International renters
Where do international students find housing in the US?
Updated By the Housing Rocket moderators
Short answer
Most international students find housing through their university first, either on-campus residence halls or the school's off-campus housing office, then through university and city housing groups, property management companies near campus, and students from their own country who are already there.
Start with the school. Ask the international student office whether first-year graduate or exchange students get priority for university housing, and whether the off-campus housing office keeps a list of landlords who already rent to students without US credit. Those landlords save you a lot of explaining.
Next, join the housing group for your university and the one for the city. Students post rooms, sublets and roommate searches there all year, and you can ask which buildings are used to international applicants. You can find them in our college housing groups directory.
Use the Facebook account you have had for years, even if it is mostly in another language. Our moderators check each profile before approving it, and a brand-new account with no friends or history is often declined because that is what fake accounts look like. Answer the membership questions and say which school you are joining and when.
Finally, ask your country's student association. Many run a WhatsApp or WeChat group where outgoing students hand over rooms and furniture to new arrivals, which is often the easiest first lease you will find.
Want the whole picture? Read Renting as an International Student.