At RocRooms, we give students the option of choosing between a 9-month and a 12-month lease. Most other housing options in Rochester only have 12-month or 11.5-month options even though the students they provide housing to often waste a lot of money on empty summer apartments.

Students who plan to go home for the summer have the option to choose a 9-month lease — usually costing a student about $50-$60 more per month. Although more expensive, not having to look for a summer sublet surely will provide "peace of mind." If the cost is too much for the student and they still want to go home for the summer, there is the option of subletting.

The benefit of a 12-month lease is that you have an entire year in your RocRoom secured. You can stay in Rochester over the summer to take classes or work and you don't have to worry about moving during those months It also costs about $50-$60 less per month. The reason for the difference in price is that it takes extra time and energy for RocRooms to fill a room in the summer for just a few months. If we are unable to fill the room, the extra rent money from you will help offset some of the cost of maintaining the home without a tenant. If you do sign up for a 12-month lease but then decide you want to leave for the summer, you can sublet your room.

For subletting, we do have a fee: $75-$200 depending on how much work the student puts in. You can look for someone to fill your spot on your own and then have him/her fill out an application. If all we only need to do paperwork, the fee is $75. If you need help looking for someone to fill your room and we do a lot of the work (communication and showings), the sublet fee is $200. Even though there is a sublet fee, it would save you a lot of money over having to pay summer rent when you are not in Rochester.

We do have students who need housing just for the summer and summer housing is always available at an affordable price. Rooms do fill fast; our goal, which has been reached the past three years, is to remain above a 95% occupancy rate.

Most of our students have had a very good experience subletting their rooms with us. We will always go out of our way to help provide our students with "peace of mind;" especially since cumbersome classes can be stressful enough. Check out this recent testimonial on subletting here.

We also try to accommodate those who only need a room for one semester or one or two quarters. Just ask us and we can try to work out a lease that best fits your needs.

If you need an apartment for the summer, we usually have a lot of housing options since many of our students choose 9-month leases. The rent for summer housing is equal to or less than the monthly rent for a 12-month lease, much less than our typical short-term leases.

The actual leasing process is all done online so you don't actually need to sign the lease in person. We will send you the information and you can do everything from home. There is a credit check but you can have a co-signer. Let us know if you have any questions and we will do everything we can to accommodate your needs.

At RocRooms, we offer the type of housing environment that graduate students seek.  Over the past year, we’ve received increased interest from graduate students at RIT and UofR because we provide an atmosphere conducive with rigorous university programs. 

We have rules against parties and limit the number of guests (5 per home) so that the home remains comfortable for all roommates.  Graduate students find peace of mind living with RocRooms because of our rules and communication with tenants. 

Many graduate students look for single rooms and live with other students that they have not met before.  We can set prospective tenants up with each other’s contact information so that everyone can communicate before making final decisions.  Usually roommates get along fine because we have rules that are for everyone’s benefit and easy to follow.  If there happens to ever be a problem with a roommate, we encourage communication and have a warning system if rules are not followed.

We also provide you with all furnishings so that you don’t need to move heavy furniture all the way from home to Rochester.  You also won’t have to waste your time and money buying new furniture.  If there is ever a problem with the home that requires maintenance, simply fill out a maintenance request form online and we will fix it as soon as possible.

We understand that Graduate school is expensive and offer rooms at competitive prices.  You can’t find more affordable housing on campus.  The average rent for a RocRoom is about $600/month for a 12-month lease.   This all-inclusive rent is paid in one easy online, monthly payment and includes all costs: rent, utilities, heat, electric, wireless Internet, cable, laundry, water, cleaning service, lawn maintenance, and snow removal. 

Sometimes, problems with housing can be a distraction and we do everything we can to minimize the effort you spend making housing work for you.  We do the work so that you don’t have to.  We want to make housing simple for students so that you have extra time and energy to focus on you number one priority: education.  

If you are transferring to a school in the Rochester area, RocRooms can make the transition of changing schools and towns so much easier.  We provide all furnishings to make the move easier- you don’t even need to bring cookware!  We also supply basic cleaning supplies so you don’t have to worry about that either. 

We understand that you are looking to start fresh in Rochester and the last thing you want is even more debt from living in expensive on-campus housing.  Our student housing is affordable and convenient.   The monthly bill is all-inclusive so you don’t have to worry about separate bills for utilities, Internet, cable, etc.  All of these expenses are included in your online bill and each home has wireless Internet, cable, and a television.

Since you are transferring, housing with RocRooms is ideal because we find roommates for you and each student has a separate lease- you don’t have to worry about roommates paying their share of the rent!  We show prospective tenants the home and you can receive their contact information if you would like.  If you prefer to live with a specific gender, we pay attention to your preferences and do our best to meet them.  You can also find your own roommates but it is not a requirement.  We have rules to make the living situation stress-free such as no parties and limiting the number of guests (5 per house).

It’s time to get out of the dorms and into the ROC!  Just because you are transferring schools does not mean living on campus is the best decision.  By living off-campus, you have a level of independence that you can’t get living in cramped, shared, on-campus housing.  Our homes are in close proximity to RIT and UofR so you are close to campus but just far enough away to really experience Rochester. 

