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POLL: New housing standards?

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Would you have attended FAU if all underclassmen had to reside within 20 miles of campus?

Yes, I would have lived on-campus.
Yes, I would have found a place somewhere near campus.
Nope, I would have gone somewhere else.

You must select between 1 and 10 options

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Curious what you guys thought of this idea:

FAU aspires to be a traditional university and it's no secret we'd like Boca Raton to be more of a college town. Despite our new Rec Center, football stadium, movie theater and other amenities, prospective students and the media still dog on as a commuter school. "I heard all the students go home on the nights and weekends. Is that true?" is the prevailing concern among many incoming FAU students.

Now, at traditional universities we see a lot of students living in town, especially near campus, and this creates the off-campus college community that so many students desire. The businesses know that students are around and thus cater to them more frequently.

But as you are well aware, FAU's main campus in Boca is situated along a major highway that grants students relatively easy access to off-campus housing (especially with their parents) to a number of adjacent cities, from as far north as West Palm to as far south as Davie. This creates a situation whereby students live far away from campus because it "saves them money" and they tend not to be active on campus at all. It makes sense to some people - say if your classes end at 2 pm while clubs or campus events are at 6 pm, you're probably going to go back home to Boynton and not drive back. Happens all the time.

This is a major roadblock for our growth and the situation is made possible because FAU's Housing rules state that all freshmen must live on campus unless:

"Exemptions from this policy are made for students who:
Are 21 or older by the first day of class
Reside with parent(s) or legal guardian(s) within a 50-mile radius of the Boca Raton campus."


Now, 50 miles seems excessive to me. Who drives 40-50 miles a day to attend UF? FSU? Nebraska? Michigan? Ohio State? Very few people.

I don't know why we do this to ourselves. If students want to come here, they'd find housing. If they didn't want to come here because of the housing rule, there would be plenty of other people who would. Is it an inconvenience? It's not any more of an inconvenience than living in Boca for high school and having to find an apartment in Gainesville when you got into UF. That's just what happens when a university establishes a precedent like that. "This is where we are, come to us."

So I'm thinking the rule should be changed to,

"All underclassmen must live within 20 miles of campus unless over the age of 21 or married."

Pros: More students living near the university, more demand for on-campus housing, more student complexes being built near campus, more Boca businesses catering to college students, more activity on campus.

Cons: Potential drop-off in enrollment (we have more applicants than spots anyway - our freshman admittance rate was ~35%).

What say you? If that was the situation, would you have still attended FAU?
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Re: POLL: New housing standards?

50 miles is pretty far but they probably use that as a good round number? I think there needs to be more on campus housing as well as more CHEAP places to live around Boca. Single rooms as well, nobody wants to have a roommate any more. What we need is a like, one main strip of bars, restraunts, stores etc that aimed at college kids. Make it close to school and add housing around that and things would change quickly...but where could that go? 20th st?
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Re: POLL: New housing standards?

I lived within 20 miles, then evenetually on the campus because ti was a lot easier to deal with getting to 8:00 am classes…of course, having a private room was essential after two semesters of bunk bedding it!  ;D

And what a BIG difference that makes…..

Back then it was only 1/2 the other share on top of a full share…not sure what it is (if they even do it) now…….
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Re: POLL: New housing standards?

Heck, I am trying to move on campus now and I'm not even a student or of appropriate age  ;D

I think this is just another step in the right direction towards becoming a traditional university which is thier goal.

Campus is a lot different than when I lived there (for the better) and I had the time of my life.  Any guy that compalins about it needs to realize that besides an Assisted Living Facility down the road the dorms will be his one chance to live in co-ed housing…you cant put a price tag on that.  ;D

Teambeer is the most knowledgeable FAU sports fan I know, way smarter than me.
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Re: POLL: New housing standards?

POLL: New housing standards?

Shoot, I was hoping I could live in IVA since I work here now,lol..j/k…kinda. Anyways, if you get involved on campus then you are going to find stuff to do. But if you sit in your room and play Xbox all day and don't get involved (greek life, clubs, working out at the rec center) don't complain that there's nothing to do on the weekends.

