Living off campus provides students with increased independence and responsibility. The Middletown area and surrounding communities offer a variety of privately owned and managed rental options to suit a range of needs.

The Student Advocacy Office offers resources and services to help support students who are living, or planning to move, off campus.

Off-campus student support services include:

More Off-campus Housing Information

No matter where you choose to live, safety is key. Keep the following in mind!

  • Check to see that windows and doors are in good condition and have secure locks.
  • Visit the unit both during the day and at night.
  • Make sure that there are working smoke detectors in the unit.
  • Check for adequate emergency exists.
  • Call the Campus Escort Service if you will be going home late at night: (717) 948-6232.
  • Talk to the current tenants of the unit and ask them how their experience has been living there.
  • Has their place ever been broken into?
  • Has their car ever been broken into (both in the parking lot and/or on the street)?

Several clues helpful in preventing roommate problems from developing revolve around effective communication and are listed below:

  1. Communicate about yourself from the start (background, personal preferences, habits, characteristics)
  2. Communicate about the sharing of food items/snacks, personal property, and ousehold costs
  3. Communicate about household responsibilities
  4. Communicate about guests
  5. Communicate about study time/quiet hours
  6. Communicate about the sharing of information within the house
  7. Communicate about personal and guests' use of alcohol, tobacco and other drugs in the house
  8. Communicate about an acceptable comfort level in the house
  9. When tensions develop, try to understand where they came from and what you can do to alleviate them.
  10. Do your share to keep the household in order
  11. Be sensitive to feelings and willing to provide constructive suggestions

Sharing Food Costs

  1. All roommates should meet to decide if they will prepare meals and shop individually or as a group. (Persons who decide to buy singly rather than in a group should be aware that this is a source of future tension. Conflict regarding use of another's milk, cereal, bread, etc. could arise.)
  2. Roommates should discuss food preferences — who like what foods. (toiletries should be purchased individually)
  3. Roommates should discuss class/personal schedule — how often does each person plan to be in the residence? Who has night classes? Who has class during lunch? Who doesn't eat breakfast? Who will be eating in the Food Court? Who will be going home most weekends?
  4. Roommates should decide how they will share the cost of food and who will do the shopping.

Housekeeping Hints

Since different individuals have different standards of cleanliness, discussing housekeeping early in the semester will reduce the chance of conflict in this area later on.

  1. Develop a revolving schedule on a weekly basis for cleaning the public areas of the apartment — bedrooms are the responsibility of each individual.
  2. Certain things must be done daily to show consideration for others in the apartment. Among these are:
    • Clean up after yourself in the bathroom. Rinse the sink and tub free of debris and hair
    • If you have a snack — do your own dishes — unless of course it's your turn to do them after dinner.
    • Drop your clothes, shoes and books in your room — your roommates and their friends don't want to plow through your junk to find a place to sit or to work.
  3. A good rule of thumb, whoever cooks should not have to do the dishes — unless cooking for friends. Roommates should split the labor on this chore.

  • Do not pay in cash, cash equivalent, prepaid Visa cards, MoneyGrams or wire transfers.
  • Meet the landlord or property manager and view the apartment.
  • Insist on a written lease, and ensure the lease identifies the owner or agent.
  • Conduct basic research on the landlord, property owner and unit.
  • Be aware of market rates. If a deal sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
  • Don't accept a check from a new roommate and pay the money over to someone else for them - you're probably paying the scammer, and the original check will eventually turn out to be fake.
  • Trust your instincts.
  • More information is available from Penn State Student Legal Services

RabbitTransit’s Capital Region bus system provides public transportation to take you where you need to go. Check out the Route 7 Map and Schedule.

The system’s Rider Tools also let you view various route maps, track your bus and planned stops, and purchase trip passes.

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