Here's a guide on how to find a housing arrangement that fits your budget and needs. 

House

Leasing a house is a popular choice for many students, as it can usually give the most independence, but it comes with more responsibilities than an apartment does.

Living in a house has its perks, such as having the perfect lawn for hosting tailgates and having more personal space between neighbors, compared to an apartment where students can feel surrounded.

These perks do come with some added baggage. The rent for houses is usually not much higher than rent for most apartments. However when leasing a house the utility bills, including water, heat, electricity, cable and Internet, are typically separate from the monthly rent. This means residents leasing a house will have to set up accounts with companies to cover these utilities.

Apartment

Apartment living gives students the independence they wish to find in off-campus living, without some of the extra responsibility that comes with leasing a house.

Apartments in the East Lansing area can range in price of rent. For example, a one bedroom and one bathroom apartment at The Lodges of East Lansing, a popular location, starts at $1,159. But the same style apartment at Cedar Village is roughly $950, assuming only one person will be living there.

Those costs often include access to multiple amenities such as a pool, a workout facility and more. Amenities are often something special to apartments, and can be an exciting plus for students looking for the perfect place to call home.

Tight quarters in an apartment should also be considered when looking at this type of living arrangement.

Greek housing

For students who are members of the greek community, living in their fraternity or sorority houses is a viable option that can give many benefits for those looking to be a bigger part of greek life.

The costs of living in a fraternity or sorority house might be more expensive when compared to other options on or near campus, but the experience of living in the house can be worth the extra cost.

“Honestly, the experience living in (the fraternity house) has been tremendous. ... It’s probably one of the best housing decisions I think I’ve made while being in college,” Sean McGahey, applied engineering sciences senior and member of Delta Sigma Phi, said.

McGahey said one of the greatest perks of living in his fraternity house is having access to the house chef.

“Our chef was actually voted best chef in the state Michigan back in the, I think, late ‘90s or early 2000s, and having his meals four days a week, five days a week, has been absolutely phenomenal,” he said.

Cooperative

The MSU Student Housing Cooperative is one of the more affordable options, and can be a great way to meet people and be part of a community.

The group has 15 different houses, and the amount of residents in each house varies from six to 29. Residents have the option of living in a single-person room or sharing with a roommate, the median price of each approximately $500 and $375, respectively.

Depending on the house a student chooses to live in, this price can cover utilities, Internet, groceries, maintenance and daily meals. Residents are also able to vote on these costs, as members of the cooperative are the owners of the houses they live in.

“A sense of community is, I think, one of our biggest selling points for prospective members,” Dan Newton, MSU Student Housing Cooperative president, said. “When you live with 28 other people, in the case of Phoenix, you’re living with 28 of your best friends.”

On-Campus Housing

For students looking to avoid long bus rides and walks to class, living on campus can be a great choice, and it comes with the added bonus of buying a meal plan to use at all the cafeterias on campus.

The downside, however, is that living on campus is one of the most expensive options for students, with the median price of living in the dorms with a dining plan being approximately $4,900 per semester for a double room and $5,900 for a single, depending on what residence hall the room is in.

If students are willing to overlook the price, however, living in the dorms has its perks. Not having to pay for parking, not walking long distances in the cold and having a dining plan can make student life a lot easier.