<p>DS is beginning/considering looking for off-campus housing for junior year. </p>
<p>Any advice on landlords/properties to seek out or especially avoid?</p>
<p>Has he decided against living in the dorm? (I know you had mentioned he was strongly considering this as an option.) From my D’s research so far, she has concluded that Pam Johnson properties are ones to avoid. Colllegetown can really vary in price and is overall more expensive but is at the heart of the action. Also, there are quieter options on West if that is preferred. It’s so hard to watch them make decisions so soon that will lock them into leases that ultimately may not be right for them - a lot can change between now and next year. For her, there has been drama over the whole process. That’s as far as she has gotten with the whole thing. Any advice would also be appreciated.</p>
<p>Word on campus is that if he waits for the housing lottery, he’ll be screwed if he doesn’t get in to the dorm, because there won’t be anywhere left off-campus. So he’s feeling pressured into finding something off-campus now “while he still can”.</p>
<p>So the question is, who does live in the dorms then if everyone is moving off campus and how were the ones that still live in the dorms so confident to take their chances before signing a lease? There are so many variables - price, location, who to live with…</p>
<p>I think I want to live in a West Campus apartment. Don’t want to be around the drunk people in Collegetown, but I don’t want a West Campus dorm because there’s no cable or clean bathrooms. Does anyone have a recommendation?</p>
<p>Campus Hill apartments are relatively nice, and we’ve been very happy with the management.</p>
<p>Thanks for the pointer JustAMom. Will check those out (Google Maps originally gave an incorrect location for them)</p>
<p>I am also worried about housing for next year, for our now sophomore son. He is living in a program house this year (through the lottery) and seems to think he can probably get in again next year, as a junior, through their regular application process. (He is in JAM, and he does like music, plays piano, and is an audiophile.) But I am nervous waiting and concerned he will be out of luck with nothing for next year, if he waits too long before looking for housing. I know some have already signed leases for next year. He does have a car, so wouldn’t necessarily need to live close to campus. Is it possible to find something farther away from campus later in the year? He, of course, isn’t thinking about this at all yet … and his dad isn’t at all worried, either!</p>
<p>If you look on Ithaca craigslist, you will see that there are (apparently perfectly decent) apartments available immediately even right now. So… I would say no one is going to be homeless if they wait until February to look off-campus. They just may not get the “choicest” apartments. As far as I can tell, the big rush at this time of year is for the best party locations. </p>
<p>Your son may also be right that getting back into a program house is easier than getting back into West or other “regular” upperclassman housing.</p>
<p>My D was actually very interested in Campus Hill but no one else in her group was - to the point where she got “dumped” over it from a group. So, that would mean a one bedroom and the prices range for those to on the expensive side. She seems pressured to make a decision in other possible groups and right now everyone wants Collegetown. </p>
<p>She is also interested in RA/SA. Are these very difficult to get as a junior? Again, it means not having a “home” locked in in October.</p>