When you move into your first off-campus apartment in college, it can be a little overwhelming. You’ve never had this level of freedom before! So what do you do with it? If you want to set yourself up for success, you should start by making your place as study-friendly as possible.
There are lots of ways to let your grades slip when you’re living on your own, but if you follow these tips you should have no problem staying focused and ready for whatever challenges the world of higher education throws at you!
- Create the study space you deserve
Do you work best in the middle of chaos? Or do you require complete isolation? Most of us prefer to be somewhere in the middle, but it’s an important distinction to make when you’re first settling into your new place. If you like the hustle and bustle, maybe claim the kitchen or living room as a potential study space during certain times of day. If not, designate some space in your room for research and homework purposes.
- Work on a roommate study strategy
If you’re living alone, you can skip this one. If not, pay close attention! When you have a roommate, studying can either become a lot easier or a whole lot harder. We recommend having a sit-down with your roomie at the start of the semester to talk about when your best studying periods are, and how you can help each other study effectively.
Some effective strategies we’ve heard of are implementing “quiet times” during the day that are utilized for study, using roommates as weekly study partners, or planning times to leave the apartment to give roommates space to study (and vice versa!).
- Pay attention to the layout and size of your new place
Lots of students don’t think much past the location of their apartment when moving into a new place during college. But there’s so much more to consider than being close to campus! If you want the best studying conditions, look for a place with thick walls and well-separated rooms. When you’re doing a showing, you can even have a roommate go in a different room and see how easy it is to hear them from the room you’re in. It’s nice to be surrounded by roommates from time to time, but if there’s hardly any room for personal space, we know (from personal experience!) that studying will be a lot harder.
Fortunately, Rent College Pads has personalized filters for these exact kinds of things!
- Check out additional amenities offered by your landlord
When we think about moving somewhere, a lot of us don’t consider the additional facilities and services our landlords offer. These are especially important for college students, though! Studying is going to be so much easier if the complex you live in has helpful facilities and services like computer labs, free printing, a laundry room (it’s hard to study when you’re spending all your time at the laundromat) and more. Don’t overlook this key feature when hunting for a new place!
If you’re having trouble locating a place that fits all these needs near your university, it’s probably because you’re not using a student-oriented housing site to find it! That’s where Rent College Pads comes in. Use us to find the best housing near your campus, and then keep up with our blog to receive updates about everything from the best restaurants to the top landlords in your area!