“I wasn’t sure if I made the right decision,” Carpenter said. “I wasn’t here long enough to know.”
With sign-up beginning for on-campus and off-campus housing this month, students face the decision of where they will live next fall.

Maria Giggy, senior brand manager for Residential and Hospitality Services, or RHS, marketing and communications, said o“n-campus housing sign-up”:http://liveon.msu.edu/ is earlier this year than in the past because of competition from off-campus housing.

Giggy said RHS has done research in the past to find out when most students signed up for housing and estimated about two-thirds of on-campus residents signed up for housing or began discussing it in October.

Residence hall sign-up began Monday for students who want to reserve their current room and will be opened to all students Nov. 7, Giggy said.

RHS is holding a Rock the Block event Oct. 23 for students interested in seeing and touring different on-campus housing options, Giggy said.

Chandler Crossings area marketing director Joanna Keel said the decision to open up leasing early in the year was market driven and students have been calling about housing for the past two weeks.

The kick-off for Chandler Crossings leases for fall 2012 begins today.

Keel said the earlier students sign up for housing, the better rates they will receive, which is often a motivation for students looking for a place to live off campus.

Giggy said students should not feel pressured to decide about housing immediately but look at on-campus housing as an option to consider during the school year.

Still, not all students feel the early sign-up season helps narrow down their choices.

Construction management senior Nicole Kueck said the timing for housing sign-up was “awful” and would be more appropriate at the beginning of second semester.

“School just started,” Kueck said. “How are you supposed to know what you’re going to do in a year from now?”