Freshmen: see The University of Iowa's information web site page on housing. Be sure to check out the Performing Arts Community dorms where first and second year performing arts students live in a Living-Learning Community newly remodeled area in Currier Hall, which includes "performance spaces, a commons area, an expanded computer services area, and other amenities for artists, filmmakers, writers, and performers." For a more detailed description by one who lives there, click here.
First year and transfer students may also be interested in the Honors House Living-Learning Community.
Graduate students: see the UI page on Graduate housing.
Housing information online:
University Housing; University Housing Organization Chart (pdf)
University Housing Scholarships & Awards
University Housing Guidebooks
Residence Halls; Residential Dining & Meal Plans; Photos/info on Residence Halls; Residence Halls - map; ResNet - fast, direct ethernet connection to the campus network and internet.
Residence Hall Comparison Charts
University Apartments (priority given to families with dependent children)
UI Housing Clearinghouse
Off-Campus Housing
Off-Campus Housing Service - residence listings, roommates wanted, rooming houses; other housing resources
Off-Campus Living Guide
Housing information for International Students
Craig's List
Press-Citizen Classified Apartment ads
Apartments Downtown
4Walls.us
IowacityRent.com - at last look had 11 web pages of apartment listings for Iowa City & surrounding area.
Apartment.com - a recent search here turned up 44 listings for the Iowa City area.
Apartment Finder.com - a recent search here turned up 19 apartment buildings in Iowa City/Coralville.
areaguides.net > Iowa City - 15 listings in a recent search.
superpages.com - has links to 44 apartment management companies
Court Hill Condominiums [called condos, but rented out like apartments]
Apartments in North Liberty (neighboring community)
Facebook > Iowa > Marketplace
Uloop/Iowa - includes info on housing, for sale, events, jobs, carpools, & services at UI
Short term housing options in Iowa City and Coralville - hotels, bed & breakfast
Parsons Properties
Barker Apartments
Keystone Property Management
Below are some recommendations from horn studio members on finding housing:
Dorms:
All freshmen should live in the dorms. It is a great way to meet new people and it is nice being close to classes.
You may request someone in particular or you can have a random selection.
For on-campus living, live on the east side of the river. Going back and forth to the music building is much easier from either Daum, Burge, Currier, or Stanley dorms. Stanley is the closest dorm to the School of Music. I recommend Stanley - it is quiet and only a 3-5 walk.
For freshmen, dorms are the best idea considering cost, safety, and convenience.
Apartments:
If you want to live off-campus, it is cheapest to live with other people.
Look for off campus housing as soon as possible because leases are being signed as early as January for the year beginning in the fall.
Apartments closer to campus are much more expensive.
One way to find a roommate is to check out Facebook. There are many sublets.
Check out the flyers in the music building for ads for roommates.
The cheapest housing is probably in Coralville. There are busses that run back and forth.
North Liberty and Tiffin are farther out, but have a lot of offerings.
There is graduate housing out on Mormon Trek.
Roommates will cut your cost by at least $100 a month, probably more. The more roommates you have, the cheaper your rent will be.
I live in an apartment about 15 minutes from campus and pay only $600 a month (shared with my roommate) for a nice apartment with central air, dishwasher, garbage disposal, washer/drier, and two parking spaces - a very good deal.
I lived on the east side of Iowa City last year, sharing a duplex I found through Craigslist with a roommate. It worked out really well... I may have gotten a little bit lucky, but there is also an off-campus housing service at http://apps.imu.uiowa.edu/housing/ that lists roommates wanted, etc. I'd recommend that anyone going this route be able to come to town to check out the places they've found on Craigslist, as the posts can sometimes be misleading. When my dad and I came to visit, this was the only place of the four that was livable.. Luckily, it was a great place, but someone could get into trouble if sight-unseen. Having a roommate made the rent really cheap (I paid about $275) and also the Iowa City Transit bus system was a very good and cheap way to get to school without forking money over for gas and for a Hancher pass. This year, I lived in Coralville, which I think on the whole was a slightly less positive experience. The rents seem to be cheaper on average, but I feel that the bus service is not as good, and the commute ends up being a little bit further.