Housing fair helps MNSU students find future home

Students can explore the myriad housing options available to students at the fall Housing Fair, which takes place 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. today in the Centennial Student Union Ballroom.

Here, some of the most popular housing units will be available to encourage students to rent through them. Some of these places include College Station, Highland Hills Apartment, and College Town.

This yearly event helps students find exactly what they’re looking for, whether it be on or off campus.

“The timing of the fair is strategically in November before people go home for winter break,” said fair organizer John Bulcock. “We do this because oftentimes parents have a big impact on a students’ decision making with housing. We want students to start thinking about it ahead of time.

“Bulcock continued with, “While there’s no rush to sign a lease, it’s important you know your options and start thinking about it early on.” 

Reagan Jones, a freshman at MNSU, has begun to make plans for next year and hopes to live in a 5-person housing unit. 

“There’s definitely a lot to consider when looking at your first house. It helps that a lot of my friends are there to help each other make the best decision,” Jones stated. 

Jones goes on to explain what they look for in a house, “We want something slightly newer because we found that the price of an old house and a new renovated house isn’t dramatically different. That’s important to us because we want to live somewhere that we can fully enjoy. We also want to find a place with enough parking for all of us and somewhere close to the University.”

Along with the fair, there’s a Mav Hunt event taking place from Nov. 1-14, which is a virtual scavenger hunt that helps students seek out the housing options best for them as well as win prizes.

Some of the activities in the hunt include joining a tour, visiting housing properties, and attending the housing fair. If students really want to rack up points, the housing fair will have points at almost every table. 

Many of the housing units have donated prizes including gift cards to Barnes & Noble. 

Anyone can join the Mav Hunt by downloading the app “GooseChase” and entering the six digit code. 

“A secret spoiler for our annual Mav Hunt event is to take a picture in front of the College Station sign,” says Bulcock. “I want students to think about what they are really looking for in their housing options and to not make a decision solely based on where their friends are going.” 

Sophomore dental hygiene student Abby Vandien said she has an idea of what she wants in a housing unit for next year, but she wants to use the fair’s resources to better her search. 

“One of the main things I was looking for was the distance away from campus. My friends and I carpool, so it would be nice if it was within walking distance,” Vandien stated.

Vandien and her friends went back and forth on whether or not to move out of the dorms for next year. 

“There’s a lot of comparing that we have done in order to find the best place for us. We have been looking at the number of bathrooms in a living area along with the amount of space it provides,” Vandien explained. 

“After living in the dorms, more space was nonnegotiable for me. We looked a lot at the quality compared to the dorms. I’m hoping the housing fair will give me a better idea of what I want.”

“I would advise that you know where you’re going by March,” Bulcock said. “However, that doesn’t mean you have to worry about signing a lease. There’s no such thing as a housing shortage in Mankato, whether on-campus or off-campus.” 

“Going to the housing fair and joining in on the map hunt are some great resources to help you further understand what buying a house for next year looks like,” Bulcock commented.