Life as a graduate student can be very challenging. In most circumstances, you will probably be studying abroad or in another city. The need to find accommodation will be one of your main concerns as a graduate student. Trying to make sense of the housing market can be a challenge anywhere. You are also an adult and not given as much leeway as undergraduate students.
So, how can you secure student housing as a graduate?
Are there any tips for the process?
What can you do to cover your basis?
We will answer all that in this article. Mind you, you will need to find stable accommodation soon. Without stable accommodation, your learning and studies will be impacted. You should avoid conflicts with landlords when graduate studies are tough already. Here are the tips you should follow while house hunting.
1. Look for University Accommodation
Most graduate students prefer to live off-campus in private accommodation. There are substantial benefits to this decision and most often it is cheaper. However, to find the perfect deal needs time and research. You can instead opt to live one semester in university accommodation. That will ease your entry in your university and provide you with safety and security. Once you have gained your bearings, you can start researching off-campus accommodation.
2. Time It Right
One crucial piece of advice for house hunting as a graduate is to pick the right time. To paraphrase Gandalf, one should never be too late or too early, but right on time. A similar logic works best in hunting for rental accommodation.
It is obvious what will happen if you start too late. If you start too early, however, it might throw a wrench in your planning. Most tenancy agreements require you to move in quickly. That can cause problems if you have already paid for a year of university accommodation.
3. Look Into Guarantees
Most private rental offerings will require a guarantee or a guarantor. This means they will need security that they will be paid in case you default. This guarantee can often come out to very huge amounts. You should pursue options of guarantors for graduate students. The services of such guarantors can make your house-hunting process a lot easier. You should also search for accommodation which does not have guarantee requirements.
4. Hunt as a Group
We told you about staying in university accommodation for your first semester. There is another reason for that. You can find like-minded friends and individuals. Once you have a group, you can look for housing together. Hunting as a group will lead to more favourable terms since a bigger group offers security. It will also increase your options. You can target more expensive options or studio apartments since the cost will be split. Many graduate students opt for this method.
5. Commercial Student Accommodation
You can—and should—also try commercial student accommodation. These are modern businesses which have designed student housing exactly like a university. Many times, they often provide better services. There are many commercial student housing services. They are often better than university housing. They offer more amenities and benefits, you get access to a much larger student body, and your contacts will increase. You should visit website to get better information about their utilities.
Conclusion
Life as a graduate student can be challenging. There is a reason graduate students are stereotyped as living in poor conditions. However, with the right planning and tips, you can avoid all that. Secure good accommodation to perform at your best at your graduate program. After all, you will find it very hard to complete graduate studies without peaceful accommodation.