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Penn State University, officially The Pennsylvania State University, is one of the largest public research universities in the United States, with more than 40,000 undergraduate students at its main University Park campus in Centre County, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1855, Penn State is the Commonwealth's flagship land-grant institution, offering more than 275 undergraduate degree programs across colleges including engineering, business, liberal arts, science, and agriculture. The campus is set in a college town environment where the university and the surrounding Borough of State College are deeply intertwined, creating a vibrant social and academic atmosphere. Penn State's Nittany Lions compete at the Division I level, and football game weekends draw enormous crowds that animate the entire region. The off-campus rental market in State College and surrounding areas is one of the most active college-town housing markets in the country, with strong demand and a wide range of apartment, house, and townhome options.
Penn State requires most first-year students to live in university-operated residence halls for their initial year at University Park. This policy is designed to help new students transition to college life and build connections within the campus community. Students with specific qualifying circumstances - such as living with a parent or guardian within a defined commute distance, being 21 or older, or being married - may apply for an exemption through the Office of Housing and Food Services.
After completing the required first year in on-campus housing, Penn State students are generally free to live off campus beginning with their sophomore year. The vast majority of upperclassmen choose to rent in the Borough of State College, College Heights, or neighboring communities like Bellefonte and Boalsburg. Students with financial aid should verify any housing-related stipulations in their award packages, though Penn State does not broadly restrict off-campus living for upperclassmen.
State College operates on one of the most aggressive lease timelines of any college town in the country. Landlords and property managers begin marketing units for the following fall as early as September and October of the current academic year, and many of the best properties are signed by November or December. Students who wait until spring semester will find a much more limited selection, and those who wait until March or later may struggle to find desirable housing anywhere near campus.
Housing policies change frequently. Always verify current requirements directly with Penn State University before signing a lease.
Students aiming for the most desirable off-campus housing near Penn State should begin actively searching in September or October of the academic year preceding their intended move-in. This means a sophomore looking for a place for junior year needs to start looking just weeks into the fall semester. Touring properties, comparing leases, and visiting open houses in October gives students the best access to apartments and houses in prime locations like College Heights and the Beaver Avenue corridor.
The State College rental market reaches peak intensity between November and January, when a large share of the best units are claimed for the following August. During this period, group houses and apartments within a short walk of campus - particularly in the South Allen Street and Holmes-Foster neighborhoods - go especially fast. Students who are forming roommate groups should coordinate early in the fall semester to be ready to sign when a suitable property becomes available.
Students who find themselves searching for housing in March, April, or later face a significantly thinned market, but options do exist. Larger apartment complexes further from the central campus area often retain available units longer than smaller landlord-owned houses, and new developments in State College have added supply in recent years. Subletting is also common at Penn State, so checking university bulletin boards, Facebook groups, and student housing forums in late spring or summer can surface units vacated by students studying abroad or graduating early.
Just north of campus along Beaver Avenue, College Heights is one of the most sought-after student areas for its walkability and proximity to both campus and downtown.
This corridor offers a mix of older houses and apartment buildings popular with upperclassmen and graduate students.
Farther from campus, these areas have more apartment-complex style housing with easier parking but longer walks or bus rides to class.
Surrounding campus on three sides, the borough holds the densest concentration of student rentals and is where most off-campus students look first. The CATA bus system links these neighborhoods to campus, making car-free living feasible.
Common questions from students searching for housing.
You should start looking in September or October of the year before you plan to move off campus - that means searching in your freshman fall for a sophomore-year place. The State College rental market is extremely competitive and many of the best units are leased by November or December.