Leaving the Residence Halls- What now?

February is an interesting month during freshman year- by now, we're all used to the workload, our new professors, and have our friends pretty well figured out. However, it's already time for all returning students to start deciding where to live next year. CU Residence Halls are really hard to get back into as an upperclassman, so rolling over your current room or re-applying is not a very stable option.

One of the easiest ways to get housing for the upcoming year is to apply to Bear Creek Apartments, a couple of large buildings next to Williams Village run by the university. Leases include utilities, TV, Internet, and maintenance if anything breaks. Floor plans vary- you can have a shared living room and 2 shared bedrooms (most room styles contain 4 residents) or 4 individual bedrooms. I decided to live in Bear Creek instead of another location off campus because I'm not sure yet if I'll be doing study abroad in the fall, and because Bear Creek is run by CU, I am allowed to terminate my lease if I go jetting off around the globe.

Apartments in Bear Creek fill up fast- when I took a tour, the guide told us to apply when applications opened at 8 a.m. and that most of the rooms would be full by 4 p.m. that day! If we didn't get a room assignment (I applied with 3 other girls) then I have to go out into the real world of relaters and scary lease signings. There is definitely a lot of stress surrounding finding housing, and my best advice is find a place early and stick with it- your roommate doesn't need to be your best friend and be flexible in what you think you're looking for in a house, otherwise you could miss out on a good deal.