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Brandeis University sets about 5,400 students on a hilly campus in Waltham, Massachusetts, just upriver from Boston along the Charles. Waltham is an old mill city grown into a walkable college town, and the center of gravity is Moody Street, a long strip of shops, the public library, and year-round events. The Charles runs through town with trails and parks alongside it, and Prospect Hill Park climbs to skyline views of Boston. On campus, the Rose Art Museum keeps the arts humming, and the traditions skew quirky and close-knit. The MBTA Commuter Rail stops at Brandeis/Roberts, so downtown Boston is a quick ride, while day to day most students walk the hill.
Brandeis requires first-year students to live on campus for their full first academic year, so as an incoming student you will be in University housing with the rest of your class. Exemptions exist through an On-Campus Housing Exemption Request, typically for students commuting from a family home nearby or with specific circumstances. The default is on campus.
After first year, students are free to stay on campus or move into the surrounding Waltham neighborhoods, and many head off by junior or senior year. The local rental process is standard Massachusetts, with most students signing as a group. Confirm the legal occupancy of the unit, since older Waltham multifamily homes have limits.
You will usually sign a twelve-month lease, and landlords commonly ask for first month, last month, a security deposit, and sometimes a broker fee, which can stack up fast. Read the lease for who covers heat and snow removal before you commit. Have your paperwork ready, since the September 1 turnover moves quickly.
Housing policies change frequently. Always verify current requirements directly with Brandeis University before signing a lease.
Greater Boston runs on an early, brutal leasing cycle, and Waltham rides along with it. A huge share of leases turn over on September 1, so the hunt for those units kicks off the previous winter and peaks in February through April. If you want a good place near Moody Street or within walking distance of the hill, start looking in late winter of the year before. The best units get claimed months ahead.
Demand peaks from February through April as the September 1 turnover approaches. Classes start in late August, right as the September 1 turnover hits, which makes move-in week chaotic citywide. The strongest units near Moody Street and the hill go first. Groups that searched in late winter dominate this stretch.
If you miss the spring rush, keep checking through summer for units that did not fill, and look at January spots from students leaving for study abroad. Summer subletting is common around campus, so a short-term room is usually findable even when the fall market feels picked over. The Commuter Rail stops at Brandeis/Roberts, so a unit a bit farther out stays connected. Acting quickly on a late vacancy helps.
Just south of the Charles, a mix of historic and multifamily homes with easy walks to Moody Street, popular with Brandeis students.
Roberts hugs the campus near the Brandeis/Roberts rail stop, small and quiet, while Cedarwood is another calm residential pocket of older single-family homes right by campus.
Around Moody Street, it trades quiet for walkability, with the most going on day and night and the shortest hop to the train, while Angleside tucks between Brandeis and the river near Fox Park.
Common questions from students searching for housing.
A room in a shared apartment or house near campus typically runs about $800-$1,200/month per person. Spots in quieter pockets like Roberts and Cedarwood and further from Moody Street sit at the lower end, while newer units and anything walkable to downtown Waltham push higher. Splitting a multifamily home with more roommates is the usual way to keep your share down.
Other universities in Waltham share a similar off-campus housing market.
Bentley University is a business-focused school of about 5,200 students perched on a hill in Waltham, Massachusetts, just west of Boston along the Charles River. Waltham is an old mill city turned walkable college town, and its heartbeat is Moody Street, a long strip of shops, the public library, and year-round events…
View housing near Bentley University