I am on the program right now, and I just turned 21 two weeks ago. No matter what, if you are not 21 when you move in, you will be put in a wellness apartment. When you turn 21, if you want to move to a non-wellness, you have to apply for it. It could take a very long time for them to place you, and you do have to pay the $50 fee. You have to wait 3 weeks before you apply to move anyway. Most people--like me--don't move, because you will most likely have friends in non-wellness apartments that you can hang out with, and you can drink off property if you want. You just can't have the alcohol in your apartment.
My roommate is 19, and we aren't good friends at all...mostly because we have nothing in common and we haven't made any effort to be friends anyway. I was here 3 months before her, and I already had friends. She spends a lot of time on the phone with her mom and doesn't really do anything but work and sleep. Its a one bedroom, and I think its easier to just go elsewhere if I must drink..which isn't often at all. I didn't want to leave, because the 3rd floor of building 12 is my Florida family and certainly my home. I would have to move to the lesser complex if I wanted to find a non-wellness apartment. And the boys in the apartment across from mine are 21, so its not a journey if I want to drink.
I think it all depends on how much you really want to party in your own room. You have options if you just don't want to move. Otherwise, I know people that knew they wanted to move, so they just lived out of boxes and suitcases until they did. Its not a big deal either way.