OP, if you can parse through all the silliness that has swirled around my original answer to your post, I simply wanted to offer you my perspective as someone who 1) teaches at a university and lives in a university town, 2) has a child in college currently. I was really only trying to give a counterpoint to the "dorms are cheap and good for them!" chorus. Every university and town is different, and of course you and your daughter know that situation better than anyone here. As I pointed out, in our smallish town dominated by the large state school, for instance, dorm rooms with no kitchen (=eating expensive meals out a lot) go for 2x the price of rent with a roommate. Add to that the other things I mentioned, such as having to put a large chunk of money into the food fund that can only be used for eating at the many chain restaurants and few overpriced cafeterias on campus, and it's quite un-mustachian. In our town as well, thanks to suburban sprawl and poor city planning it would be difficult and frankly unsafe to bike to any of the major grocery stores, and although some would like to think that biking everywhere is the penultimate answer to everything, it simply isn't practical in some instances. Since you have said that you are interested in paying for your child's expenses, I am not sure why some here would so quickly poo-poo the thought of buying a condo and selling it (which MANY parents do in our town, it's not at all uncommon) and therefore saving a significant amount of money on room and board over 4 years. I definitely understand the appeal of flexibility that comes with renting, and of being on campus if they are far from home and not familiar with the town.
Also, contrary to the insinuations of some posters, I don't think that having some degree of apprehension about regularly walking long distances across campus alone at night as a woman means you are being "paranoid" or have been "indoctrinated". This is the reality that every woman you know lives with their entire life. Just ask them! #metoo I'm not saying we should live in plastic bubbles or walk around terrified all the time, but it is something to reasonably consider when selecting housing.
Thank you pegleglolita! I appreciate your comments and thoughts on the matter. As I have mentioned elsewhere, it has become clear to me that a large contingent of Mustacian strongly believe that providing too much help to anyone actually hurts them. Obviously there is some truth to that, however, I suspect many of the respondents (not all) are simply reflecting on their own path in life, on their own hardship(s) and believe that the appropriate way forward is one that is similar to what they experienced and lived through. Interestingly enough in some ways my desire for my children is based out of life experience as well. My parents paid for my college and I graduated with an advanced degree with no debt. I cannot tell you how grateful I am to my parents for this gift. My desire is to give my children the same gift. Again, as stated elsewhere, the desire is not absolute and depends on behavior and many other factors.
As for the financial aspects of purchasing a condo, it is clear to me that financially it is the least expensive way to pay for her housing (except her living at home). Dorms are expensive and so are apartments! Maybe you can save money by moving into a house with 4+ roommates, but most of these are in not-the-nicest-neighborhoods. Can things go wrong? Of course! For me the money works out even if there is no roommate, she decides the needs a different place to live (unlikely, this is a nice place and she knows it), she decides she must attend another college, etc. Many things can happen, the truth is the condo would also be a diversification investment for me. The only way I can see loosing money is the housing market collapses and for some reason my finances have changed and I have to sell. Could that happen?
Yes. Could something happen I did not consider?
Yes. Finally (as you mentioned yourself), it is not that unusual a move for parents in this town.
Of course, the other issue is that if I purchase a place for my daughter to live in I will have scarred her by not letting her character developed properly (she will be spoiled, etc.). We will have to make the judgement call as parents based on what we observe. I can assure you though she has taken some hard knocks in this world already and I am not a helicopter dad. Not that anyone should misunderstand... she does at times drive me up the wall and I most definitely do not agree with all her choices. The joys and anxieties of being a parent.
Would she do better in a dorm academically? Obviously I do not know and will likely never know, but I doubt it for many reasons. Interestingly I know of parents who purchased a place for their son because he was struggling academically in the dorms and moving him into his "own" place helped enormously. The exception does not make the rule, but I am not convinced it is the exception. I know of at least one person (son of a good friend of mine) that is thriving in a dorm environment.
I must thank you for bringing up the safety aspect of all this. Franky, I confess, I did not think of that much (my ignorance as a guy). The condo is in a gated community and even though there are no guarantees in life and nothing is completely safe, every bit helps.