I've been an undergrad at MSU & I know housing can be a pain here sometimes! Let me lay out some pro's and cons (in my opinion)
Living close to campus
Pros:
- easy commute (can walk, bike, or bus)
- close to the vet school, library, downtown (ie study, food & shopping within a 20 minute radius walk)
- no real need for a car (save on gas $)
Cons:
- rent is a little more expensive because of close location
- NOISE; MSU tends to be labeled as a 'party school' which can be seen if you live close or on campus with some loud students in the streets, dorm rooms, or apartment buildings. I lived in apartment complexes right above Grand River (the main street at MSU) and all I could hear late at night was people screaming, yelling, and walking up and down the streets near the bars. However, its all subjective on what you can handle.
Living far from campus
Pro's:
- rent is cheaper
- noise tends to be reduced
- away from the campus atmosphere
- more able to own pets
Cons:
- the commute; parking is not as accessible for students. You can buy a parking pass for near by parking lots, but it may cost like $200 - 300 per semester. Plus, if you get caught in illegal parking, tickets run $10 - 40, which add up! Parking in most places on campus is free after 6PM, but I'm sure most of the time we'll need to be in class by 8AM!
Its all on what you like and whats good for you. In my opinion, its better for me to live far from campus and just walk, bike, or take the bus into campus. There is the CATA bus (
http://www.cata.org/) which has various routes to and around campus thats very helpful.
A big apartment community is DTN. Their website is
http://www.dtnmgt.com/. The closest one of theirs is called Cedar Village. Its close (10 min walk) - but noisy! When I was a sophomore, a couple of my friends moved there and it wasn't surprising for neighbors to get visited by the cops for noise violations or the neighbors partying heavily on a Friday night.
I live in one (787 Burcham) of there for a year, and it was the nicest ones I've had. I'll be living in another one of theirs next year, too (North Pointe). I believe the rent allowance MSU offers for fin aid is $740, so having a 1 bedroom to myself will fit in that budget (or at least I hope!) Its about 2 miles from campus, and Route 22 & 24 runs by every 1/2 hour, so I can take the bus or bike 2 miles to campus when its warm. You can search for apartments there and see floor plans, rent, nearby bus routes, location, and other amenities available.
There is also the MSU State News. Check out the classified for apartment rentals for some good ideas or deals:
http://www.statenews.com/index.php/classified/apts_for_rent
If you want to save money and live with a roommate, you might want to ask other students that have been accepted or you can join
http://www.allmsu.com. There is a classified section FILLED with rentals, roommates, and subleases available. (But be warned, I did this once and it sucked because I didn't exactly know the girls I was moving in with and it was a horrible semester because they were mean, mean, mean!)
There is also these other apartment complexes to look at:
-
http://primehousinggroup.com/
-
http://www.711burcham.com/Rates.htm
(This one is walkable to the vet school - about 20 minutes, but rent is a little pricey for me. Its mostly known for housing grad students - so nice and quiet!)
-
http://www.cronmgt.com
You can also check out
http://www.rent.com or
http://www.apartmenthomeliving.com/ or other resources.
If your planing to live on campus, I'd recommend Owen Hall or Williams. Its for graduate students (or for Williams, upperclassmen) but they can be VERY tiny. Owen is probably a 5 minute walk to the vet med center since its practically across the block!
I hope that helped!
