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How is the housing situation both on and off-campus? Is it easy or difficult to find housing?

Housing is guaranteed to all incoming freshman. For upperclassman, housing is easy to get, however, all upperclassmen dorms are farther away from campus than the freshman dorms. The closest dorm is Palladium which is about a 15 minute walk from Washington Square Park. Off campus housing is not hard to get either and may even be a cheaper option for upperclassmen. The best way to get an apartment would be to contact a real estate agent a few months before the expected move in.

I've personally experienced both living in NYU housing, as well as living off- campus and have had the best of experiences in both settings.

As a freshman, everyone is guaranteed a dorm, mine being University Hall, which was an "apartment-style" dorm with a built in kitchen, bathroom, and living area. When your application is accepted, you will be sent a housing form in which you specify your preferred dorms, as well as any requests for roommates that you may have. This enables you to choose a desired location, be it Union Square, Washington Square, or somewhere in between. There are many great opportunities to socialize and interact with other students who live in the same dorm, including floor meetings, university sponsored dorm parties, karaoke competitions, etc. There are RA's on each floor who make the experience easy and a simple transition.

After my freshman year, I decided to move off-campus to a Chelsea apartment. I began to search with two other roommates, and we easily found an apartment within days, to our surprise. New York is a very simple place to find housing, due to the array of resources available. Using real estate brokers is a great way to find housing, however they will charge a fee for their services. Another alternative is to use websites such as Craigslist, The Village Voice, and The New York Times, to find apartments that can be rented with no fee.

The Housing Department at NYU is very helpful if you have any personal issues or concerns.