Unless he was planning to take up employment in the same location as the university it would be sensible to live in rented accommodation rather that buy a property for a few years and then have the hassle of selling.Now if you were doing a PhD and owned your house I might be more impressed.
And not all renters are dim witts, for some people renting is the better option due to the financial implications that come with owning a business that could fail overnight. A grower of tomatoes lost his business when a hail storm destroyed the green houses and the crop that had already been sold. By renting his home he did not lose it in the resultant financial disaster.