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Ramapo College of New Jersey sits about 6,000 students on a quiet, wooded campus in Mahwah, tucked into the foothills of the Ramapo Mountains right on the New York border. The setting is the whole personality here: trails, ridgelines, and the Ramapo Valley County Reservation are practically next door, so the outdoors are part of everyday life. The campus has a small liberal-arts feel, with an Italian hilltown-inspired layout of plazas and arches. Mahwah is a leafy suburb, so students drive or take the campus shuttle to nearby towns like Suffern and Ramsey for the everyday stuff. The Roadrunners fill the Bradley Center and the athletic fields. New York City is roughly an hour out by train, so it's mountains and quiet weekdays with a big-city escape hatch when you want it.
Ramapo does not force freshmen to live on campus, so first-year students can commute or rent off campus. On-campus housing is only open to full-time undergrads carrying twelve or more credits. Plenty of first-years choose the dorms anyway for the social side.
When students move off campus, they are renting in suburban Bergen County, where the stock is apartments and townhomes in Mahwah, Ramsey, and Suffern rather than a dense student-housing strip near a gate. That means fewer by-the-bed complexes and more standard twelve-month leases through local landlords and management companies. Apartment-style on-campus options like The Village and College Park do not require a meal plan, while traditional halls do.
Expect a credit check, first month, and a security deposit, with a guarantor often required for students without income. A car helps a lot out here, so confirm whether parking is included. Check the town's occupancy rules before you pack roommates into a unit.
Housing policies change frequently. Always verify current requirements directly with Ramapo College of New Jersey before signing a lease.
Ramapo's off-campus market follows the suburban Bergen County rhythm, not a tight college preleasing rush, so apartments and townhomes turn over year-round on standard twelve-month leases. There is no single signing season the way a big college town has one, which means you search around when your lease ends rather than racing a fall deadline. Because the rentals are spread across Mahwah, Ramsey, and Suffern, give yourself time to tour places that may be a few miles apart. Starting a couple of months ahead is wise.
Summer is the busiest window as leases roll over and students lock in for the fall semester, which starts in late August. Begin looking a couple of months ahead of your move. Touring spread-out units takes time, so build that in. Demand concentrates in this late-spring to summer stretch even without a frantic rush.
If you are searching late, widen the radius to neighboring towns along the train line and lean on a car. Spring and summer sublets are limited here compared with the fall turnover, so check listings and campus boards steadily rather than waiting. New York City is roughly an hour out by train, so a place near the line stays convenient. The campus shuttle reaches nearby towns for those without a car.
The campus town itself, leafy and suburban with apartments and townhomes spread out, most convenient to class.
A walkable downtown a few miles south with a train station, popular for the NJ Transit access. Suffern, just over the New York line, has a small downtown with more space and often a bit easier on the wallet.
Quieter, more residential suburbs to the south for students who want room and do not mind a drive, where having a car helps.
Common questions from students searching for housing.
A room in a shared apartment or townhome around Mahwah, Ramsey, or Suffern usually runs about $800-$1,300/month per person once you split it with roommates. Renting a whole unit trends higher since this is suburban Bergen County, not a by-the-bed college strip, so sharing is how students bring the per-person number down. Spots near the Ramsey train station sit toward the top.