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Nervous about starting at Michigan State? Worried about your class schedule, living away from home, or where to even start? The Spartan Orientation Station (SOS) is a podcast hosted by New Student Orientation staff and was created by students for students. This podcast will launch twice a week throughout the summer, and each episode will feature a unique interview with campus departments discussing their services, common misconceptions, and fun Spartan engagement opportunities. When you need help at Michigan State, it is okay to signal SOS! Don’t worry – MSU is there for you.
Introduction 0:08
You're listening to the Spartan Orientation Station on Impact 89. The podcasts by students for students. Now, this week's episode.
Mackenzie 0:18
Hello, everyone and welcome back to the Spartan Orientation Station. Living off campus is a possibility for some incoming students, and many students will eventually choose to live in off campus housing. You may be wondering how to stay connected to on campus activities, when to sign a lease, or even how to start finding an apartment or house. These are all new responsibilities that we'll be discussing in today's episode. My name is Mackenzie, and I am a student coordinator here at the New Student Orientation office.
Andre 0:44
My name is Andre. I am an orientation intern with NSO.
Ali 0:48
And my name is Ali and I'm also a student coordinator here at NSO. So, joining us today is Suchitra Webster, who is the director of the Office of Community and Student Relations. Thank you so much for joining us today. I was wondering if we could just start by having you introduce yourself and a little bit about your office?
Sue 1:09
Absolutely. You got it right at Suchitra Webster, I also go by Sue. So, a lot of people haven't heard of the office, but they are certainly aware of the functions of the office. And I would really put it into three buckets. So, one of the things we do is work on community relations, town gown relationships. So that's between the surrounding municipalities, and the university itself. So that's one category. Another thing that we work on in our office is the MSU College Advising Corps. The thing I think we're really here to talk about today is community living and exploration. And part of that is moving off campus and all of those options and opportunities, and also learning more about the community around us, which is East Lansing, but so much more.
Andre 1:56
That is very cool. So, hopping into the first question, can you tell me a little bit about what qualifies an MSU student to live off campus? And could I live off campus my freshman year?
Sue 2:07
Yeah, that's a very good question that lots of people want to know about. And MSU has a general policy that students need to live on campus for two years in a row. And there are some exemptions for that, I'm going to tell you that liveon.msu.edu is really the place to get all of the information you would need for that. I can tell you that there are some basic, you know, predetermined exceptions. One of them is if students are married. Students need to be at least 20 years of, of age by January 1 of 2024 for this particular year, if they're considering having an exemption. Veterans with one or more years of active service, and they do have to submit a record. Students who might be living with a family member, and they, again, have to submit a signed document from that family member, and it goes through a process there. Students who are taking six or fewer credits during the semester in question, that's another possible way to not have to live on campus. And then current first year students who have earned 30 credits by the close of the first semester.
Ali 3:15
Perfect. So I was wondering if you could share what some of the key differences are between living on and living off campus?
Sue 3:23
Yeah, I think there are lots of options and opportunities in, in really both venues of living. There's--for a lot of students--more independence when they're living off campus. And quite frankly, a lot more responsibility when you're living off campus. When you're on campus, there are a lot of things that are built in for you. Their specific learning outcomes and staff will be working to make sure that somebody is guiding you a lot of the way, if you want that guidance, and you have a built-in staff such as a resident assistants who live on a given floor. There are a lot of rules and regulations that come along with that which some students don't like. Others want to have the opportunity to live alone not to live with a roommate or in you know, x feet by x feet type of space and being able to switch that up. But your meals are available to you right there in a residence hall with a pretty, I would say, generous package. There's a lot of convenience to being able to roll out of bed and go downstairs, in some cases, to take your classes right there. When you're off campus, absolutely, as I was saying earlier, independence and having the ability to do things the way you want to, but there are responsibilities to that, too. You know, you have to prepare your own meals, you have to figure out how you're going to get to campus in a lot of cases. So the onus or responsibility really falls more on the shoulders of an independent off campus student.
Mackenzie 4:58
Thank you. So you highlighted the differences between living off campus and on campus. But specifically for off campus, what are the different options for living off campus like houses, apartments, co-ops, etc.? All those?
