Colorado Mesa University students will have two cheaper options in the selection of on campus housing next semester.
Residence halls Tolman and Rait will drop by 4-10 percent in price to better help students who may struggle with income. Current housing at CMU costs around $4,700 to $8,060 per year.
The prices could help students low and middle income families, who cannot afford the price of a college education.
“There are low-income students who are price-sensitive, and we’re certainly trying to make it affordable for them,” Foster said to the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel. “But there are also middle-income students who are price-sensitive and are going to [see that with] that kind of a reduction you can live in this residence hall, on the same campus and get the same meal plan. And then there are high-income parents who are going to do the same thing.”
“There are low-income students who will end up in the most expensive hall on campus,” Foster said. “So it really is incumbent upon us to say to students who are thoughtful about balancing things out and want to have a less expensive option that we can provide that for them.”
For students around campus, hearing about less experience prices on housing is an important detail for current and incoming students.
“Cheaper living on campus is a big deal because it will all around lessen the stress associated with the college experience,” CMU freshman Jake Condill said. “Living on campus helps me better focus my efforts on school and create an atmosphere of hard work and dedication that can go a long way.”
“With the cost of living being dropped, it will be a lot easier to pick which dorm or apartment really suits me best since there isn’t as much a worry about pricing anymore,” CMU freshman Reece Reedy said.
Reedy went on to say that on campus housing also means students are closer to the classroom and will not be late to class.
“Living on campus is almost essential for first year students because getting to class on time is a big part of college and by living on campus, the travel time to class is at most five minutes,” Reedy said. “However if I lived off campus I would’ve been late to about every class.”
CMU could cost a student as little as $1,000 out of pocket because of the reduction of housing as well as grant money, subsidized student loans and institutional aid.
“Reducing the cost of living would be beneficial to students financially,” CMU freshman Travis McClure said. “Living on campus has been a big part of my success here and I hope to continue the lifestyle.”
Bryce Reedy contributed to this article.
