As a prospective student, you need to make a number of decisions about housing. Following are some general ideas.

Living in a dorm

Living on campus has many advantages. It ensures a good-quality and secure environment with easy access to college facilities and social events. You are surrounded by other students, and it is much easier to make connections. That is why many colleges require freshmen, or, in some schools, even all students, to live on campus.

Dorm rooms come in many different flavors and lifestyles. These include all-male, all-female, and co-ed buildings and rooms configured as suites, singles, doubles, triples, and quads. Additionally, floors designated for wellness (focused on healthy lifestyles), community service, and quiet study (24-hour quiet) are sometimes available. Some college-owned dorms are also organized around special interest themes such as language, culture, or academic programs. Most colleges make a good attempt to match freshmen roommates and often use a lottery system to make sure everybody has a fair chance at the best locations in the school.

Living at home

The main advantage of living at home while going to college is financial. Room and board at a college can be as high as $14,000, and living at home is generally much less expensive. Of course, this is only an option if you live near your college. The disadvantage is that you may miss out on college social life. Many community colleges do not have dorms, so commuting from home is a viable choice.

Renting a room or apartment

Single-furnished rooms are generally readily available near colleges and are a cost-effective solution. They are generally close (walking distance) to your college. Renting a room in a residential home setting offers the advantage of added safety. Renting an apartment or a house has the advantages of privacy and the ability to share and sublet the apartment. This option is often used by graduate students. 

Sharing an apartment or house

Sharing an apartment or house on or off-campus can be a good option for many students. Having fellow students close by can be a lot of fun, and the ability to share some of the common areas in a house can be fun and practical. Of course, the choice of roommates is very important. 

Living in Boston

When you should begin your search for off-campus housing will depend on when you need to move. Some students live in Boston during the summer and therefore need housing for the entire year. Other students leave Boston for the summer and need housing from September to May. Keep in mind that many tenants must give their landlords 30 to 60 days notice before vacating an apartment in "rolling" situations. September vacancies will begin being listed as early as January or February.

Locating a room, apartment, or place to share is difficult if you are not in the Boston area. Unless it is absolutely impossible, you should plan to visit Boston a month or more before starting school here, allowing several days at that time to search for housing. Late August and the first week in September are the most difficult times to look for housing in Boston because you are competing with many other students.

Most landlords will require you to sign some type of lease before you move in. In Boston, the lease often runs from September 1 to August 31. Therefore, if you need an apartment starting in May, you are likely to be taking over a lease from a previous tenant. This practice is referred to as subletting. Sometimes subletting is in violation of the terms of the lease. Check with the landlord and review the prior tenant's lease before subletting. Some people sublet an apartment for the summer only and plan to return in September, so make sure you know before subletting an apartment whether you have an option to renew the lease in the fall.

Where to live in Boston

The Boston area is diverse and has 21 distinct neighborhoods, so you need some understanding of the different areas to make sense of the apartment listings. In general, as you get further from the center of Boston, housing costs decrease. Using a Boston map, you can get an idea of what is available in the various sections of the city. A brief description of some of the of the general advantages and disadvantages of the major areas is listed below.

Where can I find listings?

Websites and/or realtors can help you find available apartments. When reading postings, it is important to note that you will find two types of listings. One is an apartment or room being offered by a building owner (landlord). The other is a listing placed by a realtor (real estate agent). If you can deal directly with a landlord, you will probably save money. The following websites are good starting points for your apartment search:. 

        http://homes.cometoboston.com/apartments-in-the-boston-area
        Local website with apartments for rent and homes for sale.

http://boston.craigslist.org
No-fee apartments listed by brokers and by owner. It also has a section on sublets and people looking for roommates. It is updated daily.

 www.bostonapartments.com
This site lists apartment rentals of all types, as well as people seeking roommates. It also has a listing of numerous agencies in the Boston area with links to their web pages.