Are you excited about study abroad, but stressed about navigating your housing situation – before you leave, while you are away, or when you return to WWU?
We are here to tell you that it IS possible to work out housing during the school year and that you are NOT limited to only summer programs. Education Abroad, University Residences & Off Campus Living are here to help you navigate your housing situation with resources and tips!
We do realize that summer programs appear to be the more favorable option for many students going abroad who don’t realize all the options they have for housing during the regular school year. Almost every student who studies abroad is faced with the task of finding housing in Bellingham before and after they go abroad. This may seem like a daunting task and you may ask yourself, “If I want to study in the fall, then where will I live when I come back to Western in the winter?” Or, “I want to be abroad during spring semester, where will I live for the one quarter I will be at Western during the fall?” These unknowns may steer students toward applying for shorter summer programs where housing might not seem to pose an issue.
1. On-Campus Housing Options:
When Rachelle studied abroad in Japan for a fall semester, she decided to live on campus before and after her program. On-campus housing is a great option for students who are studying abroad! Since WWU housing is on a term-by-term bases, it is easy to apply for housing just for the quarter(s) that you are going to be at Western. While Rachelle was in Japan, she was able to re-apply for housing again for the upcoming winter quarter. “When it was time during fall quarter to apply for housing again… I just emailed them (WWU Housing) and let them know that I was returning from study abroad. In that email I also requested a specific room. In the end I was placed in the same apartment with my friends! It was really nice and easy! I used the housing website to make sure I remembered the deadlines to apply for winter housing.”
Interested in using on-campus housing? Check out the WWU Housing page for more details: https://housing.wwu.edu/
*Breaking your On-Campus Housing Contract – As long as you notify WWU Education Abroad and Residence Life in advance, our office can write a letter to Residence Life indicating your are studying abroad so there is no breakage fee. * Please note that students who do not notify our respective offices by deadlines can still be subject to fees.
On-Campus Housing availability by term: It is much easier for students to go abroad for the fall term, and find on-campus housing for winter or spring quarters than it is to seek on-campus housing for fall quarter. This is because there are so many new students including incoming new freshman and transfer students needing/guaranteed housing in the fall.
Scenarios:
- Seeking On-campus housing for Spring Quarter (you studied abroad during the Fall & Winter, or just Winter Quarter) = Best availability for on-campus housing!
- Seeking On-campus housing for Winter Quarter (you studied abroad during the Fall or Calendar Year) = Has more availability/some varied options.
- Seeking On-campus housing for Fall Quarter (you studied abroad in the winter/spring or summer) = Very challenging. Likely you are looking off-campus.
- Seeking On-Campus housing for Summer Quarter = University Residences will only offer 6 and 9 week Summer housing options.
- Seeking On-Campus housing for Short-term (a couple weeks here and there during the year) = Guest Housing may have availability, but this is often rare. https://housing.wwu.edu/guest-housing
Contract Appeals – If you apply for on-campus housing while abroad, it is possible that a hold will be placed on your housing application (because you’re living abroad/not currently on campus). University Residences advises that if you wish to appeal/reinstate Renewal Status, you should file a Contract Appeal. You will include your name, ID number, what you want, and why. University Residences anticipates having good availability and generally hopes to approve most appeals.
2. Off-Campus Housing Options:
WWU Housing, Sublets & Roommates Facebook Page:
Do you like the ease of using Craigslist but want to interact with a more private audience? Another online group that is exclusive to only Western students is the WWU Housing Sublets, & Roommates Facebook Page. It consists of the same idea as Craigslist, where students post pictures and information of available rooms including, cost of rent, location, and average monthly utilities. You must be a Western student and you must have a Facebook account to access this page. This is a great community to be a part of when looking for housing during the school year!
Natalie, who studied abroad in Chile, used the Housing Facebook page when she came back to Western after studying abroad for a fall semester. There are usually a lot of posts with available houses and apartments, so Natalie recommends creating a criteria. “While looking, I had three things that the house had to have before I would contact the poster. I needed a place to park my car, there could not be any pets because of my allergies, and I did not want to live with smokers.