RocRooms will provide the peace of mind living situation you are looking for.  Your new room will be a quiet place to study and relax.  Since you have made the decision to change schools, you have enough to worry about with a new campus and new classes- you don’t need to worry about housing when you choose RocRooms.

Global Village, a sustainable residential community that cost RIT $54.5 million to build, provides a variety of amenities but comes at a high price.  Global Village offers student housing, dining facilities, food markets, a fitness center, a hair salon, and a print and postal center. 

The apartments each have 5 furnished bedrooms: 4 singles and 1 double.  The apartments, which are only available to 2^nd year RIT students and older, cost at least $760 per month (for a double without a kitchen) and at most $892 per month (for a single with a kitchen).   The rent is included in each student’s quarterly RIT bill so there is no separate bill for rent, cable, etc.  Some of the apartments do not have kitchens but there is one communal kitchen on the first floor of each building.  For the apartments that do have a kitchen, it is only 11 x 11 feet and there is no garbage disposal or dishwasher.

One student who lived in Global Village said he really liked that is was close to dining facilities and that laundry was in the building.  He did not like “how small the rooms were, especially the double.”  He also complained about how “the bathrooms drained terribly, the fridge was too small, the couches were super uncomfortable…  It was really expensive for how small the apartment was and for how few washers and dryers there were in the entire building.” 

Some commonalities between Global Village and RocRooms are that each apartment is furnished and includes utilities.  However, RocRooms comes at a much more affordable price and offers great service.  Both Global Village and RocRooms feature individual leases so that you are not responsible for the rent of your roommates.  Each RocRoom apartment comes with an oven, refrigerator, microwave, laundry, wireless Internet, and cable.

RocRooms properties have private yards that are maintained with complementary snow removal and lawn maintenance.  In addition, RocRooms includes a monthly cleaning service to tidy up the common areas.  Most of our properties include free and easy parking; when available, residents have the option of garage parking at $20 per month.  Our apartments also come with basic kitchen utensils and supplies for your convenience. 

Rent is a very important aspect of student living that RocRooms pays special attention to.  We have competitive pricing and understand how expensive housing can be for college students on a tight budget.  We do the best we can to save you money.  Bills are also streamlined into one easy online monthly payment. 

The average cost for a RocRoom will be $550 per month this year.  The amount of total housing space in each unit ranges from 1,200 sq ft to 2,200 sq ft.  Some RocRooms for this year will have all-inclusive options as low as $425 per month.  Global Village costs close to $900 per month and has much less space.   A single Global Village bedroom is only 12 x 18 feet and the living room is 11 x 12.  Also, Global Village requires that you live with 5 other students.   One student felt “six is too many for one fridge and two bathrooms.”  Roc Rooms has apartments with 3 to 5 bedrooms and plenty of space between them.

While Global Village is right on campus, which may appeal to RIT students (especially for those without a car), RocRooms offers relatively close housing options for a much more affordable price with comparable amenities.  Even though Global Village has a lot of extra features such as dining facilities and a salon, the businesses are open to the public.  RocRooms provides you with comparable amenities such as: lower rent, your own space, and a level of independence that living in close quarters with hundreds of other RIT students cannot provide.

We want to thank Melinda Carter, a recent graduate for making a guest appearance on our blog!

As winter break approaches on most campuses, many freshmen are just now getting acclimated to the financial rigors that can come along with the first semester away from home. Money is often an issue in college, with student loans and not much money putting a limit on overall spending. Luckily, tons of first time students have waivered the waters of money problems in college by taking advantage of money saving tactics.

One of the first areas to key in on saving is housing. This could start when looking for sophomore housing arrangements during your second semester of school. Luckily, there are some great resources that promote affordable and quality student living are continuing to grow. For example, in the Western New York area, Roc Rooms is a great source for local students looking to find Rochester apartments that have good locations, prices and quality living spaces.

Many students adapt to saving money buy eating small meals such as ramen and macaroni and cheese that can be bought in bulk. Saving money on food can be done without having to eat snack type meals such as those previously mentioned. At the grocery store, you can sign up for programs which give discounts and points for frequent shoppers. Also, the natural route of coupons is a big assist to students looking to get a bang for their buck.

Another thing to remember as a student is to simply take advantage of being in school. Many restaurants and stores near universities often hand out discounts when a student id is shown. Most movie theaters also have discounted rates of a dollar or two for students as cinema tickets continue to drive up prices.

Staying away from a credit card is usually a pretty solid suggestion. While it’s hard not to use credit during college years with the difficulty of financial requirements, building debt up is unacceptable. Having one credit card to build up your score during college is probably okay, however you should look to avoid carrying more than one could be dangerous. Stay on top of your finances by making a budget complete with spending allowance and expenses, which will help keep you on top of your finances.

Certainly there are other ways students can save money during college, but acclimating to a few suggestions can definitely help the process for freshmen. In the end, saving money on items such as groceries and choosing to stay away from multiple credit cards can not only allow for less stress right now, but it can also keep away future burdens such as credit card debt.