UT student housing for lower-income students?

[Brisketexan 105,142]

So, we have dear family friends whose granddaughter is at UT, heading into her sophomore year this coming fall.  She's a scholarship kid (she's both gifted and her parents don't have much money).  She (naively, I think) signed up for on-campus housing for next year, expecting that was where she'd live (it's a good bargain).  Of course, the answer was "yeah, there's lots of demand, so after all the freshmen pick, you are on the waitlist if there's anything left over."  She was much surprised by this (again, let's leave that for now - I genuinely don't understand how clueless some people can be, but it's not unique to her).

In any case, she just realized this a week ago or so when she checked on her status with UT, so now she's freaking out about where she can live (apartments are super expensive, all that).  In the IMMEDIATE term, there are several of us with whom she can live if need be, so I told her family that they have a backstop, and she won't have to bail on next semester: she can and must stay in school, she will have a place to live.  But of course, that's far from ideal.

So, in thinking about low-cost options, I told them to look at the various coops (21st, Taos, etc.).  Looks like there's still some vacancy in one or two.  But does anyone here know of any OTHER low-cost, dorm-like options for students on a limited housing budget?  Just trying to information gather, as the last time I lived in any sort of student housing was in a year with a 90 in it.

[Celery Man 20,950]

I'm so curious what the answer here is now. I'm remembering how cheaply I was able to live at Riverside/Campus Estates one summer, and then the house across from Maria's Taco Xpress where I lived with 6 other guys and paid $300/mo for the "bedroom" off the kitchen. But 15 years ago might as well be a million years ago. Can you find that somewhere if you head east on MLK? 

Edited July 3, 2023 by Celery Man

[conVINCEd 21,469]

Sounds like she needs to find a sugar daddy to put her up in a place downtown.

[gmr548 16,580]

It's been about ten years since I was in school but there were several student housing complexes off Riverside that were much cheaper than living in West Campus. I imagine those are pricier than they were in the early 2010's, but still much cheaper than the areas immediately surrounding campus. There was a UT Riverside shuttle for easy campus access without having to have a car. Splitting a three- or four-bedroom unit at one of those places (I think you can lease individually and then be assigned roommates, not unlike a dorm) was a good way to keep housing costs very low in my day.

[Celery Man 20,950]

I think that the Oracle campus probably fucked Riverside for student housing, but I don't actually know if that's true.

[nbmishoid 949]

Maybe a motel in Killeen.

[dcbc 14,484]

For what it's worth, I saw on a Reddit thread that those places on Riverside that are like dorm room rentals are awful. 

Edited July 10, 2023 by dcbc

[Longhornfan1024 1,707]

She should consider contacting UT housing for help.  They also have a tool here: https://housing.offcampus.utexas.edu/listing?gclid=EAIaIQobChMItcaqr8SEgAMVK3tMCh2BWw-sEAAYAyAAEgKx3_D_BwE.

[boilerhorn 1,380]

I've had 4 kids go through UT over the past decade and I am fairly certain there are near zero low-cost options near campus these days.  And perhaps none that are far from campus AND where you'd feel comfortable letting your 18 year old daughter live.

Moore-Hill - one of the "lesser" dorms on campus is now $13k per year for a double and San Jac is up to $16.5k.  Both are up considerably over the past few years.

W/ child #1, we considered buying a 2/2 condo in N campus.  Kid would have lived in 1 BR and rented the other to a friend.  declined to do so at the time.  In hindsight, we could have done that, lost $10k in value per year of occupancy, and still ended up ahead.  Instead, I was just out the $$ for housing.

This does not solve the low-income person's problem, but indicates how real estate near UT Austin (or any other high demand college) will retain its value or appreciate.

[BurntOrange&White 39,933]

On 7/3/2023 at 12:27 PM, Brisketexan said:

So, we have dear family friends whose granddaughter is at UT, heading into her sophomore year this coming fall.  She's a scholarship kid (she's both gifted and her parents don't have much money).  She (naively, I think) signed up for on-campus housing for next year, expecting that was where she'd live (it's a good bargain).  Of course, the answer was "yeah, there's lots of demand, so after all the freshmen pick, you are on the waitlist if there's anything left over."  She was much surprised by this (again, let's leave that for now - I genuinely don't understand how clueless some people can be, but it's not unique to her).

In any case, she just realized this a week ago or so when she checked on her status with UT, so now she's freaking out about where she can live (apartments are super expensive, all that).  In the IMMEDIATE term, there are several of us with whom she can live if need be, so I told her family that they have a backstop, and she won't have to bail on next semester: she can and must stay in school, she will have a place to live.  But of course, that's far from ideal.

So, in thinking about low-cost options, I told them to look at the various coops (21st, Taos, etc.).  Looks like there's still some vacancy in one or two.  But does anyone here know of any OTHER low-cost, dorm-like options for students on a limited housing budget?  Just trying to information gather, as the last time I lived in any sort of student housing was in a year with a 90 in it.

Is she a first generation college student? I was very ignorant because none of my parents graduated high school and I pretty much had to learn the process on my own 

[gmr548 16,580]

For what it's worth, I saw on a Reddit thread that those places on Riverside that are like dorm room rentals are awful. 

They were no worse than similarly aged student housing complexes in west campus. That product is pretty cookie cutter. The newer ones have a lot of bells and whistles to command higher rents though.

[dcbc 14,484]

44 minutes ago, gmr548 said:

They were no worse than similarly aged student housing complexes in west campus. That product is pretty cookie cutter. The newer ones have a lot of bells and whistles to command higher rents though.

The complaints I read were that it seemed fine, and the people seemed nice when you were looking at them, but once you signed the lease and moved in, maintenance issues raised by the occupants largely were ignored.  But I don't have any personal experience with it.

Edited July 11, 2023 by dcbc