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Juniata College is a small residential liberal arts college of about 1,356 students tucked into Huntingdon, a historic small town in central Pennsylvania's Allegheny ridges. The campus climbs a hillside above downtown, where 1800s storefronts line the main streets and most of student life happens within a short walk. The outdoors is the real draw: Raystown Lake spreads across 8,000 acres a short drive south, and the Standing Stone Trail and its famous Thousand Steps pull hikers up the ridge. Traditions run deep. Mountain Day is declared without warning, classes get canceled, and everyone heads to the lake, while first-years charge the Arch each fall in Storming of the Arch. With everything close, students mostly walk.
Juniata is a four-year residential college, so full-time undergraduates are required to live in college-owned housing and take a meal plan for all eight semesters. The College is no longer granting exemptions for students who simply want to rent a private place in town. Plan on living in college housing for your entire time here.
You can be released from the requirement only if you fit a defined category: you are married, you have dependents, you are at least 25, or you commute from the primary home of a parent or guardian within 50 miles of the Huntingdon campus. You submit documentation to the Office of Campus Life at least 30 days before the semester, and disability-related housing accommodations run separately through accessibility services. The off-campus apartments and houses students talk about are usually college-owned units you pick through the same room-draw process as a residence hall.
The genuine private rental market for undergrads is thin, so most students choose college-owned units through room draw rather than signing in town. If you do qualify to rent privately, expect small local landlords and standard 12-month leases, not student complexes. Confirm the term and what utilities are included before you commit.
Housing policies change frequently. Always verify current requirements directly with Juniata College before signing a lease.
Because Juniata houses nearly all students in college-owned units, your most important calendar is not a private leasing season, it is the College's room-draw process. That selection happens in the spring semester for the following year, so the move that matters is reading the residential life timeline and lining up the roommates you want to draw with before slots open. The desirable college-owned apartments and houses go to upperclassmen with better draw numbers, so credits and timing decide more than any landlord does. Get your group sorted well ahead of selection.
The spring room-draw cycle is the moment that decides who lands the best college-owned apartments and houses. Better draw numbers and a set roommate group win the desirable units, so prepare before slots open. For the small number who qualify as commuters or grad students renting privately, the town runs a slow, year-round clock with no preleasing rush. Either way, the spring stretch is when the choices that matter get made.
Classes begin in late August, so aim to have your housing settled well before then. Summer openings in the private Huntingdon market exist but are limited, so do not count on a last-minute find in a town this size. If you miss room draw, your options narrow to whatever college units remain or the thin private market. Starting a private search a couple of months ahead and checking downtown listings and local landlords directly gives you the best odds.
The residential core where most students live in college housing, steps from classes.
Historic blocks below campus with shops, civic events, and the few private rentals in town, walkable and central.
Quiet residential streets near campus, the typical hunting ground for the rare private student rental.
Common questions from students searching for housing.
Huntingdon's private rental market is small, so options are limited and most undergrads live in college-owned housing instead. When private units do open, a one-bedroom in or near town generally runs about $650-$1,050/month, and a two-bedroom often lands around $900-$1,200/month, so splitting puts the per-person cost around $450-$700/month. Older homes sit at the low end, newer or larger units higher.