One of the biggest questions for many students, especially those moving off-campus for the first time, is just when should they start looking for housing.  The best answer depends on the area in which your school is situated.  If your school is in area where off-campus housing is limited, you may want to start a little earlier, maybe in November or December.  If you live in an area where housing is pretty plentiful, you may be able to wait until January or even February.  However, the idea is to start looking as soon as possible.

Before you start looking, you may want to get a group of people together to house with, or you may want to look on your own.  However, that is one decision you will want to make before you start looking.  You will also want to identify some of your main criteria for what you want in your housing, including things like location and amenities.  Figure out the things that you can live with, and what you can’t live without.  You can use our apartment checklist to ensure that you’re making the right decision for you once you’ve started your search.

All in all, it’s best to start looking for off-campus housing as soon as you can.  Before you go, just be sure to know what you want from your housing.