How far in advance to look for apartments?

[foremaeq]

If you are starting a program either in the summer or the fall, how far in advance should one be actively pursuing apartments?

[Anxiously Hopeful]

On-campus apartments start filling in really fast so I guess you should apply for housing immediately after you have accepted the offer from the university. For instance, if you are planning to attend college in Fall and the decision deadline is April 15th then you should start looking for apartments during that period.

[daradara]

Yale recommends off-campus housing search begin during the period of March-May. However, in my past experience at my BA, and even for my current MA, I did not get apartments until July/August. So really the answer is, it is up to you and what you want. If you wait longer, you might be forced to pay more for a place you want. My suggestion is to start contacting apartments now and asking about availability. 

[BioCook]

If you're looking to live off campus, you can start looking now to see the general prices... I've looked at apartments a month before move in and it was fine. Of course, all the "good" places were taken by then. Maybe aim to start looking May-July if you're looking to start in the fall.

[alwaysthinking]

I'm living off campus because my partner is coming with me, so we've been looking to move as early as June to get a head start on residency. I started looking the day after I got my acceptances, just so I have a heads up on what to expect in terms of location and proximity to the campus. 

[Ternwild]

ASAP.

[ResilientDreams]

Start looking now!!!! I got my apartment more or less as soon as I was accepted into my program and the good places were almost all taken! Current students will have renewed their leases already.

[Lantina3]

What do you suggest then if all good places are booked?

[Adelaide9216]

I don't know where you live but student housing for September fills up really quickly. The time is now. For regular appartements, I'd say in June/July for September?