Going to college is expensive. Tuition, parking, printing and meal plans add up to an already hefty price before you even consider where to live. WKU has many dorms to choose from, but as students get older, many choose to transition from dorm life to apartment life.
But which one is right for you?
There’s a wide range of apartment options in Bowling Green, fitting every price range and personal needs. College is stressful enough — we’ve researched local apartments so you don’t have to.
The Registry apartments are just a crosswalk away from campus, making it easily accessible to walk to and from school to home. “The fact that the place had four bedrooms with each individual bathroom and being so close to campus just made sense, and it worked out nicely,” Ryan Mahon, a junior from Chicago, said about his experience at the Registry with his roommate Cris Gaesser, also a junior from Louisville.
The Registry offers four bedroom apartments, like the unit pictured, giving each resident their own private bathroom with living room and kitchen as common areas. “It’s a place to sleep, and I think the condition could have been better, but so far it’s been good,” Cris Gaesser, a junior from Louisville, said. “Any problem we have had they have fixed, and it’s just minor things.”
The Registry
Ryan Mahon, a junior from Chicago wanted to get out of the dorms. When his friend Gabriel Davidson, a junior from Buffalo, New York, suggested The Registry, it seemed like a good deal.
“It’s close to campus, and the price is right,” Mahon said. “So far, so good. They’ve been taking good care of us.”
Apartments start at $390 a month with a yearly utility fee. Parking, a rare and valuable commodity so close to campus, is free to residents and there are spots for visitors. The Registry also hosts events for their residents.
While the apartments come furnished, Mahon said the apartment wasn’t as clean as he and his roommates expected when they first moved in.
“I got a phone call from my guys because they moved in a week before I did and they said it smelled of smoke and was just kinda dirty.”
He said the floor was dirty, the furniture wasn’t in the best condition and there was a spider problem.
“Our washing machine was loud; our air conditioner broke; the internet sucks,” Davidson said. “Besides all the maintenance problems, it’s not too bad. The price is right.”
All their problems have since been solved by maintenance. Their only outstanding complaints are the fact that The Registry does not have an elevator, and trains on the nearby tracks are sometimes noisier than they would like.
Mahon and Davidson live in a four-person apartment. One of their other roommates, Cristopher Gaesser, a junior from Louisville, said he’s low maintenance and the apartment is a place to sleep.
The roommates all like the apartment for the most part. They get to live with their friends, and it’s close to everything they want to be near.
The Kentucky Street Apartments are WKU Apartments to students by the Alumni Center by Chili’s, which typically are at high demand until spots fill up and a waitlist is needed. Trent Reed, a junior from Charlestown, Indiana, moved into the Kentucky Street apartments at the beginning of this semester. “I wanted to live closer to campus,” he said. “I only have one roommate, it would have been a struggle to have three others, so it came in handy to only have one, and it’s all just two-person, two-bedroom apartments.”
WKU Apartments offer a lot of space for two students, including a kitchen and living room, two separate bedrooms and bathrooms and a shared washer and dryer. They come fully furnished. “I love how much space we have,” Reed said.
WKU Apartments
If you’re looking for a housing option you can pay at once with your scholarship and financial aid money, the WKU Apartments might be for you. The rate for a two-bedroom, fully furnished apartment is $634 a month, or $3170 a semester per person with utilities included, unless the resident goes over $40.
Parking is separate. The apartments are settled a few feet of Chili’s and The Alumni Center and within walking distance of popular bars and WKU buildings.
Trent Reed, a junior from Charlestown, Indiana, wanted to move out of the dorms, but not too far. He’s an English major, so most of his classes are a short walk up the Hill to Cherry Hall.
Reed’s roommate offered him the lease, and he said it’s been a good choice so far.
“I love living here,” Reed said. “It’s close to campus; it’s not too far away; I don’t have to worry about driving.”
