"The price comes out to be almost exactly what we paid in the house," says Rachel S. Lewis "92, who moved off-campus from Currier House with boyfriend Kurt G. Strovink '92 in September.

And even students who admit to paying more say living off-campus is worth it.

"I knew before I moved that it would be a little bit more expensive to live off-campus," says Gabriella C. Petschek '92, who moved from Lowell House to an apartment behind the Radcliffe Quadrangle at the beginning of her senior year.

"But it teaches you a lot about responsibility because you really have to think: am I going to make ends meet?" she adds.

Bull says he and his current roommate probably would not have moved off-campus is they had not found their current apartment.

They live in a University-owned building right above Gnomon Copy and the Ultimate Bagle Company on Mass. Ave., with twin. six-foot windows overlooking the Yard.

But even though Harvard owns the apartment, the cost of living smack in the center of the Square runs significantly higher than living on-campus. Bull and his roommate each pay about $540 per month for rent.

By contrast, rooming in the houses costs $2900 per year, according to the 1991-92 Handbook for Students--or about $3.60 per month.

"It's more money living off-campus, but it's worth it," says Bull.

The Benefits

So what exactly makes life off-campus so appealing to those 3 percent who choose to move out of the houses?

For one thing, non-resident students point out that apartment life offers much greater freedom than house life. Petschek says her escape the many rules and regulations which go hand-in-hand with living in a house.

"A room is a room. It's just the atmosphere...you can do whatever you want with [your apartment]," says Petschek.

Petschek lives alone and says this allows her to pursue her hobby, painting.

"Sometimes I want to go home and relax, put the phone off the hook, but you can't do that with roommates," says Petschek.