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Georgetown University perches about 19,371 Hoyas on a bluff above the Potomac River in Washington, DC, with Healy Hall's 200-foot spire as its postcard. The surrounding Georgetown neighborhood is all cobblestone, Federal rowhouses, and the historic C&O Canal running parallel to the commercial strip. Students drift down to the Georgetown Waterfront and pick up trails toward the National Mall and the city's parks. Campus runs on tradition: walk around the seal in Healy if you want to graduate on time, and pack the stands when the Hoyas play. The neighborhood has no Metro stop, so students walk, bike the canal towpath, or grab buses and the GUTS shuttle, then tap into the rest of DC from there.
Georgetown has one of the stricter residency rules around: undergrads must live in university housing for their first three years, through freshman, sophomore, and junior years, unless they get an exemption from Residential Living. The three-year mandate keeps nearly all underclassmen on campus.
Exemptions are limited and mostly go to students living at home with parents or immediate family within commuting distance, capped at roughly 50 students a year, so plan to live on campus until senior year. The off-campus hunt is really a senior-year and grad-student game, renting in one of DC's pricier historic neighborhoods, often rowhouses split among roommates rather than big complexes. Landlords typically want strong credit or a guarantor, and the District has rules on group houses, so confirm the place is properly licensed as a rental before you sign.
DC leases run 12 months and the District has real tenant protections, so read the lease carefully and know your rights. Line up a guarantor early, since strong credit or a co-signer is usually expected.
Housing policies change frequently. Always verify current requirements directly with Georgetown University before signing a lease.
Because most students cannot move off campus until senior year, the search clusters among rising seniors and grad students, and it starts early. Rising seniors often lock in houses by late fall or winter for the next August, since the best rowhouses near campus get claimed roughly a year ahead. If you are aiming for a prime Georgetown or Burleith block, be looking by November and December. Set alerts on the campus off-campus listings site.
The best rowhouses near campus get claimed roughly a year ahead, so late fall through winter is the heart of the search. In this market, a good place rented at a fair number is gone in days, so move fast. Anyone searching in summer is competing for whatever is left, usually farther out toward Glover Park or across the river. Lock in a prime block by midwinter.
Classes start in late August, so late searchers compete for whatever is left. DC has a steady rental market year-round thanks to all the universities and turnover, so spring and summer sublets do exist, especially from students leaving for internships or study abroad. Expect to look farther out the later you go. Move fast, because good places at fair prices disappear in days.
Georgetown has cobblestone rowhouses right by campus, the most walkable and the steepest on price.
Just north, Burleith has quieter rowhouse blocks, a longtime student favorite with a slightly gentler feel.
A little farther out, Glover Park is calmer, with more apartments and grocery access.
Common questions from students searching for housing.
A room in a shared house or apartment near campus typically runs $1,200-$1,800/month per person, with prime Georgetown and Burleith blocks at the top. Splitting a rowhouse with several roommates lowers the per-person number, while studios and one-bedrooms in Foggy Bottom or Rosslyn often top $2,000/month.
Other universities in Washington share a similar off-campus housing market.
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