As a freshman here at Millikin, I’ve noticed a lot of my classmates are unsure of most things regarding the Woods, “the only certified off campus apartments that fulfill Millikin University’s on campus living requirement” according to the Woods website. And to be completely honest, I was incredibly confused myself. Rumors are constantly being spread across campus regarding the Woods. Whether those rumors are about how much more expensive the Woods is compared to the dorms, or whether those rumors are about whether there is certain requirements students must reach in order to live at the Woods, I wanted to finally get to the bottom of everything. I tried to ease my concern by looking at the Woods website, as well, I talked to a few upperclassmen living at the Woods, yet even after all that I still needed to uncover a few worries I had.
To commence my journey in finding answers, I contacted Edwin Sargent “Sarge”, the Property Manager at the Woods. Sarge politely replied to my email and directed me towards the Office of Residence Life so my questions could be more thoroughly answered. Thus, I met with Paul Lidy, the Director of Residence Life.
I began by asking him if the rumors were true; Does living at the Woods really cost more than living in Residence Halls? Lidy responded to my question by saying, no, in fact living at the Woods is a little bit cheaper than living in a Residence Hall. The total amount of money it costs (including room rate, board plan, and utilities) to live at the average Residence Hall comes to $10,890, while living at the Woods costs an estimated $10,416. Yet many people find this discomforting. Many say they could spend much less money by living in on off campus house or apartment. For example, Caitlin Husted, senior here at Millikin, lives off campus and shared with me how much it costs her. “For me, I have a $365.00 rent every month along with around $150.00 of groceries and around $50.00 of utilities, that’s a total of $565.00, which is cheaper than the $700+ that the Woods charges just for rent.”
It is obviously true; living off campus is much less expensive than living in a Residence Hall or in the Woods. However, as Lidy spoke, he mentioned why Millikin only allows Sophomores to live in the Woods or in a Fraternity or Sorority. Lidy stated that the idea of the Woods is to create safe housing for students. Not only does the Woods offer this in the fact that it’s a gated community, but it supplies round-the-clock security. As well, the Woods is a place for students to transition into living completely off campus if they choose to. Lidy has seen time after time again as students who lived off campus run into complications that even run them into court and put them in much more trouble than they’d get while living on campus.