American Campus Communities: The Value of Close-to-Campus Living

With fall classes just around the corner, it’s never too early for students and parents alike to start thinking about and preparing for the much-anticipated moment of college move-in day. 

College is a journey that should be enjoyed and remembered. It is a time when students will both strive for academic success and experience personal growth, and a time when parents should be beaming with pride that they’ve helped their children reach such an important milestone. To make the most out of these glory days, choosing the best accommodations is a top factor. 

At American Campus Communities, we are constantly listening, improving, and providing the comfortable and convenient living communities for students to thrive during their college days. It all starts with having access to quality student housing on or very close to campus.

We Create Communities for Today's Students

As long term owners and operators of our communities, we have a vested interest in ensuring affordability in academically-oriented student living communities. We hold our university relationships and partnerships in high esteem and work to ensure we are supporting their academic mission whether we are in a formal partnership (on-campus) or an informal relationship (off-campus). Universities across the nation engage us to plan, develop and manage residential communities unique to their student bodies because we are able to do it economically and efficiently. 

Due to the population growth of today’s generation of students, there are more enrollees in college than ever before. This has caused demand for more student housing and American Campus Communities is able to provide updated, new supply at competitive prices to meet that demand. With housing demand comes students’ demand for a different type of community experience. In fact, our 2018 Spring Living Survey with more than 10,000 respondents tells us that 59% of students felt housing was an important factor in their university selection. And, when we asked residents in our 2018 Fall Feedback Yak Survey about using amenities where they live, more than 80% of ACC student residents say they use social and recreation amenities several times a month, and more than 60% of the respondents use the Academic Success Center and with over 85% feel they can be academically successful at an ACC community. 

ACC: Where Students Love Living

Students have their own individual preferences, so student housing should not have to be a one size fits all formula. Today’s students live differently, study differently and socialize differently from yesterday’s generations. That’s why we are constantly evolving to accommodate their needs. We offer a variety of units and living accommodations dedicated to creating communities where students love living, at a great value. Our inclusive communities are designed to offer an array of floor plans and price points to accommodate most privacy expectations and budgets. Our goal is to give students a residential experience focused on academic success and personal growth, all within walking distance to campus. Our amenities typically include Academic Success Centers, and fitness centers for health and wellness. Anecdotally, our residents are a direct representation of the diversity of the University’s student body.

Top Tips to Ensure You are Getting the Best Value

• Understand there are different accommodation types for students at each stage within their college journey. Student housing is not one size fits all. There is typically a first-year residence hall product and often a distinct sophomore community as well. There are upperclassmen apartments, and graduate communities. 
• Look for communities vs. rental properties that have no staff. In some markets “affordable” comparisons are flawed when compared to off-campus, absentee-landlord rental houses. Often these accommodations are leased at an illegal density and not adequately maintained. There are no paraprofessional staff or focus on student success. These are not communities that support academic success and many can be far from campus without efficient or direct transportation options.
• Make sure you do an apples to apples when comparing the effective monthly rental rate. Instead, we have seen the total rent paid over the entire 12-month term compared to the total rent paid for a 9-month term. This approach is not an “apples to apples” comparison because it does not take into account the value of three additional months of accommodation. Plus, the inclusion or exclusion of food service, utilities, furniture, and other services to reflect actual housing costs are factors that must be considered. 

ACC Provides a Variety of Affordable Options

We are able to engage with universities across the nation to plan, develop, and manage residential communities in an economically efficient way. Here is how ACC stacks up in comparison to other residential options:

• $760 - our average monthly nationwide rent per bed (with a majority of these being private units)
• $757 - the average on-campus pricing for shared accommodation in older buildings with a median age exceeding 50 years ($966 for a private bed)

For many ACC residents, all utilities (cable TV, internet, gas, water, and trash) except electricity are already included in the rental installment. It’s one less thing to worry about. 

We Offer Even More Value with Access to Amenities and Programs

Each ACC property has a community center containing different amenities that students can share and use. Community Assistants get creative and plan a variety of resident events throughout the year for residents to enjoy! 

We Want to Hear from You!

Our ACC team members are ready to answer any questions, schedule a visit and learn more about your housing needs and interests. Connect with us at https://www.americancampus.com/contact-us.