You’re not crazy, jklo: when factoring in NU’s rates for housing and the amenities that come with them (on-site security, building laundry, RA/RD supervision, newer construction/upkeep, and the obvious location benefit), their rates are comparably below market.
I continue to be mesmerized by the anti-ACC, anti-new residence hall construction sentiment for NU among some on this forum, never mind NU alumni! Add up the number of students attending other Fenway neighborhood colleges and the net addition of on-campus housing they’ve constructed the last 25 years—compared to NU, they’ve got more students enrolled full-time on-site and have added fewer beds to their campuses. But somehow NU is the bad guy.
KentXie, come on man—you were an econ major! More housing supply—be it on campus, in the neighborhood, or across the region—is the only way housing rates will stabilize. Period. And in a country where students have options to attend private or public universities across a big range of the cost spectrum, it’s ridiculous to me that the high cost of living at NU or in Boston was some sort of surprise to any student and that they could act as though they didn’t make the choice to attend there. I like to think given the selectivity of Boston colleges nowadays that their students and their families take into account these high costs before making the decision to attend. I don’t complain about the cost of flights, limited hotel availability, and long line for Space Mountain when I go to Disney World on a Saturday during a holiday weekend: its reputation precedes it.