I have two kids, one a freshman and one a junior and the junior is wanting to live off campus and was wondering what sites to use or hints/tips hen finding a place to stay
I assume being a Junior he likely knows about available nearby apartments and probably gets sent emails by them as well.
His/her friends likely know about available houses. The school’s office of res life might have listings as well.
Good luck.
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What school does the junior attend?
My first two moved off junior year and the next two moved off sophomore year (all different schools), saved money without a meal plan.
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I’m not clear which kid you are asking about- your title doesn’t seem to match your post.
If you are asking about a kid who is about to begin college as a freshman, our kid (also a high school senior) had a couple colleges on her short list that do not require all freshmen to live on campus, and many choose not to (40% at one school). that bothered her and was a big factor in her choosing a different school, which does in fact require 1st years to live on campus. I agree with my kid- the off campus freshmen thing felt a bit exclusive and I think everyone should have the experience of living in a dorm on campus for one year. incoming freshmen should not have the added stress of figuring out where they are going to live and it seems like it creates a greater division between the haves and the have-nots.
I realize there may be financial reasons for some kids to live off campus as freshmen. that’s a different issue and of course exceptions can be made, but it would be better for the college to find a way for them to afford the on-campus dorm for 1 year (and I suspect most do).
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I think this is very school dependent. Your student’s first step should be to talk to people he/she knows who currently live off campus.
As an aside if your child gets financial aid that covers room and board be sure you understand if/how an off campus move could impact that.
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Yep, I agree that all freshmen should live on campus for their first year. My freshman kid is wanting to live off campus for the first year but i am convincing them to stay on campus for at least one year.
oh - you wrote your junior is wanting to move off.
Freshman - guess you can google area housing - or tell them - dorm it or go elsewhere!!!
We were very clear with our kids. We paid for on campus housing only for the first two years…and then we would discuss off campus options. Since the bank of mom and dad wouldn’t pay for off campus housing those first two years, both lived on campus.
They both moved off campus junior year. They found their rentals by word of mouth.
D went to a school that required all four years on campus, but she & her roommate were approved to live off campus junior & senior years. That made it a little harder to find housing, since the rentals were not interested in renting to undergraduate students. They did manage to rent a great condo right off campus. They found it by looking at advertisements in the area of the school (bulletin boards, Craigslist, apartment websites, etc).
My D’s school has a list of off campus apartments linked to their housing page. But, she found her apartment by word of mouth in her junior year.
Same here. My d moved off campus (well, it was really right across the street from campus) her junior year. It was actually a university owned apartment complex…I guess you could say she lived in university owned housing all four years…
Our kids both lived in off campus housing…private owned…but they were right next to the campus. For DS, a parking lot separated him from the main campus building where he had classes, and for DD, she has to cross the street.
Both were happy to be off campus as juniors, but both did say that they really established friendships etc their first two years on campus…and that mattered.
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D looked at privately owned places, but this university-owned apartment complex was only a year old and was very nice. So, it was a lot newer and nicer then some of the privately owned places nearby. Plus, one thing we liked was that if one her roommates worked out, it wouldn’t affect D’s rent.
Both of mine took care of it themselves with friends/roommates, just sending me any necessary paperwork to sign. First time I saw them was when they moved in. Both are money conscious, especially the older one. Both had the places worked out in October before they moved in the following summer.
But I also think living on campus the first year is a really good idea of having the 4 year experience is important to the student.
This was in our kids’ leases. If someone moved out, they were not responsible for that persons share…AND the roommates had to find a replacement…the landlord could not just assign someone to their place.
That, and if they have full-year, or summer, internships, as Junior and Senior, then having a year-round (private) lease addresses the issue of “summer housing”.
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My D’s apartment which was just off campus was university owned and she had the option of signing a full year contract and could have stayed there in the summer if she wanted to. Plus if she signed up to stay in her same unit the next year, she could leave her stuff there over the summer. I had a co-worker whose daughter was at another school and she was able to stay in her sorority house for her summer job and summer school on campus. My D’s school actually had lots of summer housing and if you lived in upper class apartments you could stay in your housing all year. It does depend on the school and always worth checking
Some colleges do require frosh to live in college housing, often with exceptions for those already living nearby and/or non-traditional students. But that needs to be looked at for each specific college.
So true! At D’s school, when she was attending, they didn’t require freshman to live on campus, but they highly encouraged it. According to D, they’ve now changed the rules and all freshman are required to live on campus, unless they’re commuter students or non-traditional.