Residents can’t have candles or pets outside of emotional support and service animals that are registered through WKU. While it wasn’t a deal breaker for him, Reed said the view isn’t great. He gets his own bathroom and bedroom, which is enough.
Midtown offers more of a community aspect with many student study and common areas, as well as an outdoor courtyard. It offers open floor plan apartment spaces with four bedrooms, each with their own bathroom. “It was important to be close to the fraternity life, as well as still close to campus, so thought it was a good decision,” Woodword said. “I would say the community here is top notch, and it’s been a great networking opportunity.”
Midtown apartments are another option for student off-campus housing. “It was kind of expensive, but it has more high quality” said Alexander Woodword, a junior from Bristol, Connecticut. Woodword pays $530 a month for a fully furnished apartment.
Midtown Apartments
If being close to campus is a top priority, Midtown is an option. Starting at $449 a month for a four bedroom, it boasts a prime location and a variety of amenities. It’s steps away from Hideout, Hilligans and The A-Frame.
Alexander Woodward, a senior from Bristol, Connecticut, is the recruitment chair for his fraternity, Delta Tau Delta. Their chapter was founded in October of 2018 and although they don’t have a house yet, they’re eager to grow and have a space to congregate. When Woodward and his fraternity brothers learned about Midtown, it seemed like the perfect place to live and be part of college life which made the decision to live there easy.
“It was in the whole area of college life which we thought would be better for us,” Woodward said. “Being a new fraternity on campus, we wanted to get our names out there and be around the other fraternities. It’s definitely caused me to build my network and expand on who I knew here on campus.”
Community space and events are a big part of the $530 a month Woodward spends to live in with three of his fraternity brothers in his fully-furnished, four-bedroom apartment. Midtown has an optional furniture package starting at $35 for residents who decide they want it furnished. The fee is added to personal rent.
He said he likes the apartment, but it does have its problems. Their cable went out, but has since been repaired. Parking is also not included in the price of the apartment, it’s a seperate cost of $30. Woodward also said the vents broadcasts sound from room to room.
It’s on the higher end of the apartment price spectrum, but the location and amenities might make the price worth it to you.
The Hilltop Club apartments are located off Campbell Lane about 10 minutes from WKU’s campus. Nolensville, Tennessee junior Abby Baker has been living in Hilltop Club since early August, and this has been her first time living in an apartment. “I like having my own space, and having my own bathroom is really nice, as well as a kitchen and being able to cook and multitask in my space,” Baker said.
The Hilltop Club offers a dog park, a pool, a hot tub and a security gate. “The front gate is really funky, but that’s been a little annoying, so it’s not the best security,” Baker said. “I have never had any problems with not feeling safe…but it’s good for what you pay for and it’s really quiet. I never hear really any noise.”
Hilltop Club
The Registry isn’t the only cheap apartment for WKU students, but to stay below $400, you might have to go further off campus.
Abby Baker, a junior from Nolensville, Tennessee, pays $399 a month to live in a three-bedroom apartment at Hilltop Club. Rates start at $374 for a fully furnished, four-bedroom unit complete with a washer, dryer and all major appliances. Utilities are included in the rent, but there is a $40 overage.
Hilltop Club does require a commute, but there is a shuttle provided that takes students to campus. The apartment complex is close to Kroger and a variety of restaurants, a Park-and-Ride lot is also close.
“It’s not perfect,” Baker said. “It is student housing, but it’s definitely livable: it was clean when I moved in, and I haven’t had any big problems.”
Like Midtown, Hilltop Club offers a lot of community space and offers some community events. They grilled out for National Hamburger Day and hosted a Fall Festival in late September.
For animal lovers, cats and dogs are allowed for a $300 non-refundable payment and a $30 monthly fee. According to Hilltop Club’s website, breed restrictions apply, and there is a 35 pound weight limit.
Like the Hilltop Club, the Crown Apartments are off-campus and not just student housing but available to anyone in Bowling Green. The apartments are located 10 minutes from campus. Residents have the choice between two bedroom apartments or four bedroom apartments, each bedroom with its own bathroom. All units have a shared living room and kitchen.