Sue 5:10
Yep, absolutely. East Lansing is often a place that people will look. But what I think I will start by saying is, we are part of a much larger region. So we have students who often think they have a mailing, they do have a mailing address of East Lansing, but they might be living in Lansing, or Bath Township, Meridian Township, Lansing proper. So that is part and parcel of figuring out this whole process. Because if you, for example, had to call for any type of law enforcement assistance, or you are getting ready to vote, those, you know, the, the actual where I live is very important to those types of things. But in terms of the types of housing, which I think was your initial question, it runs the gamut, everything from a, you know, renting a room, to sharing a house with friends to just myriad opportunities of apartments, of every, you know, shape and size. So I think that students don't realize, but if they're willing to, you know, take a look at all of the different options, in terms of affordability and you know, your own personal preference. There are a lot of choices out there.
Andre 6:22
So going to the next question, how do I get housing off campus, like, where can I start looking, what websites and what resources are there available?
Sue 6:32
Well, the first place I would recommend that you start looking is offcampushousing.msu.edu. And this is really a one stop sort of website, where you do need your MSU net ID, but you're going to find all kinds of things there from, you know, the studio apartment in the high rise on Grand River to, you know, renting a room in a particular house. Or if you're looking for a roommate, you'll find people with MSU net IDs there as well. So that's, that is a good basic place to start. I also recommend, frankly, before you even begin your search, or in tandem with the beginning of your search, you sit down with yourself or with a trusted family member or friend, and take a look at your budget, what you're willing to spend, I want you to pull out, you know, a map, a Google Map, whatever and figure out how far you're willing to walk, what your transportation, you know, abilities are really, and also where the nearest grocery store might be. There are some things we do throughout the year, including the housing fair, which will be occurring in that first week of November, where all kinds of landlords and property managers will come to the Union. And this is not a run in and sign a lease. It's really for you to do some exploration meet with landlords, property managers, we often have our leasing folks come from, actually it's a student legal services, and they would be there to answer questions, show you what to look for in a lease, et cetera. So I always recommend as part of your search, when you have a lease in hand, to go in and talk with any of them, you can get on their website, and it's through ASMSU. You've paid for it with your fees. And it's it's free to you, so they can do an analysis and let you know if there's something that you know, triggers their suspicion, but those are some ways. I always recommend talking to friends, making phone calls, and you know, stopping in. So you can see like at three o'clock in the afternoon, what is this complex like? How am I being treated by the people in the office? I always recommend keeping a running trail of who you're talking to. An email trail is always a good thing as well. And I think this is helpful when you're in the search process, you should not feel rushed or hurried in this process. And a lot of students do, they think there's not enough housing spaces are going to run out, I'm not going to find the place that I want. There are so many places to live all over this community, the market is for students to dictate. And I unfortunately, I think a lot of times students give up that right and let some of the landlords and property managers, not all, but some dictate this is the day we're opening leases. And if you want this, these are your only options. One of the things I would add to is there is a finite number of houses available in East Lansing. So if you are, like, bent on living at a particular cross street with eight of your best friends, that's going to be a different process than just going out and doing a regular search because there are only X number of those opportunities available. So, so that's one thing. Actually, those were a bunch of things.
Andre 9:55
It was all really helpful, though, because I'm also looking for housing off campus next year because all my roommates are seniors, so I'm, like, out looking for my own thing. And you addressed, like, a lot of, like, the issues that I have personally with looking for things off campus and everything like that.
Ali 10:09
And I know you talked about there being a little bit different process for if you want a house versus an apartment, could you talk, you've talked a lot about where, but can you talk a little bit about when? And what kind of the timeline looks like for students who, you know, may be looking for leases that start next year? When should they start looking?
