As a student, living in the right environment can help ensure the best chances of success in school and life. With so many types of student housing to choose from, though, it can be hard to know what’s the best fit for your needs. For many students at UCF off campus housing is preferable, yet there are different styles to choose from. Rather than guessing, it’s helpful to review the many types of student housing so you can make the best choice for your situation.
Off Campus Townhomes
One of the latest trends in student living is amenities-driven off campus housing featuring cottage-style townhomes with three, four, five, or six beds. There are many distinct qualities to living in a townhome.
Furnished Apartments
Because a townhome is fully-furnished, students can move in and be comfortable immediately. What’s more, the interior features of townhomes are modern and luxurious, featuring full-size washer and dryer units, stainless-steel appliances, and smart TVs plus high-speed internet and cable included. Of course, if you own furniture already, you may have to put larger pieces in storage before moving to the townhome.
Individual Leases
As more students move off campus apartments near UCF are filling up, but townhomes have individual leases where students can apply for single bedrooms, which makes room availability more flexible. What’s more, landlords offer roommate matching services, so you can apply as an individual and get matched with compatible roommates. Nonetheless, townhomes are very popular, so you still want to apply early.
Townhome Amenities
The community that townhomes are in has many amenities that students can use, including a fitness facility, resort-style pool, game lounge, and residents clubhouse. In addition to letting students be active, healthy, and happy, amenities also save money versus paying for outside entertainment. Of course, amenities are shared, so you’ll have to participate in certain activities alongside other residents.
Off Campus Apartments
In Orlando student housing trends have evolved, and before the emergence of amenities-driven townhome communities, it was traditional apartments that were the popular form of housing for students. There are several ways a traditional apartment differs from other student housing.
Location
Off campus apartments can be located throughout the city, but for the sake of convenience, the most desirable are student apartments near UCF. The closer an apartment’s location is to campus, though, the higher the rent price is likely to be. So, as a student, apartments near the campus may be outside your price range, which means you may need to live further away and commute to school.
Traditional Leases
The floor plan for an apartment can be anywhere from a studio with no bedrooms to a large unit with several bedrooms, which allows you to find a unit that’s the right size for you or your roommates. Although, traditional apartments also have traditional leases, which means all the tenants sign a single lease and pay rent collectively. But collecting rent from several roommates is potentially troublesome, and if one person is short on money, the other roommates have to pay the difference.
On-Campus Dorms
The most classic form of student housing is the dorm room, where usually a pair of students inhabit a shared studio space in a university building. The characteristics of dorm living are familiar because they haven’t really changed over the years.
Convenience
Dorms are a convenient environment for students who are new to living independently because dorm residents have few responsibilities; for instance, there is no rent or utilities bills to worry about. At the same time, students have less independence while living in a dorm compared to off campus housing, where residents have more responsibilities and can learn new life skills.
Dining
Given that dorms are located on campus, students can walk or bike to the school cafeteria for their meals, which eliminates the need for home cooking and grocery shopping. The food choices on campus can become repetitive, though, whereas students living off campus have a greater variety of restaurants and stores to choose from.
UCF Off Campus Student Housing
The Station Alafaya offers luxurious cottage-style townhomes in an off campus amenities-driven community. Our residents live in fully-furnished housing units with three, four, five, or six beds, and each student signs an individual lease and has the option of using our roommate matching services. Every resident also has access to the amenities throughout our community, which include fun features such as a gaming lounge, two-story fitness facility, and resort-style pool, as well as resources for studying such as meeting rooms, a computer lab, and free printing station. The Station Alafaya is also located in an area of Orlando that features numerous dining options and is just minutes from the UCF campus. Contact us to schedule a tour of The Station!