Lessons learned as 2nd year student. You’ll start getting emails and mailers in October of your freshman year to sign a lease for the next academic year. That’s right - almost a whole year early. They will come from both the University and their “approved” housing cohorts with headlines that will get your heart pumping at the prospect of not having a place to live for the following year. Don’t get in a hurry. There will be plenty of opportunities to save money later in the year. The monthly rates offered will go down and the fees will go away. Plus, you will have a chance to buy a discounted lease from some poor soul who signed one early and then decided to drop out or found a better opportunity. Just check out the listings on Craigslist and you’ll see what I mean. You see, in Philadelphia, a lease is a lease. You sign up for 12 months, you pay for 12 months even if you decide not to live in it. Some of the listings are offering leases for deeply discounted rates with the original lessee having to make up the difference between what you will pay and what they signed up for in their contract with the leasing company.
Soo… think long and hard before rushing into a commitment that you will regret when the new academic year begins. Regardless of what those emails say, there is no hurry to make a housing decision for next year. A lot of life happens between September of one year and September of the next year. Don’t get stuck with an expensive lease for a room that you can’t use.