Keep your criteria simple! Think about what is really important to you. After finding a house that fit my criteria, I messaged the poster and soon after that, I drove up to Bellingham to check it out and to meet some of the roommates. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary and the house was beautiful so I decided right then and there that I would take over the lease. I worked out a move-in date with the girl who was moving out and I had everything moved in a day before the quarter started. This was by far the easiest housing experience I had ever had. The whole process only took about a month from the time I started looking to the day I moved in.”
To access the WWU Facebook housing page, request to join the group on Facebook (you must have a WWU ID/acceptance letter), Once approved, you can post/review posts/chat, etc.
Craigslist:
If you are living off-campus, Brianna, who studied abroad in Costa Rica and Panama, recommends using Craigslist to find people to take over your room while you are abroad. If you are interested in subletting, make sure that your rental agreement allows for them first. If you know that you are going to be abroad before you enter a lease agreement, think about picking an agency that allows for subletting so you don’t run into this problem later down the road. Of course, your roommates will also have to be on-board with taking in a new roommate. Just like living on campus, this method allows students to go abroad without having to pay rent on a property in Bellingham. Make sure to add important details of who can apply to your post like preferred gender, age, pets, etc.. You can also use Craigslist to find available housing for when you return home/before you leave if you are not already signed into a rental contract. Since the website is open to all users, you are bound to come across a variety of housing options in the Bellingham area.
Are you curious about what is being offered on Craigslist? Take a look for yourself! (Make sure you are searching under the Housing tab) https://bellingham.craigslist.org/search/hhh
WWU Housing Listing Site/App
We understand that housing is becoming an increased barrier for WWU students, especially as it relates to Study Abroad planning. In response to this, the Education Abroad Office at WWU, in collaboration with Residence Life, and Off Campus Living have teamed up to discuss these barriers, and to identify a solution. In addition to current resources and tips, there is now a free site, just for WWU students to be able to post sublets, find apartments, and message other students! This is also available as an “App” to use/access on your phone.
The website can be found here: https://offcampusrentals.wwu.edu/listing
Additional Tips:
Plan early! We know that the opportunity to study abroad is important to you, so let your roommates & family members know early on that this is in your academic plan.
- Plan to arrange for your housing arrangement or lease timeline to best fit your study abroad timeline.
- You may consider living with family or friends short-term before you leave, or upon your return to save money.
- Make sure that your future lease agreement would allow for a sublet & start collaborating with your roommates or friends to see who might be interested to fill your lease.
- Connect & post on Facebook/social media that you are seeking roommates or short-term housing considerations.
*Best case scenario = you & your roommates can all study abroad together!
Timing: Many off-campus housing options start pre-leasing for Fall as early as Mid-March, so if you know you are going to be abroad and want to start connecting on roommates/housing options for your return, we would suggest connecting on Facebook early on to establish connections or start looking at property options.
Budget: It can be expensive and stressful to move, but with ample time and planning, you can reduce your costs and stress. Having a housing plan for before and after you study abroad can avoid the scenario of feeling pressure to continue to pay for rent here at home, in addition to your international housing costs.
Financial Aid: Unfortunately, the WWU Education Abroad Office can only account for international expenses within your budget for study abroad, so we cannot account for domestic rent costs in your budget. This is why it is important to plan for your housing scenario well in advance.
Take a chance and meet new people!
You might think that in all of these situations you have the potential to live with complete strangers, but don’t let that scare you! “Finding a place that fits your needs is most important, even if it means living with strangers. Remember, you were just living with complete strangers while you were abroad, so what makes it any different back here? It may be hard to trust that you will be in that state of mind when you return home, but living with 6 strangers allowed me to continue meeting new people after I returned home. I even became really good friends with one of my random roommates and we still continue to stay in touch.”
We hope to have shared some valuable insight with all of our students contemplating housing while choosing a study abroad program. We recommend that you pick the program that fits you best and the rest will fall into place. Be adventurous! And remember that where you live allows different opportunities for growth, both while you are abroad and while you are here at home.
Contact Us:
WWU Off Campus Living: https://wp.wwu.edu/offcampusliving/ Contact: Julia.Burns@wwu.edu
WWU University Residences: https://housing.wwu.edu/ Contact: Housing@wwu.edu 360-650-6565 Edens Hall
WWU Education Abroad: https://studyabroad.wwu.edu/ Contact: EdAbroad@wwu.edu 360-650-3298 Miller Hall 208