Does UC Berkeley miscalculate student rent expense by 42%?

By Anna Marie Erwert

Certainly a college should encourage idealism in its student body; but one place a bit of hard realism is sorely needed is the rental market.

Yet, according to a new report from Trulia, UC Berkeley has its head in the sand when it comes to the actual cost of living in that city today. “UC Berkeley estimated that it would cost a student $7,184 to live off campus, but Trulia’s rental data shows that it would cost $12,375, assuming two people shared a two bedroom apartment for nine months – which means the school’s estimate is off by 42%.”

The study

One could take issue with Trulia’s study. There are many variables not addressed: What if one person wants to rent alone? Or two people share one bedroom, meaning now four people are sharing the cost of a two-bedroom unit? Also, why only nine months? The “Academic Year” is the time spent on academics only (summer school excluded), so nine months of living is the base for off-campus housing projections. But which off-campus landlord generously allows students to take off for home when summer rolls around, and how many students want to/can do so?

Still, it’s timely: the new school year has just begun and rents are continuing to rise. Trulia, in fact, studied this issue across the nation. “As students and their parents crunch the numbers on financial aid and student loans, they should also factor in cost of housing from the get go. As a first step, many will look to the school’s website for information – but how reliable are their cost estimates?” To find out, Trulia surveyed 20 major universities across the USA, both private and public, many of which are located in high-cost rental areas. “We then looked up the estimated costs on each school’s website. Using Trulia’s rental listings, we calculated the median rent for apartments in the nearest ZIP codes surrounding each campus.”

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[Source]: SF Gate