Washington University in St. Louis - Off-Campus Housing

Quick Stats

College Prowler Take

By junior year, moving off of the South 40 becomes a very attractive option for most students. Besides fraternity members, who often choose the cheaper frat-house option, most upperclassmen decide to find an apartment in a nearby residential area, either through University subcontractors like Quadrangle Housing and Apartment Referral Service, or through a private realtor. University City seems to be the most popular area, with several streets such as Washington Avenue, Kingsbury Boulevard, Pershing, Waterman, University Drive, and Kingsland populated almost entirely by students. There are centrally located apartments east of Skinker and north of Delmar, as well, which are less popular but have generally cheaper rent. The Wash U-owned apartments, like Greenway, tend to be more expensive than privately-owned ones, but they have the benefit of amenities like Ethernet, laundry rooms, and package utilities. Plus, the advantages of not having to spend weeks knocking on doors looking for apartments, calling realtors, and later dealing with unhappy surprises from your landlord (“Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you, the roaches here have dune buggies”) are worth considering.

There is fierce competition for the choice apartments, of course. Many are owned by Wash U, so your lottery number and those of your roommates will be decisive in whether or not you get something through the Wash U housing process. For the private route, the key is to first find someone living in an apartment you like who will be leaving next year (either by word of mouth, or by knocking on doors). Get them to sign a sheet saying they’ll turn over the lease to you at the end of their contract, and you’re set. Many apartments are handed down from friend to friend this way, but there’s always the old-fashioned door-to-door option, which has been known to work on occasion.

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Students Speak Out

WasDS says: Washington University in St. Louis 2016 Business

I do not really know that much... I do not really know that much about it, considering I am a freshman. I am going to live off campus next year in this sweet house though, and the process was really easy. A lot of the campus housing is real nice so it is not that necessary to move off. 12345 Off-Campus Housing: March 17, 2009 Report

WasZK says: Washington University in St. Louis 2015 Arts, Visual and Performing

As a student who can't drive and... As a student who can't drive and doesn't have a car, the best option for me is to live on campus. I've heard that living off campus isn't bad, though; it's just a hassle to get back and forth if you dont have a car. 12345 Off-Campus Housing: February 28, 2009 Report

Anonymous says:

I was a transfer student my... I was a transfer student my sophomore year. I got placed off-campus with two girls I didn’t know because I transferred too late to plan my own housing, and I really wish they hadn’t done that! I wish I could have started out on campus, met lots of people, and gone to parties and all that. My roommates were completely boring! I pledged a sorority, though, and now I’m living off campus with one of my sisters. 12345 Off-Campus Housing Report

Anonymous says:

I totally recommend staying away... I totally recommend staying away from Waterman! I lived down there junior year. It’s not that far from campus and it’s cheap, but it’s far from the Loop, and in terms of parties and seeing people, University City is such a better option. Rosedale, in particular, which is a Wash U housing option on Waterman (east of Skinker), is completely dead. Don’t go there! 12345 Off-Campus Housing Report

Anonymous says:

My two friends and I quickly got... My two friends and I quickly got an apartment through the Wash U off-campus lottery, but not everybody had it so easy. We all had good lottery numbers, so we got our first choice on a sweet apartment on Kingsbury. Parkview Properties is the service we went through, although I’ve heard that some private realtors are good, too, like Roberts Realty. I know some students who didn’t get anything in any of the lotteries, and by that time, almost all of the privately-owned apartments were filled and they got stuck with a crappy place. 12345 Off-Campus Housing Report

Did You Know?

The University uses a lottery system to assign housing. Fraternity members are automatically assigned terrible lottery numbers unless their houses are full.

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