“I live in a triple because of its price,” Leah Bubeck, a freshman cinema and digital arts major, said.
The suites are a little pricier, but have a living room, equipped with a sofa, chair and entertainment stand. Having a kitchenette makes the suites more desirable than the dorms. To live in the suites during the fall and spring semester costs $3,290 per semester. However, the suite residents do not have to purchase the regular meal plan. Students can opt to have one of the commuter meal plans, which includes the 75 block plan with $125 Flex or 30 block plan with $175 Flex. The block meals are the set number of meals the student has for that semester, or they can choose to only get the $400 Flex commuter plan.
The new apartments cost more than the dorms but are fully equipped with a kitchen. A four bedroom apartment costs $3,700, a semester, or a six bedroom which costs $3,600, per semester. Students who choose to stay in the apartments do not have to purchase a meal plan.
Some choose to live off campus for convenience, or just because they prefer to have their own place.
Sophomore theater arts major Connie Castanzo said she wanted to have her own room, but she also decided to live in Oakland because as an acting major she would be closer to the Pittsburgh Playhouse, Point Park’s performing arts center.
However, living on campus has its advantages. Point Park is defined as a vertical campus, meaning that its buildings use their height to accommodate its classrooms and offices, making it easy not to have to go outside to get to class. The West Penn Building, the University Center and the Patterson building are the only buildings that have classrooms that are not conjoined to the rest of the university. These buildings are only about a block away from the heart of campus, and the apartments and suites are across the street. Also, there is no need to leave the campus to have breakfast, lunch or dinner. The cafeteria and café are both located in Lawrence Hall. The university also has a recreational center in the basement of Lawrence Hall.
