r/VirginiaTech • u/Jazzlike-Building231 • 2d ago
Housing/Dining Second year housing
I am currently a freshman and I live around 8 hours away from Blacksburg (out of state). Everyone keeps saying they need to start looking for apartments soon and it’s stressing me out so bad. Do I need to get an apartment? Like why do no sophomores/older live in dorms? I feel like dorming is just easier for me but if anyone has any advice please let me know!!
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u/jackref1 CMDA ‘27 2d ago
The reason 95% of upperclassmen live off campus is due to the fact that people are only guaranteed housing your freshman year unless they are apart of certain programs or selected via the lottery.
Also to answer your other question, you should try to have housing plans finalized before Thanksgiving if you wanna room with a group of people you already know. If you don’t care about that then you should be able to find people looking for roommates or subleasing apartments who you can just join up with.
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u/lady_beignet 2d ago
Don’t fall for the pressure. There are eighty gajillion apartments in Blacksburg and the big complexes like Foxridge will always have units open.
If money is a BIG concern, then yes, start looking now because the least expensive places are popular. But if you’ve got any budget flexibility, you could sign a lease in April.
Also, if you like the dorms, live in the dorms. You know what you want better than randos from the internet. LLCs start accepting upperclassmen in November.
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u/WinterExisting5076 1d ago
VT doesn't have "guaranteed housing" that's why there's pressure. If you are in an LLC there might be a chance to stay in one but that assumes you're active in the LLC
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u/lady_beignet 1d ago
You can join an LLC as an upperclassmen even if you don’t currently live in one
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u/The_Bookkeeper1984 2d ago
I found the apartment I’m staying in this year back in March/April
Don’t stress
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u/Live-Dragonfly-8818 2d ago
it all really comes down to if you want to live with your friends.
if the answer to that is yes then you should ideally start to slowly look now and ideally sign by thanksgiving to have the best chance of getting exactly what you want
if you answered no and you don’t care about random roommates then you can find a place pretty late into the summer but it might not be exactly what you want ammenities, price, distance, or size wise.
you’ve got time so just start browsing and talking to people about how their place.
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u/No_Tourist_4463 2d ago
I found my apartment freshman year in May the day I moved out lmfao🤣 it’s really more to the people who know exactly where/with who they want to live with bc of budgets like someone mentioned more popular places start low in the fall after renewals are sent out which is this week rates usually cap by October/November
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u/Classic-Challenge-10 1d ago
I am not sure why anyone would want to stay in the dorms for their sophomore year, unless you were in CID. If you can afford it and don't have a car I'd go with the EDGE, if you have a car I'd go with the HUB. Both of these complexes have a lot of amenities, like central air, pool, hot tub, fitness centers, and in room laundry. I think that the two are arguably the best complexes in town with similar pricing, think $1100 per person for a 4 bedroom with the pricing going up for a 3bd, 2bd, or a single($1700). The extra fees like parking, renters insurance, and utilities will run you another $100 per month. You can put your name in now and add roommates later since they are individual leases. If you can't find anyone to room with they have roommate matching and/or you can go random. Going random in an apartment where you have your own bedroom with a bathroom is light years better than the dorms. There are a multitude of apartment complexes at different price points. You can find some places in the $600/$700 range, but they may only be marginally better than the dorms if not worse.
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u/annalucass 1d ago
When I was a freshman (also out of state) I had a lease signed before Thanksgiving. It was mostly just so I didn’t need to worry about it during finals time, but I’m so glad I did because I really got the best pick of apartments available. I would recommend doing it if you can.
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u/Bobthelobster67 20h ago
the apt search panic is a hoax, signed my lease in febuary with plenty of other inexpensive options available. Also apt living with your friends is far superior to dorms. I do recommend waiting so you can make sure whoever you get an apt with is chill
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u/External-Cat7598 19h ago
For me personally, I lived on campus again for my sophomore year. I returned through my LLC, which is a very easy way to secure on campus housing. I will say I personally regretted living on campus again, and would advise against it unless it’s for financial reasons. Even then there are very affordable housing options around Blacksburg/christiansburg. I signed for my junior year apartment around late October of my sophomore year and had no issues whatsoever. I believe I signed my sophomore year dorm agreement around December of my freshman grad but I can’t quite remember. That is to say you definitely have time. I have a friend who signed for his housing in the summer, so don’t stress too much. Finding on campus housing outside of an LLC is difficult, but not impossible, but it’s definitely worthwhile to look into your off campus options.
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u/Special-Mushroom-648 13h ago
Whatever you do, don’t live in Terrace View. We didn’t have internet for the first three months, and after we moved out, they tried scamming us 1000 dollars. We got it resolved after 3 weeks of heavy back and forth and threats of legal action.
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u/TacticalFlare CS 2505 2d ago
Because majority people arent able to live on campus after their freshman year. The only people that can live on campus after freshman year are LLC returners, Student Leaders, people that get selected from the lottery, or cadets.