Fordsville senior Cheyenne Seaton has lived in the Crown since February of this year. “All of my roommates are random and they are open to anyone,” Seaton said. “it’s not just student housing. It’s nice to have our own rooms and then have a common area.”
The Crown
Another complex in the Campbell Lane area is the Crown. It’s another affordable option for college students. Junior Cheyenne Seaton of Fordsville pays $350 a month, which includes utilities and parking.
“I had previously lived here the year before,” Seaton said. “I decided to move to Walk2Campus, but I didn’t care for it because it was a two-bedroom one-bath, and here we each have our own bathroom, so I figured I’d come back here.”
Seaton can have candles in her apartment. Residents can also have pets if they pay an extra fee, which is a $300 one time permit fee and an extra $20 a month. She said her unit was clean when she moved in, and she hasn’t had any major problems with her apartment.
“If you’re looking for a cheap price, fully furnished and close to campus, I suggest here,” Seaton said.
The Walk2Campus apartments are some of the older apartments in Bowling Green, but have been recently updated. Burlington junior Katie Greene said during one Labor Day weekend, the air conditioning went out. “So far we have loved it,” she said. “The only real problem has been that the AC went out but they were really on it to fix the problem. They came in the next day and brought a window fan for each bedroom, and then we got a whole new AC unit in like four days.”
Walk2Campus apartments are a short walk from WKU’s campus. They offer units with up to four bedrooms with two bathrooms, a kitchen, living room and laundry appliances. “It’s really great to be close to the science buildings because my roommates and I are all in those buildings and it’s only a three-minute walk,” Greene said.
Walk2Campus
If you’re looking to get off campus, but don’t want to commute and want to live in a more residential area, Walk2Campus is an option. Walk2Campus rents houses to college students and offers some small apartment complexes.
Katie Greene of Burlington and Georgia and Maggie Hoffman of Hindman wanted to move off campus for their junior year, but be close to all the science buildings, so the Brickhouse Walk2Campus apartments on Park Street were ideal.
They each pay $435 a month to live in their apartment. The three-bedroom units offer private bedrooms.
Pets are allowed for a fee, which was a big deal to Georgia. The pet fee ranged from $50 to $70 per month for each dog and $25 to $35 per month for each cat. Pet owners also must complete a pet screening using their third party service. The cost for the pet screening is $20 for the first pet and $15 for the second.
It’s more expensive, but it fit their needs more than the other apartment complexes they looked at, with location being the main benefit.
“I was ready to not live in a dorm,” Greene said. “I’m closer to my classes here than I was on campus.”
The apartment was once a house that has now been divided into apartment units. The building is older, but the paint is new, and issues are resolved quickly.
When their air conditioner went out during Labor Day weekend Walk2Campus installed window units for each bedroom within 12 hours.
The Creason Townhouses are located right next to WKU’s Parking Structure 3 isn’t just student housing, and it offers two-bedroom, one-bath, two-story apartment spaces.
The Creason Townhouses, unlike others, do not come fully furnished, and only give two residents one bathroom to share. “When we first moved in, this place was completely empty, and the first thing we wanted besides beds was the couch,” said Levi Hanson, a junior from Morgantown. Hanson lives with Mason Davis, a junior from Regensburg, Germany.
Creason Townhouses
Levi Hanson, a junior at Southcentral Kentucky Community and Technical College from Morgantown also wanted to get away from the restrictions of dorm life, so he moved into the Creason Townhouses.
Hanson and his roommate pay $360 per person a month for their two-bedroom unit. The units don’t come furnished, and a washer and dryer are not included. The townhouses are close to campus, and they offer freedom from dorm life, Hanson said.
“I just wanted to get out of the dorm environment, which I felt college apartments still had,” Hanson said. “I really like the freedom I have here. I never really interact with my landlord, and I like that. He’s always available when I need something though.”
