Loading listings
Franklin & Marshall College is a small liberal arts school of about 2,254 students set just northwest of downtown Lancaster, one of the oldest inland cities in the country. The campus organizes life around the College House system, so the social world is tight and grounded on the grounds themselves. Lancaster gives that bubble a real city to spill into: a walkable downtown grid, a long-running public farmers market, gallery walks on First Friday, and a brick-rowhouse character that feels historic without feeling frozen. Students stroll into the center for shows, art, and the market, and the College Houses host their own traditions. Lancaster is flat and compact, so most people walk or bike between campus and downtown, with rail to Philadelphia.
Franklin & Marshall runs a four-year residency requirement, so freshmen live in one of the first-year College Houses and there is no real freshman apartment hunt. Students are expected to live in college-owned or college-approved housing for all four years, which keeps campus life tightly residential. Plan on living on campus when you arrive.
As students move into junior and senior year, the off-campus option that exists is mostly F&M-affiliated apartments within walking distance of campus, like College Row and College Hill, and you typically need two years of enrollment to qualify. Truly independent off-campus living is limited and runs through the residency-requirement approval process, so do not assume you can simply sign any lease in town. Confirm your eligibility year before you plan around moving off.
The college-affiliated apartments are usually a year-long, twelve-month agreement, with internet and laundry bundled into the monthly amount while you pay electric straight to the utility company. These affiliated leases line up with the academic calendar, and classes start in late August. Read the agreement closely before you sign.
Housing policies change frequently. Always verify current requirements directly with Franklin and Marshall College before signing a lease.
Because F&M keeps most students in college and college-affiliated housing, the timeline runs through the school's housing process rather than the open Lancaster rental market. Watch for the room and apartment selection cycle, which the college runs in the spring for the following academic year, and get your eligibility and roommate group sorted before then. If you are pursuing an approved independent off-campus arrangement, start the conversation with residential staff early, ideally the semester before, because approval is not automatic. Getting organized ahead of the selection window gives you the most leverage.
For the affiliated College Row and College Hill apartments, juniors and seniors should act when selection opens, since the walkable, sought-after units fill first. Lancaster's wider rental market does have a normal spring and summer leasing rhythm with year-long terms, but for most F&M students the binding date is the campus selection window, not a citywide rush. The most desirable affiliated units go quickly once the cycle begins. Line up your roommate group before selection opens so you can move fast.
If you miss the campus selection cycle, your affiliated options narrow considerably, since the best units are claimed early. The wider Lancaster market turns over in summer, so a late search may still surface a year-long lease downtown. Subletting and mid-year openings are limited around such a residential campus, so do not count on a short-term fix. Plan your move around the late-August start to avoid scrambling.
The F&M-affiliated apartment clusters within walking distance of campus, popular with juniors and seniors who qualify for off-campus living.
The blocks around the academic core read densely urban and student-heavy, with brick rowhouses close to class.
A short walk south, this is the walkable hub for the farmers market, galleries, and First Friday, drawing students who want city energy near campus.
Common questions from students searching for housing.
Most off-campus options here are F&M-affiliated apartments, and a per-person share of one usually runs about $600-$1,000/month, with internet and laundry typically folded into that amount. Independent rowhouse rooms near the College Park area land in a similar range, lower for older units farther from campus and higher for renovated places within an easy walk.