As the 2024-2025 school year comes to an end, students planning to live off campus next year are encouraged to begin their housing search early.
Apartment hunting can be confusing for students who are unsure of the process. Ashley Dills, a regional property manager for a student apartment company, explained some of the steps students can take when applying for a student apartment. Students may either pay a security deposit or use a guarantor, who must be over the age of 18 and able to provide proof of income and credit.
“Once they fill out that process, then they just go to sign the lease,” Dills said. “From there they can decide whether or not they want to pay a security deposit or if they have a parental guarantor or anybody that can be their guarantor that's over the age of 18.”
Dills said that availability at many student housing complexes can fill up quickly. She recommends students begin searching for an apartment as soon as they decide they will not be living in the dorms for the upcoming year. She said most places begin leasing and renewing around October.
“Start looking right away, but October is when most places start to lease and so that’s really when you want to start to look,” Dills said. “Most of the apartment complexes are going right out of the gates with pretty open availability, so depending on their renewals and who else is looking, then their options are going to be much more vast to where they can choose what they truly want rather than settling for what’s left.”
Senior Meghan Harris has lived in student apartments since her sophomore year. She said she enjoys the experience, citing fast maintenance responses, access to amenities, and an independent lifestyle.
Harris said local student-based apartments often keep up with trends targeted toward their demographic. She said the marketing events cater to student interests, and her favorite part is the events held for residents.
“I feel like they’re doing a lot of stuff that residents need. So especially being a broke college student, you need groceries, you need gas, you want to go to fun events,” Harris said. “So, the events that they put on, they’ll do giveaways, they’ll do Easter egg hunts. Just stuff that will make you feel included, to get to know your community, and you get a bonus with it which could be a gift card or more.”
Students looking for housing can search local apartment websites or use online search engines to find available options.
