When it comes to finding off campus housing, Pitt students share the consensus that the search has to start early.<\/p>\n
With increased enrollment<\/a> at Pitt, demand for housing in Oakland is growing<\/a>. As of Oct. 1, many Pitt students have already started searching for or secured off campus housing for the next academic year. Several Pitt students report feeling pressured to make quick housing decisions.\u00a0<\/p>\n Ainslee Torres, a sophomore biology and psychology major, said she and her roommates began searching at the end of August because she believes houses \u201cget snatched up\u201d quickly, especially ones that are close to campus.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a little stressful, honestly, because we have so much going on with new classes and everything, but I\u2019m glad we got it out the way, and we\u2019re set,\u201d Torres said.<\/p>\n Sophomore neuroscience student Trisha Shetty and her roommates are currently looking for next year\u2019s housing and began their search at the beginning of the semester. Last year, when they began their search in February, they were unable to secure a suitable place to live.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re looking early because last year when we started second semester, everything was either gone or in conditions that we wouldn\u2019t be willing to pay rent for,\u201d Shetty said.<\/p>\n Shetty said looking for housing early can be a challenge because it\u2019s hard to plan far ahead and know whether you and your current friends will be compatible roommates.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of uncertainty \u2014 not in my case, but in most cases with freshmen,\u201d Shetty said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Caitlin Snyder, a sophomore architecture major, said the nicer and newer apartments she\u2019s been looking at already have waitlists.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cEverything goes so fast,\u201d Snyder said. \u201cSo if you don\u2019t get on it early, you\u2019re not going to get anything.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Snyder believes looking for next year\u2019s housing early on puts a lot of pressure on students because not everyone knows their roommates for next year very well.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is a big commitment because it\u2019s a decent amount of money you\u2019re putting down,\u201d Snyder said.<\/p>\n Riya Desai, a junior political science major, said she feels all the good housing options will be taken if she doesn\u2019t look early.<\/p>\n Desai said the need to look early to find a good place leaves little room to adjust to current living situations before making the decision to move or stay.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s really annoying because I don\u2019t even completely know what I\u2019m looking for, and I feel like if I had a problem with my living situation later in the year, I just have no choice but to have a bad living situation,\u201d Desai said.<\/p>\n