With the end of the semester right around the corner, students are often seeking advice to help them navigate the process of moving from the dorms to off-campus housing.

The Commuter and Off-Campus Student Organization (COSO) is designed to answer questions students may have about off-campus living.

COSO advises students begin seriously considering their off-campus living situations, because mid-March is the prime time to sign.

“One of the hardest parts is finding a roommate. We’ve gotten a lot of emails this semester like ‘Hey, I need a roommate, where do I look?’ We point them to the Facebook pages,” said LeAnn Frank, a student executive board member of COSO.

Facebook pages for each graduating class, along with a Kent State Off-Campus Housing page are publicly available to all students.

COSO often finds solutions for students with questions about partial leasing. Some students only want to sign a six-month lease or summer lease.

“We direct them to KentCribs.com which is a website that a lot of local apartment complexes set up that students can look through,” said Rowan Pipher, a student executive board member of COSO.

KentCribs is a product of Kent State Student Media that offers an advanced search tool to find apartments in the Kent area with options such as distance from campus, number of bed and bathrooms and price.

Off-campus living rates are anywhere between $350 to $1,000 a month per person. Higher prices are typically due to furnished versus unfurnished living spaces and other amenities such as utilities, laundry and more.

Victoria Cantini, a Kent State student and executive board member of COSO, advises students to not look for what the apartment or house can give them, but rather focus on the actual apartment or house itself.

“You need to look at the actual foundation of the apartment. Is the kitchen nice? Is the room big enough?” Cantini said. “I live in an unfurnished apartment and it’s honestly been a blessing because it’s cheaper. And you can always find deals on furniture on Facebook Marketplace.”

Leah Marxen covers housing. Contact her at [email protected].