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Re: POLL: New housing standards?

I'd love to live on campus again. I lived in Modoc and that doesn't even exist anymore. It was a crap hole but I loved it. The women on campus were incredible back then, I can only imagine how it is now. FAU = Fine A$$ University.

There's a pool with lounge chairs outside of your dorm room! The pool at IV is nicer than the one in my development! If you're into working out, that gym is really nice also

My two favorite teams are FAU, and who ever is beating FIU!
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Re: POLL: New housing standards?

Jab979 said

The women on campus were incredible back then, I can only imagine how it is now. FAU = Fine A$$ University.

It's good thing yor lady friend is not on this forum, or you would be in deep doo-doo after a statement like that pal!

;D
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Re: POLL: New housing standards?

To be clear: this is my proposal, not something FAU has officially instituted. I am going to bring it up to President Saunders and see what her take is on it, although I fully expect a "so nice to see alumni staying involved" and "we'll vet this through some committee and never talk about it again. Don't forget to donate!"

FAUfasho said

I think there needs to be more on campus housing as well as more CHEAP places to live around Boca.

I'm with you on that 100%.

The problem there is that "cheap" to college students usually means $250-$400 a month for them to live there (I paid $809 for a three bedroom in Gainesville… but that place was 15-20 years old). However, more places would have to be built to handle these students and newer developments are going to charge (at least) double that to cover their financial commitments and make a profit. I'm surprised (yet happy) that Addison Park was a success with their asinine prices. If there were several other student complexes built in the area, the rent there would fall to stay competitive.

The ironic thing is that students view $400 for a one bedroom rent as cheap but $1200 for a three bedroom sounds excessive when really it's the same thing… it just sounds worse to say the rent is over a thousand dollars a month.

FAUfasho said

Single rooms as well, nobody wants to have a roommate any more.

Then your prices go up for single bedrooms because no one wants to waste so much potential space on single bedrooms. A lot of complexes offer mixes but from a profit standpoint, why own 50 single units bringing in $800 a month when you can own 100 doubles each bringing in $1000 a month?

FAUfasho said

What we need is a like, one main strip of bars, restraunts, stores etc that aimed at college kids.

We had a fantastic opportunity to do just this and FAU botched it by giving it away to a developer. Now we have University Commons, which has almost nothing to do with FAU. It's absolutely unacceptable and I'm disappointed more people in the FAU administration aren't focusing on this issue.

FAUfasho said

Make it close to school and add housing around that and things would change quickly…but where could that go? 20th st?

I've thought about this extensively, actually. The obvious choice would be Glades Road across from campus. The problem there is do you really want to take responsibility for hordes of drunk kids stumbling into traffic across the 6 (7? 8?) lane Glades Road at 2 am? That's the safety issue to consider. I suppose we could build a crossover or a tunnel underneath but that would probably create more problems than it solves.

20th street is a great option and I'd like to see more and more college businesses pop up there. So far we have the gas station and Go Greek store catering to college students, and NaKava to an extent. There's so much potential there on 20th street, with several properties for lease and everything else. I'm hoping it's only a matter of time.

I'm also hoping that students would be willing to walk from the dorms down to 20th street to go out. You're talking about the same students that call NightOwls to get them from HPT to the Cafe.
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Re: POLL: New housing standards?

I want to open a restraunt/bar thing..maybe called it…The Owls Nest or something  ;D that would be all about FAU and 20th st is where I'd put it.
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Re: POLL: New housing standards?

Rick said

Jab979 said

The women on campus were incredible back then, I can only imagine how it is now. FAU = Fine A$$ University.

It's good thing yor lady friend is not on this forum, or you would be in deep doo-doo after a statement like that pal!

;D

Haha! You're telling me. She doesn't have to know  ;)  :-X

My two favorite teams are FAU, and who ever is beating FIU!
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