Waiting until the last minute can limit options and make students more likely to choose quickly without considering the ramifications of exactly what they signed up for.

Location

There are a variety of options available to students looking for a new place in East Lansing, from the center of the night life on Grand River Avenue to the calm solitude of living a few minutes from campus. But location does not only depend on the student’s preference — price is usually a large factor as well.

For supply chain management junior Jessica Filbin, close proximity to restaurants and city life was a must have.

Filbin lives in the Collingwood Apartments and pays around $570 per month. She said the only downside for her was sharing a room, but it was a great trade-off.

“It’s the best location we could find that was at a reasonable price,” Filbin said. “There’s a lot of great restaurants around us right off of Grand River, which is a plus.”

Having the luxury of living within walking distance from stores and shops is a hot commodity among college students. Students who live closer to campus live closer to the real college experience, Filbin said. Property managers are well aware of this, as apartments closer to MSU’s campus tend to come with a higher price tag.

Alternatively, apartment complexes that are further from campus still hold appeal for students who like their own independent, quiet space. These places avoid the trend of rising prices that happens with housing closer to campus.

“The rent and everything is really agreeable because it’s not as high as all my friends who live closer to campus,” International relations junior Jared Gajos said.

Gajos lives in The Village at Chandler Crossings approximately 4 miles from campus, where his rent is $475 per month.

Gajos and his roommates believe they still get the full college experience, but for a cheaper price. His only complaint is the distance, a factor he never really thought about until he had to fork out money for cabs.

Gajos said his cheaper rent price partly comes from not being so close to campus. He advises tenants to look at every aspect of the property when deciding on an apartment or house. Anyone deciding where to live should see if the location, space and drive to campus are the best fit for them, not just the best price.

“Look beyond the deals,” Gajos said. “Look beyond what they’re offering.”

Living alternatively

Staying in an apartment with all your best friends of the same sex may seem like the norm for most, but new ways of living off-campus are quickly changing that standard assumption.

The MSU Student Housing Cooperative is one organization designed to create more alternatives to apartment living. Co-ops are when people join a housing complex in order to control the community in which they live.

Music senior Emily Pelky said co-ops run different from apartments as she had lived in one the previous year.

“It’s (co-op living) a lot more community based,” Pelky said. “You make decisions for your house collectively.”

Co-ops decide as a group on things from cleaning to what to buy for the house pantry.

Pelky said her only complaint about her co-op is cleanliness. Recently, there was a problem with bugs that needed to be addressed.

Her price to live single room in a co-op is around $500, and to live in a double the price would be around $358.

Pelky said the price and community has made her a fan of the living arrangement. However, not everyone may be so open to idea of living with up to 20 other people. For some students it is not just about where they live, but also who they live with.

Houses serve as another substitution to apartment living and many students find it easier.

“One of the biggest things about off-campus living is all the little quirks you learn to live with when you’re in house,” Arts and humanities junior Leila Ballard said.

Ballard said there were just a few little things wrong with the house that comes from old age, adding that it’s nothing she can’t deal with. The four tenants of her house each pay around $500 a month through an independent realtor, rather than going through the large realtor groups in East Lansing.

Ballard is particularly passionate about co-ed living. She said it serves a person better by not trying to fit all of their best friend’s in a house rather than some new, different people.

“Sometimes in a mixed housing arrangement it just kind of balances things out,” Ballard said. “It gives different point of view.”

For linguistics junior Taylor Sydow she said when it came down to it, living with two guys was her best route.

Sydow, who lives in an apartment, said she struggled to find a group of people when everyone was picking next year’s living so when a friend offered her a place to join she accepted.

“I originally had a different plan with some other girls and it didn’t work out because people had different requirements or wants and needs,” Sydow said.

Sydow now lives in an apartment with two guys and a girl, a set-up she said has a great dynamic.

She was invited by two of her guy friends to pursue living with them in an apartment.

“I almost like it better because I have an older brother and I lived with him most of my life,” Sydow said.ch

Communication between parties in order to choose where to live can become problematic if groups aren’t on the same page. Sydow said having her own room led her to choosing the apartment because of past issues with roommate cleanliness. She also had four or five different groups that kept falling through while she was trying to find a living space for this year.

“Put everything out on the table with your potential roommates because that’s the key to having everything run smoothly,” Sydow said.

Finding your place

Roommate compatibility and overall comfort in an environment can make or break the academic year.

“Make sure you are comfortable with who you are going to live with,” Ballard said.

She said the more unique the roommate set up is, the better experience students can have.

“You don’t have to be best friends with everyone you live with, but you do have to make it work.”

Pelky said she really identified with her community within the co-op.

“When I was signing up for housing, I was really scared going into a co-op,” Pelky said.

Communities within a housing space is a great way to make new friends and relationships.

“A co-op is a really nice place to live especially if you want to meet new people and make connections,” she said.

It’s important to find the right fit and know what works best specifically for each person.

“Me and my friends went through several apartment websites and picked out who was offering the best deals,” Gajos said.

Gajos said working as a group makes the decision making process and environment more comfortable.

“At the end of the day, you have this really nice apartment and I mean that’s all that really matters, and you’re living with your friends,” he said.