Where you live in your first year changes your costs, your commute and how easily you make friends. Most students choose between three options.
On-campus housing (dorms)
A dorm (residence hall) is a building owned by the university. Rooms are usually shared with one or more roommates.
Pros: no credit check, furniture included, close to classes, an RA (resident assistant, a student who helps residents) on each floor, and easy friendships.
Cons: little privacy, rules about guests and cooking, and often a required meal plan (prepaid food in campus dining halls).
Contracts usually cover the academic year (about August to May). Some dorms close or charge extra during winter break. Ask before you book a flight home or stay.
Some universities require first-year undergraduates to live on campus.
Graduate and family housing
Many universities have apartments for graduate students and students with a spouse or children. Waiting lists can be long. Apply as soon as you are admitted.
Many graduate students rent apartments near campus with roommates.
Leases are usually 12 months. Some student buildings offer 9- or 10-month leases.
Landlords may ask for a credit check, an SSN, or a guarantor (someone who promises to pay if you do not). Many accept a larger deposit, prepaid rent, or a third-party guarantor service instead. See Renting an apartment without US credit or an SSN.
Check how you will get to campus: free university shuttles, buses, or bikes. A 2-mile walk is pleasant in September and hard in January in cold states.
Ask what is included: water, trash, internet, electricity, heat, laundry and parking.
Ask the international office or housing office for their list of nearby housing and warnings about known scams.
Do not send a deposit for an apartment no one has seen. Ask a friend or a video tour by the real leasing office.
Read the lease before signing. See Reading a lease before you sign.
Book a few nights of temporary housing if you arrive before your lease starts.
F-1 and M-1 students must report a new address to their school (the DSO, the international office) within 10 days of moving, so it can be updated in SEVIS.
J-1 students report to their program sponsor in the same way.
Use the address where you actually live, not a PO box.
Signing a 12-month lease when you only need 9 months, then paying for summer.
Not checking dorm break closures.
Paying a deposit through a payment app to a "landlord" overseas.
Forgetting to tell the international office about a move.