Anyone live (or lived) in on-campus family housing? Non-trad student stories welcome!

[PenelopeJune]

I'm going to school next fall, and I will most likely live in on-campus family housing. Anyone else done this?

I'll be 29, and I have two kids (age 5 and 7) and my husband may or may not come with me. (We are considering divorce.) I'm anxious about living on campus at my age, and I just don't really know what to expect. I've never been to college before. I just wonder how out-of-place I will feel.

According to what I've heard about my chosen school (University of Kansas) the family housing is pretty run-down. I am okay with that (as long as they are safe, which I haven't heard anything to the contrary), as I've never lived in really nice houses, but living in an apartment will be totally new to me.

I'm super, super excited about this, but I want to go into it knowing what to expect, so I'm not disapointed or shocked. It's all going to be totally new to me, as not only have I never been to college before, but I've never lived in a big city before. (Yes, Lawrence, KS is a big city to me! :D )

Any stories welcome!

[poppyseed2012]

Oh my goodness, well my experience goes WAY back! My parents went back to college when I was 6 and my little brother was 2. They went to a University very similar in size and feel as KU. We lived in family housing and it was the very best time of my childhood. I lived there for two years (age 6-8) and we were surrounded by families from all over the world. The experience it gave me for appreciating other cultures was priceless. It was an hard time for my parents, but one they remember fondly and they are certainly glad to have given us that opportunity.

I wish you the best of luck!

[34me]

I live in town with Colorado State and my 2 oldest went to school with the University Housing kids.  Some of the housing is super nice, and some just ok.  I think you will find kids of all ages too.  There were 14 different languages spoken at my kiddos elementary school.  It was a great experience for them.  Most of the dads were the ones in school.  I can only remember 1 or 2 single moms.  But I really think it will be ok.  Most large universities have an office of non traditional students.

[PenelopeJune]

Thank you, PoppySeed! It is very helpful to hear from someone who did this when they were a child. I'm glad to hear that you enjoyed it so much. That is exactly what I want for my children. I've heard that the majority of students in family housing are international students, which sounds interesting. We currently live in a very, very un-diverse area, I'd love my kids to learn more about the people of the world.

And thank you, 34me. I feel very good about this decision, I am just so anxious that I need a lot of encouragement!!!

[JoyFilled]

My DH is doing his Masters this year while I am on Mat leave.  We are just living in a building close to the university but not on campus.  There are lots of students around but really not a big deal to me.  My kids are 2.5 years and 6 months.

Two different co-workers of mine lived in student housing as children and also loved it.

Good luck.

[rosadesal]

The "family housing" at my school is TERRIBLE. but, I've heard great stories about the family housing at U of Michigan and MSU, so...go figure. Ours is run down, no laundry facilities in the units, semi-furnished with reaaaaaaaally old crap, and the stoves are miniature. And, it's not just for families, so there could be noisy students without kids next door. Oh, and did I mention it's not much cheaper than renting any old apartment? We have A LOT of non-traditional students, and I wish they would do something about this problem, not just for families but also for the "grown ups" who simply do not want to live by a party house. 

The reason I say this is to suggest that you go SEE the family housing complex/units/whatevers so that you can judge for yourself. If I hadn't actually seen where the family housing is on my campus, judging by the website I would have easily signed a lease, you know? Get as much information as you can. See what other families at the school say about it - see if you can't find anyone to connect with through your community (or future community as it looks like this might be a move for you?). If the family housing was an option at my school, I'd happily go live there in a heartbeat. Does your school have a family or women's resource center? Those are great places to start.

Good luck!!!

[PenelopeJune]

Thank you all for the feedback and info! I thought of a question last night. If you live in family housing, do you have to move out each summer if you plan to go to school there in the fall? That would be massively hard on my kids, so I'm hoping the answer is no.

[jaam]

subbing.   I hope someone has an answer to that, (or more stories of experience) because I'd love to know, too! I'm currently renting off campus while I take classes at a local community college, but I will eventually need to transfer, so I've been wondering about this. My guess is that the housing office at the school would have an answer for you, if nobody here does.

[sparklefairy]

At my university, no, you don't. But you have to move out the end of the month you graduate, which is really stressing me out right now.

Originally Posted by PenelopeJune 

Thank you all for the feedback and info! I thought of a question last night. If you live in family housing, do you have to move out each summer if you plan to go to school there in the fall? That would be massively hard on my kids, so I'm hoping the answer is no.

[belletrist]

Originally Posted by PenelopeJune 

Thank you all for the feedback and info! I thought of a question last night. If you live in family housing, do you have to move out each summer if you plan to go to school there in the fall? That would be massively hard on my kids, so I'm hoping the answer is no.

At my university, you don't. You can sign a lease through the end of the Spring semester, or through the summer. And, unlike the person that has to move out the month they graduate (so sorry, that is terrible!) you can stay until the end of your lease here (you just cannot renew a lease unless you are a student, so if you graduate in May, you would have to leave at the end of July if your lease went through the summer). There were two different areas of family housing at my university, one that was composed of drab, older buildings but boasted a community center, playground, and preschool and then another that was a plain ol' apartment complex that the university had acquired. I went with the latter, because it was the only student housing that accepted pets, but had it not been for that, I probably would have gone with the former. Turned out, my complex had almost no parents and kids living in it, instead it was full of Vet Med students!