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Housing options
It is strongly recommended that you secure housing, both temporary and long term, prior to your arrival on campus. (skip Temporary Housing, go to Long-term Housing)
Temporary Housing
If you do not have a place to live upon your arrival in Columbus, reserve temporary housing before arriving.
International students: some OSU nationality clubs (use link to search for clubs) and the International Friendships Organization will also help arrange for temporary housing.
Hostel
Hostelling Int'l - Columbus
95 East 12th Ave,
Columbus, OH 43201
Tel: (614) 294-7157
Web site: Hosteling International, Central and Southern Ohio Council site (new window)
Office hours: 7:30 - 9:30am, 5-10pm
(limited space available)
Hotels
Rates range from $40 to over $100 per night for a single person room. If you reserve a hotel room, ask about special lower rates for new OSU students. You will be asked to show OSU letter of admission to prove OSU student status if a special rate is available. Relative costs indicated below, pricey = $$$$; less expensive = $$.
Most of these hotels are a 30-45 minute walk to the OSU campus. Free hotel van service to OSU may be available. Taxi fare to OSU from most of these hotels is approximately $15.
Within proximity of campus:
The Blackwell |
| |
Holiday Inn on the Lane |
University Plaza Hotel |
Fairfield Inn and Suites |
Red Roof Inn |
Drury Inn & Suites, |
Super 8 Motel |
University Inn |
Holiday Inn Express--Expo Center |
Long-term Housing
For long term housing at OSU, there are basically three options available:
Graduate dormitories:
There are a number of "on-campus" options available to our graduate students. OSU offers two dormatory buildings for graduate students. One is Jones Tower, just one block north of the MSE dept. These rooms are rented by the year at the current rate of $404/month with phone. Meal plans are optional. Jones features a central laundry and kitchen facilities, swimming pool, Ping-Pong and pool tables, television lounge, computer lab, and study rooms. View details on Jones Graduate Tower (new window).
Another option available to grad students is the newly constructed Neil Avenue dorm. This building is located on South Campus (MSE is on the north side of campus) and features personal kitchen facilities, its own grocery and convenient store, and laundry facilities. These rooms are rented at the rate of $620-632 paid per month on a year lease. View details on Neil Avenue dorm (new window).
A number of apartments are also owned by the university and are made available to graduate students. The rates range from $325-575 per month and do not include utilities.
To apply for OSU graduate housing, please complete the OSU Housing on-line graduate housing application form (new window).
Housing Assignments
350 Morrill Tower
1910 Cannon Dr.
Columbus, OH 43210-1290
Telephone (614) 292-8266
OSU on-campus housing site (new window)
Buckeye Village:
This is family housing located near campus. One and two bedroom unfurnished apartments are available ranging from $525 to $660 per month. The cost of gas, water and high-speed Internet access (Ethernet) are included in your rent. Residents are responsible for electric and telephone and cable (if desired). Contact:
Buckeye Village
2661 Defiance Dr.
Columbus, OH 43210
Telephone (614) 292-6561
Buckeye Village site (new window)
Note: there is a significant wait list for the Buckeye Village apartments, as long as 4-5 months.
Off campus housing:
Located around the campus are many apartments for rent at various rates and sizes. As with any university, the quality of these accommodations can vary widely. You may wish to contact the Office of Off-Campus Student Services (OCSS) regarding information on where to look, who to see, and what to watch for. They can also connect you with folks looking for roommates (many of the OSU nationality clubs (new window) also offer this service).
Office of Off-Campus Student Services
Rm. 342 Ohio Union
1739 N. High St.
Columbus, OH 43210
Telephone: (614) 292-0100
Off-Campus Student Services (new window)
- Tip for all students: The MSE dept. is located in the northeast section of the OSU campus.
- When using the Off-Campus Housing Search (new window), you may wish to look for housing under the following "Location" limiters:
University District Central (13th-18th Avenue),
University District Northeast,
University District Northwest,
Outside University District: Clintonville,
or Other. - It is generally recommended that you look at areas north of campus or west of campus. When locating housing east of campus, you'll want to look in the area east of High St. and west of Summit Ave.
- View map showing OCSS areas relative to the MSE dept.
- View interactive map of Columbus (new window) The "Columbus Overview" is an excellent map of the Greater Columbus Area (available in either Flash or PDF versions).
- In the center of the map is a blue box indicating the "downtown" area of Columbus.
- Just north of this box is an icon indicating the location of OSU.
- Zoom in on this icon--our dept. is located one block southwest of the intersection of E. Lane Ave. and N. High St.).
- The areas to the north and west of campus are probably the best locations off-campus that are more safe and close to bus lines.
- MapQuest map of the OSU campus area (new window) [indicates location of MSE department at 2041 N. College Rd.]
- COTA bus routes (new window) Local route maps for the lines servicing Central Ohio. The following routes stop within 1-2 blocks of the MSE dept.:
- Local route #2 North High Street
- Local route #18 Kenny Road
- Crosstown route #84 OSU-Arlington-Grandview
(maps are in PDF form, 300-1000K)
Note: as an OSU student you have unlimited access to the COTA system when you pay your once-per-quarter $9 COTA fee.
- Information on moving in (new window), includes utility phone numbers, tips, etc. (from Off-Campus Student Services).
- International students: OCSS has prepared some tips regarding what to look for in campus-area housing. Off-campus housing and international students (new window)
- OCSS holds housing orientation sessions specifically for international students. These sessions are part of the Office of International Education's general orientation sessions.
Additional off-campus housing resources
Below, please find just a few on-line options for housing searches.
- University Village (new window) Located off Olentangy River Rd just north of Ackerman near OSU campus. Offers amenities such as our private shuttle service, free tanning salon, swimming pool, fitness center, computer lab and off street parking.
- The Lantern (new window) OSU's student newspaper. Click on "Classifieds" for links to area apartment rentals.
- TheSaver.com (new window) A web site geared toward the OSU student community with a number of listings for apartments, sublets, entertainment, etc. (click on "Apartment Finder" for long term housing).
NOTE: for housing near the MSE dept. select the locations "North Campus (North of Woodruff)". A secondary option would be "Central Campus (Between 12th Ave. & Woodruff)". The MSE dept. is located in the northeast quadrant of campus, on the corner of College Rd. and Woodruff Ave. (View map showing areas relative to the MSE dept.). - EasyRoommate.com (new window) An on-line roommate matching service that provides housing ads for a specified city, such as Columbus and the OSU area.
- RentNet.com (new window) Web site that permits you to search for rentals by zip code, university, or by proximity to an address (ours is 2041 College Rd., Columbus, Ohio, 43210).
- The Columbus Dispatch--our primary local paper: Columbus Dispatch Classifieds (new window) click on "Apartment listings " and "Select a sub-category" Apartments for rent, OSU.
