When should you look for a Charlottesville apartment near UVA?

apartments or houses in Charlottesville near UVA

Undergraduate Students

As we approach the upcoming fall semester, the search for housing at the University of Virginia begins. With a peak number of off-grounds housing searches starting in September, it’s best to start looking immediately after summer vacation.

The highest number of searches range from September to October before plummeting in activity by over 50% in November. Therefore, it’s important to start your search early this year in order to secure proper housing for next year, especially if you’re looking for an apartment or house in Charlottesville with enough bedrooms for three or four friends.

Therefore, it’s important to start your search early this year in order to secure proper housing for next year, especially if you’re looking for an Charlottesville apartment with enough bedrooms for three or four friends.

Houses and apartments with higher bedroom counts almost always get leased up first. So act fast.

A couple popular sites for undergraduate students include:

  • MSC Apartments: The largest selection of housing rental properties in Charlottesville.  
  • Properties listed by Real Property Management
  • Properties listed by Braden Property Management
  • Flats at West Village: With an even mixture of graduate and undergraduate students, the Flats at West Village are perfect for you if you’re looking for an area with more diversity.

Graduate Students

As a graduate student at UVA, will want to begin your search immediately after summer vacation. The highest activity throughout the year in off-grounds housing searches is between September and October before declining by over 50% in November. With a peak number of searches being in September, starting early will help to secure the housing of your choice.

  • Woodlands of Charlottesville: A luxurious apartment complex that only minutes away from UVA Law, UVA Medical Center, and downtown Charlottesville. The majority of this complex is mainly occupied by graduate and law students.
  • The Uncommon: Held by a majority of graduate and medical students, The Uncommon features a vibrant community with an impressive amount of amenities.
  • Flats at West Village: If you’re looking for an area not completely dominated by graduate students, this area has a split population between graduate and undergraduate students.
  • South Range Apartments: High graduate student population that is in close proximity to campus.
  • Fry’s Spring Neighborhood: A less expensive alternative to graduate housing that has more square footage, but is further from campus.
  • Carrollton Terrace: A mixture between graduate, international, and medical students. 

International Students

The highest number of searches for off-grounds housing lies between September and October. However, I recommend international students to begin their search in August rather than September. Securing housing as an international student can prove to be a prolonged process due to the inability to see properties in person. Therefore, I recommend having a friend or relative view the property beforehand to avoid any unforeseen problems.

Eagle’s Landing & University Place: Moving for international students can be strenuous, but these properties help to ease that process with the option for a fully furnished lease. However, this is not within walking distance to campus and will require a form of transportation.

Carrollton Terrace: A mixture between graduate, international, and medical students.
MSC Apartments: Popular destination for students that has the largest selection of rental properties in Charlottesville.

Tips

  • Start your search early: Due to such high activity in housing searches being in September and October, housing will be difficult to find after October. This is especially vital if you’re looking for a property with a larger number of bedrooms. In Charlottesville, the units that have more bedrooms are the first to go. So, if you plan on living with a few friends, I recommend starting your search in early September to secure the housing of your choice.
  • View the right unit: When looking for housing in an apartment complex, it’s important to make sure that you are looking at the unit you plan on living in. Conditions vary from unit to unit, so make sure that you’re not looking at a unit with a similar floorplan, but the one you are signing your lease for.

And remember, your best resource for off-grounds housing at UVA is Rent College Pads, regardless of when you’re searching.

Callie Kollenbroich has been the Operations Coordinator and Content Writer/Editor at Rent College Pads since 2015. When she's not working, you can find her at home, eating peanut butter out of the jar and bingeing an unhealthy amount of Forensic Files. She's not as lame as she sounds.

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