Sue 10:30
I think it's okay to start looking once you've settled in, in the fall and sort of gotten acclimated. And you know, you're going to in many cases, it's going to be sophomore year for students, so starting a new semester, you're in your hall, then I think it's okay to start thinking about it. But if you'll notice, I didn't say run out on September 30, and sign the lease, which is what some people feel and fear that they have to do, I've got to go sign that lease by October 1 or whatever. And that isn't the case, I really want people to try and slow down a little bit and ask all the right questions before you get into something that isn't going to be the right thing for you. A lot of people will have signed something or gotten something done by the end of the fall semester. And that makes a lot of sense. And that's what we're seeing trend wise. But if that didn't happen for you, or you had to make some changes with a potential roommate, and it ends up being like February or something, it's not the end of the world, there'll be something available for you. I don't recommend everybody wait until a month before school starts. But I do have students I work with who for whatever reason are in that boat, and they're still able to find something. There are some properties, especially the newer ones, or the newest ones on the market that fill up pretty quickly.
Mackenzie 11:54
Great. Thank you. I know you had talked a little bit about, like, student legal services, and how we should definitely use those because they are free to you. But what else should you consider when signing a lease? Looking over at just even before you may be taken into student legal services?
Sue 12:10
Yep. I think it's important to recognize how long that lease is for. There are, you know, all kinds of pieces of information within that lease. Are you going to be charged a security deposit? Is there a fee for completing the lease? Is there going to be a cleanup fee, despite the security deposit? What is it going to cost you if you've decided that you want to have a cat or a dog? And is that even allowed? Looking at the lease, read it carefully, you're also going to find out information, like is there one payment due at the end of the month that all the roommates must pull the money together? Or do you have separate, you know, leases of your own that you signed?
Andre 12:53
That’s great. Speaking of leases, and if I'm having any trouble with my lease or my living situation off campus, what should I do if I need legal assistance?
Sue 13:02
That's a good question. And I'm going to bore you by sending you back to the Student Legal Services at ASMSU. But I would always say with--the first thing I recommend doing is talking to the people in the office of your organization, the rental property owner. So that's important. For some of the newer builds, they do have corporate offices, and if you're not getting any satisfaction in the local unit, you may want to also communicate with somebody in the national organization, which you can usually see by looking at a website, and if you scroll down to the bottom, it will tell you who the owner is of the property. In the city of East Lansing itself, you can also contact their planning building and development office and there is a housing and university administrator. So if you just go to cityofeastlansing.com, and look for help with rental issues, you can contact them because sometimes it's, you know, it's something unfortunately, we've had situations where there was a fire or there was mold, or there was something that isn't being remedied in a timely way. And you might want to let the city know about that. Rental licensing and inspections are pretty, you know, stringent in East Lansing, but that's not the case everywhere. But East Lansing often has great resources to help you with that, too.
Ali 14:31
So let's say I know that I want to live off campus, but my current roommate and I may not have similar budgets or have the same ideas about where we want to live the next year. And I need to start looking for other roommates. Do you have any tips or tricks about how to go about that?
Sue 14:48
Yeah, for sure. I think people rely, again, as you said, on the close friend that they know, or the person they're living with, and then they're like, the 11th hour, it's not working, or I don't know what to do. And I think networking through all of your friend or acquaintance groups is a good thing. I think in the land of social media, there are ways for you to connect with people. But you need to be careful about that. And I think asking people some questions where you need to be honest, is really important when you're deciding if that's going to be the best fit for you. I also know that on the offcampushousing.msu.edu website, you can go in and do a roommate selection finder, they ask you questions about, you know, your lifestyle, and what you're looking for in a roommate and how much you're willing to spend and some of those things, and it will help you find some options that's built in right there. And then many, many of our landlords and property managers know that this is an issue for students. And we see in a larger number working with students, so if you were to go in and say, you know, I found a place, I really liked it, I want to live here, I don't have a roommate, or I'm not sure what to do with that. They could say, you know, here are some programs we have as well, where we can help match you up with someone. But don't just think of it as your best friend in the world, it might be somebody that's in a, you know, a group working on a project for a class. So, try to breathe, network, and utilize your resources.
Andre 16:35
For students that are, that don't have cars and are not planning on driving to campus, how can they commute to school?
