{"id":2375,"date":"2017-08-20T17:32:42","date_gmt":"2017-08-20T21:32:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cah.ucf.edu\/imprint\/?p=2375"},"modified":"2018-10-29T16:36:50","modified_gmt":"2018-10-29T20:36:50","slug":"navigating-the-housing-jungle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cah.ucf.edu\/imprint\/navigating-the-housing-jungle\/","title":{"rendered":"Navigating the Housing Jungle"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Emily Wells<\/strong><\/p>\n

There are many perks to living on campus. After all, studies have shown that those who live on campus for at least one year are more likely to graduate (UCF Lives Here<\/a><\/strong>). But once you\u2019ve decided to live on campus, how do you decide where to live? What type of floor plan is best for you? Will you share a room or bathroom with another person or do you need more privacy?<\/p>\n

As a freshman, you are able to live in\u00a0all of the housing options UCF offers. And with\u00a0nine on-campus housing communities — Apollo, Libra, Hercules, Nike, Neptune, Lake Claire, Rosen College, Towers, and Northview \u2013 you have plenty of choices.\u00a0 Each has\u00a0its own pros and cons. But how can you figure out which is the best for you? You can do virtual tours of the apartments on the UCF Housing website and take tours of several of the housing options, but how do you get a real feel for the types of housing? That\u2019s where your intrepid, currently living on-campus reporter comes in handy to give you the inside scoop on living in these communities. Here is my student guide to UCF on-campus housing. For more information beyond what is provided here, I recommend checking out the UCF Lives Here housing booklet<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

What Kind of Housing is Right For You?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Before getting into the different housing options, the first thing you need to decide is what type of housing agreement is the best fit for you: academic-year or year-round? The biggest difference between these two types of housing are the length of the contracts. Academic-year housing is for the fall\/spring semesters while year-round housing is for fall\/spring\/summer. The academic-year communities are: Apollo, Libra, Nike, Hercules, Neptune, and Rosen. The year-round communities are: Towers and Northview. However, there are a few other differences beyond just the length of your stay.<\/p>\n

Academic-year housing is aimed towards freshmen.\u00a0\u00a0This means you will be surrounded by students at your level with hosted events in these communities\u00a0aimed towards learning more about UCF and getting involved. Year-round housing, on the other hand, will still have community building events, but they might not be as freshmen-oriented as those in academic-year housing. In addition, academic-year housing comes with a weekly cleaning service, while year-round housing does not.<\/p>\n

However, there is a big perk to living in a year-round community that this reporter has taken advantage of: same room sign-up. This means that if you like your room, you can sign-up to stay in the same room for the following year. What does that mean for you and your parents? No one having to move out at the end of the summer semester, or move in again at the beginning of the next fall. I personally have not moved in or out of my housing for over\u00a0two years now, because I like living there so much and love not having to move. In addition, you can stay in your room during all breaks between semesters, which you cannot do in academic-year housing. This can be very beneficial, especially if you live far away and don\u2019t want to have to fly home between semesters.<\/p>\n

Choosing Your Housing Community<\/strong><\/p>\n

After you decide which type of housing agreement would be the best fit for you, it\u2019s time to look at your housing community options. There are three main factors to consider when comparing the housing communities to each other: floor plans, location, and cost.<\/p>\n

Academic-Year Housing<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Apollo<\/strong><\/p>\n

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