After their freshman year, many students go from living in on-campus dorms to living in apartments or houses for the first time.

In addition to researching new housing, the University provides resources to help students better navigate their first time searching for off-campus locations with the Office of Off-Campus Resources.

Janine McGee, assistant director of Off-Campus Resources, specifically works with students who live off campus or those who are thinking of moving off campus.

“A big part of the apartment-hunting process is reading the lease cover-to-cover,” McGee said.

“You wouldn’t go into a class and expect to be able to navigate an entire semester of a class without having read the syllabus,” McGee said. “Students sometimes sign the lease and sometimes just end up hoping for the best.”

McGee said a lease governs the relationship with a landlord and tells people what they are responsible for.

For students moving into a house instead of an apartment, McGee said it is important to double-check what tenants are responsible for, such as students being responsible for keeping the grass cut or it being the landlord or landscaper’s responsibility.

“If you don’t read your lease, you might end up in violation of it without ever having read it,” McGee said.

One of the most immediately visible differences McGee emphasizes is that utilities are provided on campus but often not off campus.

Off-Campus resources wants to make sure that students understand what they are signing but they also need to hold up their end as tenants.

Only then can you start a successful relationship with a landlord, McGee said.

Additionally, with new amounts of room and space, roommate relationships can become different from on-campus to off-campus living.

“You may have had a really smooth, peaceful relationship with your roommate one year and this may be the first year that you’re navigating a trickier roommate relationship,” McGee said.

For Alexis Richardson, a sophomore majoring in graphic design, moving from dorms to her apartment gave her a lot of freedom.

“I think the biggest difference is that last year I lived with the RA,” Richardson said. “Also, I was able to choose my roommates this year because last year I had random roommates chosen for me.”

McGee said she thinks everybody faces different challenges at different times.

“I set a few ground rules with my roommates, which was a better understanding than there was last year,” Richardson said.