deposit
These costs can make a big impact on your budget, so it’s important to be prepared for this before you sign a lease.
Read Next: 10 Additional Costs to Consider When Living Off-Campus Near Georgia Tech
We hope that this article has given you a better understanding of how much it costs near Georgia Tech. If you have any questions or would like to learn more about Whistler, please contact our leasing staff. We are more than happy to help in your search for housing!
