As the school year comes to an end, students are preparing either to head home or move into their new apartments or houses. Many students may be unclear about what the process of moving off-campus involves, and there are often misconceptions about Whitworth’s requirements involving housing situations. Associate director of housing Alan Jacob said that roughly a third of Whitworth students live off-campus.

Reasons for Living Off-Campus

Annalisa Wells graduated from Whitworth in January. She said she lived off-campus for her senior year for several reasons.

“I wanted to learn how to be independent. The older you get, the more you begin to notice the age gap between yourself and the freshmen, and you need a change of scenery,” Wells said.

Kelsey Mix is a freshman who moved off-campus during Jan-term break. She currently lives with some good friends of her family who live nearby.

Mix said she moved off-campus because of her job.

“I work downtown. It takes half an hour to get down there, and I come home late at night. I felt bad about waking up my roommate,” Mix said.

Michelle Youngbloom and Elisabeth Spencer are juniors who have lived on-campus for the past three years. They are planning to live off-campus next year. Youngbloom said she decided to move off-campus for health and sustainability reasons.

“We’re going to have chickens and make our own food,” Youngbloom said.

Spencer said the reason she lived on-campus this year was because it was practical.

“I enjoyed the resources provided by the university, the professors and the academic buildings, but I’m ready to move on with my life,” Spencer said.

Youngbloom and Spencer plan to grow most of their own food in a garden next year.

Finding a Place to Live

Wells said she used a number of resources in her search for an apartment.

“I am a researcher at heart, so I looked online a lot,” Wells said.

She said she narrowed down her findings to five houses and showed the options to her future housemates. Together they narrowed the options down to three houses, which they all visited.

She also said that students should ask their professors and friends if they know of available houses or apartments.

“Some of the best deals are heard by word of mouth,” Wells said.

Wells said she advises people to start their search for an apartment early, even though landlords may not rent until later in the year. She said this helped her find the best living arrangement more quickly.

“There are places that won’t rent until February or later, so keep your options open and know what you want,” Wells said.

Housemates

Wells lives in a house with five other girls.

“You should definitely take time to think about who you want as housemates—don’t just base it on prior friendship,” Wells said.

Wells said people will experience difficulties even if they know their roommates before they move in with them.

“Expect hardship. It’s a learning experience that’s part of growing up,” Wells said.

Wells also said that people shouldn’t necessarily live with their best friends.

“Don’t live with people you’re close to unless you know you can live with them. Not everyone has the same standards, so honesty and communication really make a difference,” Wells said.

Wells said that people should be open and flexible in their approach to their new living situation.

“This is the first house you’re getting on your own, and you are going to be sharing it with a lot of people,” Wells said.

Spencer said people should fill their houses with housemates they like.

“If you only live with two or three people, you’ll get lonely,” Spencer said.

Budgeting

Wells said that each person in her house pays $320 a month for rent. In addition to rent they each pay between $20 and $40 a month for utilities, electricity, garbage and internet.

“How much you pay for internet really depends on what deal you get,” Wells said.

Kelsey Mix said that she pays $150 a month and occasionally brings home dinner. She said she doesn’t have to pay utilities because she lives with a family.

Youngbloom said that everyone in their house will pay $250 for rent each month. The lease includes free internet.

Jacob said he recommends students visit whitworth.edu/offcampushousing, which shows comparisons of rent in the area.

“There’s a section to help you understand the jargon of a lease. With landlord-tenant leases, what you have written down is the law,” Jacob said.

He said that students often don’t appreciate the gravity of their lease.

“They get blindsided because they don’t understand the situation they’re in,” Jacob said.

Landlords

Spencer said the landlord of her house was very helpful.

“He went over everything, and he was being very honest. He said that he would tell us before comes over,” Spencer said.

Youngbloom said the landlord also promised to repair anything they needed.

Jacob said it’s good for students to know their rights as a tenant.

“You need to know what kind of services you can expect and what safety issues landlords need to address immediately. There are laws about these things that students aren’t aware of,” Jacob said.

If students are unfamiliar with Washington’s laws regarding landlord-tenet policies, they can visit portal.hud.gov/hudportal, which links to several websites that explain those policies.

Whitworth Housing Policy

“Students are required to live on campus until two years after their high school graduation date,” Jacob said.

Jacob said that this has been the policy for the past eight years.

“The policy wasn’t defined clearly enough before then. We just changed the wording, not the implementation,” Jacob said.

Jacob said that there are several exceptions to the housing requirements. A person is exempt from the requirements if they are living in Spokane with a member of their immediate family, if they have a medical issue or condition that Whitworth is unable to accommodate, if they are married, or if they have a child listed as a dependent on their taxes.

Jacob said that finances are not taken into consideration.

“Whitworth is a product—an expensive product. If you only wanted to pay for half a car, you couldn’t do that,” Jacob said.

Jacob said living on campus is a vital part of the Whitworth experience.

“It’s like Core; it’s part of going to school here,” Jacob said.

He said that the school doesn’t try to hide its costs, policies or requirements.

“As students, you have to make a decision–do I like this education enough that I’m going to pay the money for it?” Jacob said.

Jacob said that Whitworth expenses are necessary to maintaining a strong program that benefits students. He said that the residence life program is much more important to Whitworth than creating revenue.

“Campus housing and meal plans do create revenue for the university, but that’s not why we do it; it’s just how we pay our bills,” Jacob said.

The Process of Moving Off-Campus

Mix said that she sent a letter to the housing department saying why she wanted to live off-campus. Both her parents and the family she was living with had to sign a waiver.

“It was a really easy process,” Mix said.

Jacob said that students who aren’t required to live on-campus anymore simply don’t sign up for the housing lottery. If a student is still required to live on-campus but wishes to move off-campus, they can go to whitworth.edu/housingrequirement and fill out the waiver posted there.

“Then they submit it, and I try to get it done in about two weeks,” Jacob said.

Reasons to Stay On-Campus

Jacob said that students who live on–campus are more likely to benefit from what the university has to offer.

“They are also more likely to graduate from Whitworth and graduate on time,” Jacob said.

He said that Whitworth has a high four-year graduation rate because students are required to live on campus for a certain amount of time. He said that on-campus students are also more likely to have a higher GPA and more likely to feel connected with fellow students, faculty and staff and the school culture.

Contact Molly Daniels at [email protected].