Apartments Information for Parents

Apartments are available in the Marquette neighborhood throughout the year. There are over 200 rental properties within the MUPD patrol range, and students are typically able to find apartment housing near campus at any time of the year. However, student demand has driven the majority of apartment searches and lease signings to take place during the fall semester, and many landlords begin signing leases with students as early as Labor Day (for a lease that begins the following summer/fall). More information on the neighborhood leasing timeline can be found on the Off-Campus housing website.

The Marquette University Apartments begin the leasing process during the October preceding the academic year during which students are planning to lease. This timeline allows students time to settle into classes and activities before they begin to consider housing for the upcoming year. Additionally, by waiting until the middle of fall semester, students – especially those who are first-time renters – have enough time to assess their options and make more informed decisions regarding their apartment search. We encourage all students – and parents – to explore the renter resources on the Off-Campus housing website.

After Marquette students have fulfilled their two-year, on-campus residency in Marquette’s residence halls, they have the ability to move off campus into university-owned or privately-owned apartments. Due to the demand for university-owned apartments, Marquette University is unable to guarantee that every student will be able to secure a university-owned apartment through our Selection Process.

University apartment selection is similar to the process during which first-year students choose their residence halls for their sophomore year. Any student interested in living in the University Apartments is required to submit a $300 housing deposit (online, check, or money order; payable to Marquette University), and are provided with apartment selection information, the timeline for selection, and steps on how to use the online system.  Please note that deposits are only refundable if students are not booked into an apartment through the online system.

Current apartment residents are given the first opportunity to renew in the university apartments. After the current residents have re-booked their apartments, prospective renters are able to choose from the remaining apartments. The order in which students choose apartments is randomized, giving any student who meets the deposit submission deadline an equal chance to select an apartment. Class standing, grades, and selection times from previous processes do not have any bearing on when students are able to book an apartment.

The university-owned apartments are unique in the sense that many of them are designed for double occupancy (e.g. two students living together in a one-bedroom apartment). If all students chose to live this way, we could accommodate every single student who applies each year! However, many students choose to have their own bedrooms. We leave this decision up to each individual student, and the result is that the university-owned apartments typically become fully booked without accommodating every applicant – some students are unable to secure apartment housing in the university-owned properties. Should any student not be able to secure an apartment, we maintain a waiting list, and past trends have shown that a good number of units come available for waiting list applicants. Our office also assists students in searching for housing in the near Marquette neighborhood.

We hope that this brief overview gives you some insight into the University Apartment Selection Process. Our application selection process page has additional information on how and when selection takes place, and many questions about the five university-owned apartment buildings can be answered here as well. We invite you to view our apartment hunting presentations and join us for building tours. As always, please feel free to contact our office with questions, concerns, and comments!