Sue 16:42
And again, this, this depends on where you're living, your own mobility issues, your, you know, your own personal preference in a lot of ways. So bikes, of course, walking, of course, there is the CATA bus service, which a lot of people use, Capital Area Transport Authority. So you've been become accustomed to that when you're on campus and utilizing that, maybe to go from one end of campus to the other. But CATA really runs throughout the region. And some places will give you a bus pass potentially, or that’s something that you can purchase. And then beyond that some of the apartment complexes have their own bus services. So, an example would be the Lodges or Lofts, where they have a number of times a day that they have their own privately owned bus that will bring you to campus, you'll want to investigate that. And then I think it's important, to be realistic, because you might be saving, you know, a lot of money, for example, living much further away, but then you need to make sure that you realize when the bus is coming, will you be ready on time to catch that bus, etc. So, as I was saying earlier about checking out complexes and so on, I also think it's a good idea to just ride the bus, if that's something you're thinking about. If you're thinking about, you know, there's, there's everything under the sun available from scooters to you know, riding your own bike, or, you know, walking for most people, they really prefer to walk. But those are all things you need to consider.
Ali 18:24
And I know a concern of a lot of students especially, you know, first year students who are commuting is they want to get involved. They want to do all the things that the people who are living on campus can do. So, do you have any advice on how students can stay involved when they're living off campus?
Sue 18:43
I think that's a really good question. And you talk about commuter students. So sometimes we think of that as someone who might be driving in from Grand Rapids or Brighton. So there's a more traditional view of a commuter student. And then we often use the term off campus for anyone who's not literally living on campus, but is in with a relatively close distance, they could walk, they could ride their bike, take a bus, etc. One of the biggest complaints that off campus students have is that they do not feel connected to campus in the way that they did when they lived on because again, everything is in your face all the time. It's convenient. So you have to play some games with yourself to make yourself be on campus and be part of campus and I cannot stress enough the hundreds of registered student organizations, which make that available for students. I think making sure that you don't just race on to campus to go to class and then head back off right away to wherever it is that you're living is important. And it's finding locations finding that study spot that is your place where you're going to go and hang out. It's, you know, purchasing maybe x number of meal tickets so that you're going to eat on campus for two meals a week, you know if that's if that's your limit, or if you're like, I'm going to be on campus all day, Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesday, you know, Wednesdays, whatever, whatever it looks like for you. But you have to make sort of an intentional effort, you know, to participate, to engage, to look in your own college and see what opportunities exist there for you. So there's a little bit more work involved, than if you're, you know, a first year student living in a residence hall, and, you know, you can walk in and look on the back of the stall that you're in, and it's going to tell you all the things you could be doing or sitting there looking at a table tent, you know, while you're eating dinner in a cafeteria, that it's not quite going to be like that. And so as you grow and develop as students, that's something you're going to have to add into the mix is how do I maximize all of the opportunities here?
Mackenzie 20:55
Gotcha. Well, thank you. You talked a little bit earlier about responsibility, and how that really takes a big role with going into housing off campus, now that you ,if you're not living in a residence hall with the RAs and stuff like that, what comes with that, less rules from the halls you're living in, but there's also still, like, local laws. So, for someone living off campus, what local laws and ordinances are important to consider while living in East Lansing, or even the surrounding areas?
Sue 21:20
That's a that's a great idea. So something we have to remember whenever we're moving off campus is there's an existing community of permanent residents. And it doesn't matter. I'm using East Lansing as the example. But it's wherever students are living. And for those who are living in houses, I always recommend that they meet their neighbors, when they first move in. Like, just go knock on the door and introduce yourself, maybe exchange phone numbers, so that if there is the potential for an issue down the line, that's not the first time you're meeting that person. And we've, we have, I don't want to just focus on that. Because there are all these stories of these people who have gotten to know their student neighbors, and they think they're fantastic. And they have them over for dinner, or they make cookies for them. I mean, there's, there's all kinds of great things that go on in, in the neighborhoods. But then in terms of apartments, it's the same thing. We often, I'm talking about permanent residents, but it's also other students, you know, who you don't know that they're working two jobs, and they have a very rigorous curriculum. Everybody has their own situation and perspective. So we always ask people to bear that in mind. In terms of the ordinances themselves, in the case of East Lansing, if you go to their website, and look for, you know, ordinances or information specific to college students, there are particular sections of the website that will pull that up. One thing we like to remind students is that safety off campus, it's not terribly different from what's on campus, but you need to be very aware of your surroundings. Often in those first few weeks, students are, they’re, it's exciting, right? Exciting times, meeting all these people, classes haven't started full swing. So, you might be out having a good time. And you're like, “I don't really know where I am. I don't know who I'm with or what's going on.” So you know, there are the basic things like locking doors, and switching a little bit off your question into some safety elements, but locking your doors, making sure somebody knows where you are, you know, maybe sharing your location with somebody if that's a concern. If people are, you know, engaging in, you know, drinking, which happens with great regularity, particularly in the beginning, when you get to school, we always like to remind people that there is no open alcohol allowed in East Lansing. There's some specific ordinances like that. Noise is another ordinance, people are like, “Well, I didn't think it was that loud.” Well, if it can be heard, from another property, you know, away from your property line, that's a problem. So it's easy to get on to an app or to, you know, just go to the city or municipalities website, and the ordinances will be right there for you.
