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Allen College occupies a focused campus on Heath St in Waterloo, Iowa, working in close partnership with UnityPoint Health to train nurses and advanced practice clinicians. The college is deliberately small, built around cohort-based programs in nursing, radiologic science, and graduate health professions. Students balance clinical rotations at adjacent UnityPoint facilities with coursework in the same corridor. Waterloo is a Cedar Valley city with a working-class character, affordable rents, a revitalizing downtown along Commercial St, and a quality of life suited to focused clinical training. Most Allen College students live off campus in Waterloo's North End and Kittrell Park neighborhoods throughout their enrollment.
Allen College does not enforce a mandatory freshman live-on requirement. Because the college is a small, specialized health sciences institution, its residential capacity is very limited and most incoming students arrange off-campus housing in Waterloo from the start.
All enrolled students are eligible to live off campus, and the large majority of Allen College students do so throughout their enrollment. The college's affiliation with UnityPoint Health means many students are already working professionals or graduate-level students who prefer independent housing near the hospital complex on Heath St.
Waterloo is a mid-size Iowa city with a rental market that does not fill up as quickly as a large college town. Starting your search two to three months before your program start date is ample time to secure a well-located apartment or house share near Allen's campus.
Housing policies change frequently. Always verify current requirements directly with Allen College before signing a lease.
Students admitted to Allen College programs that begin in August should start their housing search in April or May. Early searchers get access to the best-located units in the Kittrell Park and North End neighborhoods before they are claimed by returning students and hospital staff from UnityPoint. Reaching out to local property managers directly in the spring often surfaces off-market listings. Locking in a lease by late May gives you two to three months to arrange utilities, furnishings, and transportation before orientation.
The modest peak for Waterloo rentals near Allen College runs from late May through June, when nursing and health sciences cohort admissions are confirmed and students begin committing to leases. Most of the apartment inventory within a mile of the 1990 Heath St campus turns over during this window. Units with off-street parking and in-unit laundry, which are priorities for students working clinical shifts at odd hours, are claimed first. Plan to have a signed lease by early July if those features matter to you.
Students arriving in July or early August will find a smaller but not empty selection in Waterloo. The city has enough overall rental supply that late searchers can still find decent options, particularly in the University of Northern Iowa student-adjacent market in Cedar Falls, which is about fifteen minutes away. Furnished short-term rentals near the downtown Waterloo corridor can also serve as a bridge while you look for a longer lease.
Kittrell Park, just north of the Allen College campus along Heath St, is the closest walkable neighborhood for students. The area has a mix of single-family rentals and small apartment buildings, and the short distance to the UnityPoint hospital complex makes it popular with clinical students and staff alike.
The North End stretches along Ansborough Ave and Lafayette St north of campus and offers a range of older but well-maintained rental housing at affordable prices. Several houses in this area are rented by groups of two to four Allen College students splitting costs, making it a practical choice for health sciences cohorts who start together.
Downtown Waterloo along Commercial St and East Park Ave is about one mile from campus and reachable by a short drive or bus. The neighborhood has newer apartment conversions in older commercial buildings and is convenient to restaurants and groceries along the main corridor. For students who prefer an urban feel over a quiet residential street, downtown is the most social option in Waterloo.
Common questions from students searching for housing.
Waterloo is an affordable city for renters. One-bedroom apartments near Allen College on Heath St typically rent for $700 to $1,000 per month, and two-bedroom units shared between two students often work out to $450 to $650 per person. Utilities are commonly billed separately and costs vary seasonally given Iowa winters.
Other universities in Waterloo share a similar off-campus housing market.
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