<p>My sense of time has always lagged behind the norm, but never to this degree. I was admitted and paid the acceptance fee to the Ohio State University, but I always found it interesting how late I was supposed to get the housing information. Turns out I never filled out the form, and they're apparently "all full." I am a freshman, which just magnifies the badness of the situation. Has anyone been in this situation before? I know that off-campus housing is an option, but combining the proximity to the time when school starts and the lack of willing roommates (currently), that may well not pan out. Do I wait a semester and go to community college? Do I wait a quarter somehow and try for on-campus housing at OSU again? Any and all information and anecdotes would be greatly appreciated, because this sucks.</p>
<p>Just find an upperclassman who had leased an apartment off campus and wants to break it now for whatever reason (transferring, found a better place etc) and take over the lease.</p>
<p>Eh bad things happen sometimes. You just gotta get past them. </p>
<p>Actually I would think a lot of places having some openings or something. There’s usually ppl who are studying abroad or something. If OSU is a huge school then something should be open. You prolly have to stay in it for the year though. Just now starting calling up people you know who are going there and ask around. Also try on craiglist and etc. etc. Email as many people as you can. You’ll find something soon. Good luck.</p>
<p>Are you on a wait list? I would try like hell to find someplace off campus and stay on the wait list until something opens up, something ought to.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Call the housing department and ask them where people are likely to post ads when they want roommates. See whether there is someone who can help you find such ads before you arrive on campus.</p></li>
<li><p>Check craigslist. Leave an ad yourself.</p></li>
<li><p>Look for ads in any local newspapers or any apartment-finder sites that you can find online.</p></li>
<li><p>In the worst case, call the registrar to see when you have to make a firm decision about withdrawing for the semester depending on how much money you need back, see whether you can borrow or rent a car and go to school with enough money to spend a couple of nights in the cheapest motel you can commute from. (Or stay in the car: if you have access to gym facilities you will have access to a shower.) Drive around the neighborhoods that are as far from campus as you can commute from, using your car if you have one or city public transit or campus shuttles if you don’t, and look for buildings with signs advertising apartments for rent. Go to wherever students can post flyers on campus and look for any advertising the need for a roommate. Post your own flyer advertising your need for a room. I don’t know how much this sort of thing is done any longer – this is how it was done when I was first on college campuses – but it should at least be an option you can consider if nothing else works.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>And keep in mind that anyone you get a room from this late in the game is going to also be feeling the pressure to find someone to stay in that room. Consider negotiating for a lower rent, or for a 10-month lease instead of a lease that requires you to pay rent all summer (unless you are planning to stay there next summer).</p>
<p>Good luck. If I were in your position at your age I would be really freaking out. If I were in your position at my age I would not be freaking out nearly as much – I’ve just seen this sort of thing work out too many times. And I am the sort of person who freaks out when I don’t know what to expect, so that’s saying something.</p>