Back to Renter’s Guide Home

On-Campus Housing Offers Proximity, Affordability, and Plenty to Do

93% of first-year students at Iowa State live on campus, and with good reason! There are incredible perks to living in one of our dorms or apartments:

Proximity to class

Endless social opportunities

Delicious dining options

There are even some less obvious ― but super valuable ― benefits you may not know about, like the fact that students who live on campus have higher GPAs on average than students who live off campus and that they report more encouraging contact with people of diverse backgrounds.

When freshman year ends, students tend to survey the landscape and explore off-campus living situations, and as passionate advocates for the students at Iowa State, we encourage you to pursue your happiness however you choose! We just want you to know, as you research the wild world of off-campus landlords, that almost 50% of returning students choose to come back to our dorms or apartments to continue to take advantage of the full and comfortable life they provide.

Why? For all the reasons that campus life is so appealing in the first place!

When you search for the perfect off-campus residence, you may focus on a place that’s “close to campus.” Well, you can’t get much closer to campus than ON campus.

Maybe you’ll search for an off-campus house that’s close to “things to do.” Well ― and if you’ve already lived on campus you know this ― each floor in our residence halls is a house unto itself ― a house bustling with 30 to 60 people who may also be looking for something to do. You can always head off campus to a bar (legally!), a restaurant, or someone else’s house, but there is no more vibrant social environment than the one offered on campus.

Maybe you’ll look into the best landlords in the area ― the ones who have the most solid reviews and maintenance records. Definitely do that! But also know that between our community advisers, our hall directors and the incredible family of Cyclone employees on campus in general, there is no living situation out there where you’ll feel more supported.

Finally, in your search for the perfect off-campus home, you’ll no doubt be scouring for the most cost-effective option, and it should be no surprise to you at this point that there are incredible financial benefits to living on campus. For example, no monthly bills! That’s a big one, particularly during those frigid winter months in Ames. Blast that heat all you like ― your heating bill will never be above zero dollars!

Also, all of our leases are made with you, the student, in mind. They’re crafted for the academic year, not the calendar year, meaning that you don’t have to pay for the months you’re not here, and if you want to study abroad or graduate early, it’s simple to break your lease in advance.

Again, as Iowa State employees, we are heavily invested in you being the happiest and best version of yourself while you’re here. If this means heading off campus for housing, by all means, do it! Just bear in mind as you search that the amazing benefits of life on campus don’t disappear after freshman year. Thousands of your fellow students choose to live on campus for sophomore year and beyond, and we’d love to have you stick around for the good times as well.

Contact

To learn more about on-campus housing at Iowa State, please visit our website at: www.housing.iastate.edu

Back to Renter’s Guide Home