It was a tragic day for the Dupont Circle community in Washington, D.C., last month when Georgetown University graduate Nina Brekelmans perished in a fatal fire at her off-campus apartment. That marked one of four fatal off-campus fires at U.S. colleges in the 2014-2015 academic year. The others were in Bowling Green, Ky.; Mitchell, S.D.; and Reading, Pa.

Students attending U.S. colleges invest an average of $42,419 per year for private universities and $18,943 for public institutions. American university and college students and their families bank on a quality education, but less considered is the safety of the housing that students spend countless hours studying, sleeping and eating in.

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