Sophomore Breana Gionta has just begun the process of looking for an off-campus house with her roommates for their upcoming junior year and has faced the struggles with finding the perfect accommodation.
“I have been searching for a house off campus with my friends and we have not found one yet. We are struggling to find a house that’s close to campus and dealing with how many people we want to live with,” said Gionta.
Most students at Sacred Heart experience both living on campus in their first couple of years at school and living off campus as upperclassmen. Additionally, with living off campus comes the responsibility of rent, with the average price being between $700 to $800 per student. Security also differs between these two environments with students living in Bridgeport, which can be a common fear among students and parents.
According to Sacred Heart University’s website, students are also provided with a platform to find off-campus housing: “Sacred Heart University works with a private company, Jump Off Campus, to provide a central place for students to find off-campus housing.”
“Using Jump Off Campus is very easy to use and has been a great resource. My roommates and I are able to filter houses based on some of our preferences which makes finding a house so much better for us all,” said sophomore Grace Langdon.
Jump Off Campus is a nationwide resource.
“We connect with local landlords and realtors to bring your students selection and security. Landlords agree to comply with local, state, and federal laws, and all realtors are personally interviewed before they can advertise to your students,” said Jump Off Campus according to their website.
Some students are worried about the time they have left to find the right houses for them before other students.
“My roommates and I started to become a little anxious when we heard how early people were starting to look for houses, so we immediately started searching,” said sophomore Sierra Gavigan.
Many students said that convenience and distance are most important when finding an off-campus house for their junior and senior years.
“My roommates and I are hoping to find a house close to campus, preferably no more than 10 minutes away from main campus. We all agreed that we enjoyed life on campus so much that we wanted to be as close as possible to the Bobby Valentine gym, the chapel, and our favorite dining halls,” said sophomore Alexia Amato.
Although living off campus can be exciting for students, others had some worries.
“I have always looked forward to life off campus and living with my best friends, but the process that comes with finding a house is actually very stressful and a big decision,” said sophomore Ava Zecchino.
Others look forward to having their own space off campus, as the experience on campus and off campus differs greatly.
“I agree that the process of finding an off-campus house is stressful, but I am so excited for this next year. I think me and my roommates will be happy when we find a house that we all like and can make our own,” said Gionta.
Many students have gotten ahead and already found their off-campus houses to live in, as students typically start to look for housing in late September.
“I’m so excited that me and my roommates finally found a house that we love. It’s the perfect distance away from main campus, and we all have our own space to study. It was definitely hard to find a place that everyone liked, but I’m so happy that we did,” said sophomore Shannon Muino.
