<p>Well I very well might be transferring to Pitt next year as a sophomore. Of course, the thing is I know that on campus housing isn't guaranteed for transfers, and it's pretty pricey anyway. If worse comes to worse, there's always that safety net of commuting, since I only live about 7 miles south of Pitt, and could use public trans</p>
<p>But living off campus seems like it may be my best bet... only thing is, I don't know when to start looking for places? I hear they fill up pretty quick... also, if I can't get in on an apartment with people I know, don't they have some kind of deal where they can hook you up with a roommate (or roommates)? I say the more the merrier.. mostly because it will be cheaper. If anyone has experience with this thing, let me know and I'd appreciate it.</p>
<p>Living on campus would be best for you, because it’s more fun and less hassle. Apply for the on-campus housing, and you might be pleasantly surprised.</p>
<p>My daughter moved off campus this year (she’s a senior), and sometimes she has to wait a half hour for her bus. That’s okay now, but it will be worse when it’s cold and dark or snowing.</p>
<p>But anyway, Panther Central can help you. You can call or just go into the office. Here’s the Panther Central listing of apartments in the area. </p>
<p>Also, there are a couple of threads here in the Pitt section that talk about safety, etc. You can search for off-campus housing, and they will come up. You can PM me if you want more info. Best of luck!</p>
<p>My daughter, a sophomore, is in an on-campus apartment with two young women she did not know before, and it seems to be working well. I am trying to encourage her to continue the on-campus apartment arrangement for junior and senior years, but I am not having a lot of luck.</p>
<p>It seems like the earlier you look for arrangements, the better.</p>
<p>Seniors don’t get on-campus housing, MD Mom, as far as I know. Three years of guaranteed housing is all that’s given, until Pitt gets those new dorms built.</p>
<p>And I agree that the earlier you look, the better. Signing a lease in February or March for the following August would be considered early. But when I was moving my daughter into her apartment in August, there was a sign outside her building that said Apartments Available.</p>
<p>Lurkness–I was hoping for off-campus, university owned/managed apartments. Do you know whether seniors can get into those? DD really wants to move off campus and I don’t really care, I just want her to be in a safe place that isn’t too far. I know that she is investigating.</p>
<p>For this year, the application window for off-campus apartments was 1 day. I noticed they opened it up for applications and then it was closed the next day. You gotta be quick plus there is no guarantee you will get an apartment even if you get your application in. From what I understand, current residents can renew their leases and you might not find out until late (so you will lose your chance on getting the better apartments from private landlords).</p>
<p>Seems like a pain… thankfully, I do have a friend that’s a sophomore at Pitt who said he’d let me in on an apartment with him and some of his friends, as long as they can find one. I guess we’ll see… another issue with on campus housing, aside from the fact it’s not guaranteed, is that it’s pretty expensive, am I right? Room & board is about 9-10k/year, don’t know what all the housing rates are, im sure they vary too.</p>
<p>Pitt’s on-campus housing is a bit expensive, given the cost of rents in the area, but the convenience and security make it worth the cost, in my opinion. By the time you factor in paying for cable, electricity, heat and A/C (in some cases), and the time in commuting back and forth to campus, Pitt’s dorms are a great deal.</p>
<p>According to the article, those 148 students handed in their housing contracts late. So it’s pretty nice of Pitt to make room for them. But Pitt does need more housing. I’m sure some seniors would opt to live on campus if given the option.</p>
<p>On campus housing is nice, os if you’re trying to get it you should go for either Bruce Hall, Panther hall, PA hall, brackenridge, or mccormick. bouquet gardens is also nice but very expensive and competeetive to get into. if you’re looking for a house or apartment, south oakland is your best bet. s. bouqet street, oakland ave, mckee place, myren, and atwood streets are pretty much all students and are right next to lower campus off of forbes avenue. start looking to lease now and definitely use panther central or facebook or this website to find roommates</p>
<p>Housing off campus is just as great. Alot of the off campus housing is great. Many of the off campus housing or majority can be misleading from outside pictures. But then again most the housing off campus are just older homes but look great inside and have been renovated very nice. I spent the summer looking at some 20 apartment/houses and majority of them you could of never judged based on the outside looks.</p>
<p>I guess if you want to save money and don’t mind not being with a huge group of fellow students off campus is perfect and you really save money. On campus housing is also great if your looking to meet new people and don’t mind spending more money. If you do look into off campus your best bet is to look early come February because the off campus houses go fast to fellow students who are looking to room with 2-4 other friends and have a actual living space. There are advantages to both. No matter where you pick walking distances doesn’t matter because off campus housing is basically on campus and classes are scattered everywhere. Hope this helps you some, again I may be biased but going from on campus to off campus housing I feel off campus is better… especially once your familiar with the area.</p>