In response to the one word prompt, Price.
My daughter is in her senior year of college at VCU in . Technically she’s still a Junior, but she took a lot of college courses in high school, and now she gets to graduate a semester early. She will move that tassel and toss her hat in December of this year.
We found out last week that VCU is in the middle of a housing shift. They are closing down two rather large dorms, and making several dorms that used to be for upperclassmen, strictly freshman dorms. My daughter, who was supposed to get her housing assignment last Friday, instead found out that she is without housing.
VCU ran out of space leaving more than 1,000 students with no other option than to find an apartment.
That might be fine and dandy for some folks with six figure incomes and shiny Lexus’ in their driveway, but for us, this is not an option. You see, when my daughter lives in the dorm, the fee becomes part of her tuition, so it’s easy to pay for with student loans and housing grants.
Not so with rent. That $500 or more per month would have to come out of pocket. If I had and extra $500 a month I’d be driving a car with less than 275,000 miles on it. If I had an extra $500 a month my youngest daughter would have braces. If I had an extra $500 per month I would have a stove that dated earlier than 1980.
My husband called the housing office and spoke to a manager explaining our financial situation. He made her laugh, and she promised to try and help us find on campus housing. Yet when my daughter spoke to her advisor, she said not to get her hopes up about housing. Chances are they are going to award rooms to students who need them for the whole year, and we only need it for the one fall semester.
Her options are to commute, which she can’t do, because we don’t have an extra vehicle or to take all online courses and live at home.
Now, plan B would’ve been a dream for me when I went to college, but unlike me, my daughter is very active on campus. She shoots video for Rams sporting events, she is in a honors fraternity, and she has a weekly radio show. She loves her life at VCU…and she would have to give all this up if she finished her degree at home.
She’d be paying the price for VCU’s inability to plan. I think that sucks.
All I can do is hope that somehow, she finds housing, because I don’t think she should have to give up all that she loves about college just because we aren’t Rockefellers.
Typical Tracy 
This post touches my heart. Many of the most brilliant students cannot afford the finances to pursue their studies as they want. My prayer is that your daughter gets the opportunity that will enable her finish her studies in the right way. If I may ask, have you had occasion to discuss all these issues with her? How is she taking them? How does she see her future? Do you see any possibility that what she is facing could challenge w her to gun for and gain financial independence so that her children may have a different experience in their own time?
Yes, we talk daily. She’s not happy about having to give up her campus activities in order to work from home, but understands if that’s the only way to get her degree, then it has to be done. It’s such a shame because she really dove into college with both feet and has cheered and championed VCU for 3 years, and this is her payback.
Thanks so much for your kind comment.
If a banana will be ripe throw it into the sea, it will be ripe. She is such a brilliant and brave girl; she will sail through all storms with flying colors.
How awful. Having seen 3 girls through college, I can sympathize. I can’t imagine trying to come up with rent, utilities, etc. when you were counting on the housing to be included in the tuition. If you live close enough for her to commute, would it be possible to lease a car? While still a horrendous drain on the family budget, it would certainly be cheaper than paying rent. If she had a leased vehicle, maybe she could work part-time to help pay for it. My youngest had to do that. We were able to lease her a car for something like $120 a month (understandably, still a stretch). She got through school, and having the car made it easier for her to work part-time, plus she enjoyed the freedom of being able to get to and from everywhere whenever she needed to, which helped develop her sense of responsibility – had she fluffed off, the car would have disappeared and she wouldn’t have finished school at all.
It’s not a bad idea, BUT…she JUST got her license over Christmas and has not driven at all since then. It’s an hour plus drive to campus in RICHMOND….wait, listen? I can hear the fender bender now.
Plus, like I said, if I were going to spend the money on a leased vehicle, it would be ME getting the car. I bought current car in 2002, and that poor girl with her oil & transmission leaks, her pitiful wire hanger for an antenna, and no rear defrost won’t last much longer.
An hour away is way too far to commute, especially with a new license. It’s a tough situation all around. Hope it all works out for you and your daughter.
She might have found an option today…will know more tomorrow. #KeepingMyFingersCrossed
My fingers are crossed, too! Good luck!