<p>Since notifications are just coming in, and decisions may not be made until June, wonder how one goes about finding housing for grad programs.</p>
<p>Son has been in a dorm for the last four years, but wants to be in a one bedroom apartment for grad school. He'll also be going from the south to the north, so transportation/proximity is going to be a factor.</p>
<p>Just hearing from the undergrad off campus people, how they have to book their off campus apartments a year ahead of time, getting nervous about how we're going to find housing for son this late in the game.</p>
<p>One choice is in a college town, so I'm guessing housing will be tough, but another choice is in an urban area, where there will probably more choices, though probably more expensive for his particularities.</p>
<p>Any help with sites to go to, books to explore, to help on the housing search for grad school would be most appreciated.</p>
<p>Some schools have some limited housing for grad students (sometimes just nicer dorms, sometimes on-campus apartments), and some schools have services or forums or boards where grad students can find apartments. It really depends on the school.</p>
<p>Otherwise it is just like anyone else trying to find an apartment in a new town - craigslist, apartments.com, etc.</p>
<p>It just really depends on the area. I actually think the opposite - finding a one-bedroom apartment in a college town will probably be a cinch (I’m moving to a college town next year and found one in a week) but finding an affordable one-bedroom apartment in an urban area can be difficult. I don’t know if any of your son’s schools are in NYC, but I want to say that if they are, he should give up the idea of having a one-bedroom to himself unless you all have at least $1500/month to spend on rent. Ditto on DC and Boston, actually. Most graduate students in those cities share apartments with at least one - and sometimes 2-4 - other people.</p>
<p>I don’t think you have to book off-campus apartments a whole year in advance even in places where housing is tight. I just found in apartment in a college town I’m moving to for a postdoc, where apartments for the following fall start going in December and January. But the complex I was looking at catered to young professionals, and they didn’t even know their availability for August until April, although I was able to get on a waiting list. I went to see a bunch of other apartment complexes in late February and they seemed to have many openings. You can also find apartment shares and sublets on Craigslist, often late into the semester.</p>
<p>And in urban areas, there’s always housing - it doesn’t follow the academic year cycle so tightly. In NYC, you can’t even really looking for an apartment until 2 weeks before you’re willing to move in - landlords won’t take you seriously until then.</p>
<p>I would recommend not worrying about it until he’s gotten in somewhere and has decided where he wants to go. Then you can concentrate on a particular market. I currently live in NYC - an extremely tight market - and I’ve never heard of a grad student friend going homeless for lack of housing, so there are always options.</p>
<p>I’ve rarely heard of undergraduates in my area signing leases a year in advance. It’s not very secure for the landlord to depend on that lease to follow through a whole year later, and normally they don’t know that far in advance whether a tenant will be vacating for certain. What I think you might be referring to are landlords who own conveniently located properties right next door to campus and who rent exclusively to students of that college. I live near a prominent state school and see a lot of those properties that want to rent only to students, not working adults, but even those landlords don’t usually advertise their vacancies until 3-4 months in advance. The few posts I do see that are 9-12 months in advance tend to be posted over and over again, clearly not being filled. </p>
<p>I second Julliet - a one bedroom apartment may not be financially feasible in many northern cities. Renting an apartment in a multi-family home tends to be more affordable than renting in large complexes, but if you’re looking for the convenience of public transportation and a location near schools, shopping centers, etc., you’re going to pay for that convenience.</p>
<p>Studio apartments might be more affordable, but your son should at least consider the possibility of rooming with others in a shared house or 2-3 bedroom apartment to cut down on costs. </p>
<p>That being said, I also found my apartment in a week (took a new job and had to move very fast). I found it through craigslist. I’ve utilized that site frequently over the last 10 months while shopping around and deciding whether or not to renew my lease. When I saw a complex I was considering I would Google the property name and read tenant reviews. Your son might even see someone post on craigslist who is looking for a roommate in the same area and get to know some people via e-mail/phone before deciding what to do.</p>