With the college term coming to a fast paced close, both high school and college students may be looking for places to live next year, which obviously can bring a lot of stress when looking for housing. One of the most popular options for living while enrolled at Fanshawe is the Traditional Residence Suites the college has to offer. Now at first glance, the price for the eight month stay may baffle some people, averaging around $1,000 a month to stay in the extremely small, four bedroom, two bathroom units.
What most people looking for places to stay don’t realise, is the numerous amounts of activities the college offers for free. Only about a two minute walk away are fully available twenty-four-seven basketball courts and soccer fields, with rentable balls. In the lounge there are pool and ping pong tables offered, as well as foosball and shuffleboard. And if you’re looking for a quiet place to study, the residence offered study lounge is the perfect place to go for your studying needs. With all utilities included, such as high speed internet, air conditioning, heating, and refrigeration, it is somewhat understandable why it can cost you such a pretty penny.
Gym inside the Student Centre
But, with every advantage comes it’s disadvantages. In residence at Fanshawe, it can be very frustrating dealing with the living conditions. For example, if you are a student coming to Fanshawe with no roommates already set out, you could be stuck with randoms, which can be a difficult time if you’re shy. Another not-so great thing about living in residence is how trapped and claustrophobic you can get while living here. The rooms aren’t very big, and it can get very tight.
Fanshawe Resident Matt Ducharme says the he definitely regrets moving into residence at Fanshawe.
“It’s really small, four guys crammed into one room doesn’t work. It gets really messy. Also, the heating doesn’t work at all so it’s almost always freezing, chilly twenty-four-seven. It’s just not really a healthy environment, seeing as it is a bunch of college kids.”
Ducharm also added that he wishes he spent his hard earned money on a cheaper, bigger and more affordable place so he could have more cash for things he needs.
Another fault in the way residence at Fanshawe works is the fact that every student must fork up $1,250 dollars into their meal plan, even if they don’t like the cafeteria food. Many students would much rather purchase their own groceries and cook their meals themselves, but it proves difficult with only one stove on each floor, almost always occupied.
With all of this in mind, it’s pretty easy to see how expensive Fanshawe Residence really is. Most places for rent around the Fanshawe area can range from $300-$500 a month for the average four bedroom house, with a backyard and utilities included. Keeping in mind that Residence is more than double the cost, for only a few recreational advantages, it seems to be an astromical amount. Students can still use all of the recreational facilities Fanshawe offers, they just won’t be a two minute walk away. In conclusion, it’s a shame Fanshawe charges so much for mediocre at best living accomidations, as most college students could definitely use the extra $500 bucks a month.
If you’d like to check out a video report, including what the inside of the residence suites look like, you can view it here:
