It is strongly recommended that you secure housing, both temporary and long term, prior to your arrival on campus.

Temporary Lodging

If you do not have a place to live upon your arrival in Columbus, reserve temporary housing before arriving.

International students: some OSU nationality clubs and the International Friendships Organization may be able to help arrange temporary housing.

Hotels

Rates range from $40 to over $100 per night for a single person room. If you reserve a hotel room, ask about special lower rates for new OSU students. You will be asked to show OSU letter of admission to prove OSU student status if a special rate is available.

Most of these hotels are a 30-45 minute walk to the OSU campus. Free hotel van service to OSU may be available. Taxi fare to OSU from most of these hotels is approximately $15.

Near-by short term lodging

View Larger Map

 

Long-term Housing

For long term housing at OSU, there are basically three options available:

Graduate dormitories:

There is one on-campus dormitory available to our graduate students, the newly constructed Neil Avenue dorm. This building is located on South Campus (MSE is on the north side of campus) and features personal kitchen facilities, its own grocery and convenient store, and laundry facilities. These rooms are rented at the rate of approximately $770 paid per month on a year lease. View details on Neil Avenue dorm.

To apply for OSU graduate housing, please complete the OSU Housing on-line graduate housing application form.

Housing
University Residences and Dining Services
350 Morrill Tower
1910 Cannon Dr.
Columbus, OH 43210-1290

Telephone (614) 292-8266
OSU on-campus housing site

Buckeye Village:

This is family housing located near campus. One and two bedroom unfurnished apartments are available ranging from $555 to $695 per month. The cost of gas, water and high-speed Internet access (Ethernet) are included in your rent. Residents are responsible for electric and telephone and cable (if desired). Contact:

Buckeye Village
2661 Defiance Dr.
Columbus, OH 43210

Telephone (614) 292-6561
More about Buckeye Village

Note: there is a significant wait list for the Buckeye Village apartments, as long as 4-5 months.

Off campus housing:

Office of Off-Campus Student Services (OCSS)
Located around the campus are many apartments for rent at various rates and sizes. As with any university, the quality of these accommodations can vary widely. You may wish to contact OCSS for information on where to look, who to see, and what to watch for. They can also connect you with folks looking for roommates.

Office of Off-Campus Student Services
Rm. 342 Ohio Union
1739 N. High St.
Columbus, OH 43210

Telephone: (614) 292-0100
Off-Campus Student Services

• Tip for all students: The MSE dept. is located in the northeast section of the OSU campus.
   
• When using the Off-Campus Housing Search, you may wish to look for housing under the following "Location" limiters:
  University District Central (13th-18th Avenue),
  University District Northeast,
  University District Northwest,
  Outside University District: Clintonville,
  or Other.
• It is generally recommended that you look at areas north of campus or west of campus. When locating housing east of campus, you'll want to look in the area east of High St. and west of Summit Ave.
• COTA bus routes Local route maps for the lines servicing Central Ohio. The following routes stop within 1-2 blocks of the MSE dept.:
  - Local route #2 North High Street
  - Local route #18 Kenny Road
  - Crosstown route #84 OSU-Arlington-Grandview
  (maps are in PDF form, 300-1000K)
  Note: as an OSU student you have unlimited access to the COTA system when you pay your once-per-term COTA fee.
• Information on moving in, includes utility phone numbers, tips, etc. (from Off-Campus Student Services).

International students

• OCSS has prepared some tips regarding what to look for in campus-area housing. Off-campus housing and international students
• OCSS holds housing orientation sessions specifically for international students. These sessions are part of the Office of International Education's general orientation sessions.
• Search for Nationality Clubs Contact student nationality groups for advice on housing. Use OSU Student Organizations Directory to search for contact information for the many international student organizations at Ohio State. Examples include the Chinese Student and Scholar Society, the Indian Students Association, and more.

Additional off-campus housing resources

Below, please find just a few on-line options for housing searches.

Search engines

• MyCheapApartments.com  aggregates, rates, and provides a comprehensive selection of cheap apartment listings from leading providers like Rent, ForRent, Apartment Guide, Move, RentWiki, Apartment Finder, Apartment Search & Rent Bits.
• MyApartmentMap.com MyApartmentMap is an apartment search engine that utilizes the latest technologies to help make your apartment search as easy as possible. The site provides interactive Google Maps with street level images, RSS feeds, email alerts, rental data, and more.
• EasyRoommate.com An on-line roommate matching service that provides housing ads for a specified city, such as Columbus and the OSU area.
• Move.com Web site that permits you to search for rentals by zip code, university, or by proximity to an address (ours is 2041 College Rd., Columbus, Ohio, 43210).

Local classified ads

• The Lantern OSU's student newspaper. Click on "Classifieds" for links to area apartment rentals.
• TheSaver.com A web site geared toward the OSU student community with a number of listings for apartments, sublets, entertainment, etc. (click on "Apartment Finder" for long term housing).
  NOTE: for housing near the MSE dept. select the locations "North Campus (North of Woodruff)". A secondary option would be "Central Campus (Between 12th Ave. & Woodruff)". The MSE dept. is located in the northeast quadrant of campus, on the corner of College Rd. and Woodruff Ave. (see map above).
• The Columbus Dispatch--our primary local paper--maintains a classified section OHGetIt.com. Under Real Estate Rental, click on "Apartments for rent".

Popular locations

• University Village Located off Olentangy River Rd just north of Ackerman near OSU campus. Offers amenities such as a private shuttle service, free tanning salon, swimming pool, fitness center, computer lab and off-street parking.