Ali 24:11
So, could you talk a little bit about how setting up trash and other, like, utility services work?
Sue 24:17
Yeah. So usually, in most of the properties, they will, as part of your lease of the lease addendum, there'll be information on that, because it does vary. In some places you will, it'll be part of your lease, and others you're going to sign something separate, which deals with your utilities and that sort of thing. You want to try and look for opportunities where that can be divided for you with your roommates, as opposed to having to figure out who's paying for what, in terms of trash. In East Lansing, If you're living in a house, there'll be usually a trash container with the house, and also, some curbside recycling. It's So that will differ. And that's a topic, I think students are more and more engaged in and want to make sure they have recycling opportunities. And not all of the apartments and complexes in this area provide that. So I always recommend that students let their landlords know that this is something that they're accustomed to, and they want to know how their landlord is going to help make that easier for them. And also remembering that the university has its own space where you can, if you're willing to save up your recycling and take it over there and drop it off, it's available to you out by what was known as the commuter lot of the Surplus Store on the southern end of campus. So there's that option as well. But trash is usually provided as part of the lease and, and for some, it's taking it down to a dumpster behind the building. For others, there may be a chute, it just depends on the particular property.
Mackenzie 25:58
Gotcha. Well, thank you so much for that. I did just want to add really quick, before we get on to the next question, as we're kind of getting to the last of our questions here today, I just wanted to add for any potential commuter students, listening transfer students listening, I myself kind of can relate to the feelings of not living on campus and feeling a little bit separated. But I just wanted to say that, just with a little effort, like we've been talking about today, it's looking pretty much the exact same, just a little bit different. You're just not living in the residence halls. You can make campus still home, even though you're living off campus, just with a little bit of effort. And I just wanted to say that really quick.
Andre 26:38
I can also actually add a little bit to that, as someone who did not live on campus their first year. It can be like that isolating feeling like Mackenzie was talking about, but it is about, like, throwing yourself out there and just looking for clubs, finding your place on campus, and like really turning, like, MSU into your home. But yeah, I really agree with that.
Mackenzie 26:57
Yeah, it's, it's scary at first. I can relate, I'd say I'm a little bit of an extrovert, and I still was a little bit scared to kind of get out there. But it really does make a difference and making MSU home because I really do consider this my home.
Andre 27:12
Yes, so, hopping into the last question here. What is your favorite part about working with the students and being part of the MSU community yourself?
Sue 27:20
Oh my gosh, I just, I love being part of Spartan life and Spartan culture. And I like to help students, because this is, this is all part of the learning experience, right? We can talk ad nauseam about academics and the classroom and all of the amazing things that are happening there. But this is, this is the part that you remember the most after you leave college and university life, is what that experience was like the people that you met, what it made you feel like what did you learn because that affects you the most as a person. So anything I can do to facilitate that development or growth is something that I enjoy very much. And I just love the fresh ideas, and approaches, and things that we all learn from one another, and students bring a new energy and vibrancy every single fall.
Ali 28:15
All right. Well, thank you so much, Sue, for joining us today. Hopefully, students. Whether you're living off campus this year, or perhaps looking to live off campus in the future, you can find some of these tips helpful.
Outro 28:29
Thank you for listening to this episode of The Spartan Orientation Station on Impact 89 FM. Let us know what you think by connecting with us on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram at msu_nso.