Housing
Most GSD students live off-campus in Cambridge or Somerville. The GSD is allotted 40 dorm rooms in GSAS dorms; students must apply for dorms and affiliated housing in the spring. (For more information, contact Geri Nederhoff or Gail Gustafson in Student Services.) Generally, the closer to Harvard Square, the more expensive the housing. For many GSD students, the most desirable places to live are in the areas closest to the GSD. Yet apartments in Harvard Square, mid-Cambridge, and the Agassiz neighborhood up Oxford Street, can be costly and difficult to find. The Inman Square area (which borders both Cambridge and Somerville), down Cambridge Street from the Cambridge Hospital, and the adjoining areas of Somerville are often less expensive. It is also incredibly hard to find housing that will accept a pet. Because affordable housing is in such demand that landlords can afford to place such restrictions on leases.
We recommend that you start your apartment hunt early in the summer.
Although you might wish to live alone, studio and one-bedroom apartments
are at least $1,000/month. Invariably, the more bedrooms, the cheaper
the cost is for each person. Quite a few GSD students have said that
it has been really good for them to live with graduate students from
other Harvard schools. It helps with their stress level when there are
roommates who aren't sharing the same schedule and deadlines, and it
gives them an opportunity to look beyond the GSD.
The Harvard Housing Office at 7 Holyoke Street, (617) 495-3377, or (800) 252-5020 is probably the most valuable of available resources and carries some of the best apartment and roommate listings. A Harvard ID is required to use their resources; if you are an incoming student, you should bring a copy of your acceptance letter (if forgotten, we have copies in the Office of Student Services). The Housing Office's publication, "Harvard Affiliated Housing," lists all services provided by the office and includes descriptions of affiliated and open housing, a map, and an overview of the market in the area. The office also publishes a list of realtors, grouped by geographic area, who are interested in working with students. Its website also allows you access to the Harvard University Community Listing Network, a computerized database of available housing, once you have "registered" with the Housing Office.
If you use a realtor's listing in the newspaper or elsewhere to find an apartment, the fee is usually one month's rent. You might be able to save time in your search for an apartment by using a realtor; however, the realtor is not likely to be terribly concerned about economy. Reports about realtors range from extremely helpful to flatly rude.
To sign a lease in the Boston area, expect to pay at least the first and last months' rent and a security deposit - the equivalent of three months' rent. Most leases have 12-month terms; since many students choose to leave the area during the summer, it is important to understand before signing the lease whether or not you have the right to sublet the apartment. The Harvard Housing Office is also a good place to advertise your sublet or to find out about another student's.
Other Sources
Other useful sources of information include bulletin boards at the GSD and other graduate schools, and local newspapers such as the Harvard Crimson, and other sources available on the website Housing Links. "Welcome to Cambridge," available at the Housing Office, includes information on public libraries, schools, utility companies, bookstores, and so on. The office also publishes a list of local bed and breakfast inns.
Fair Housing in Massachusetts: Your Rights and Responsibilities, available through the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination, is a helpful pamphlet that outlines your rights as a tenant under state law. You can request a copy by calling (617) 727-3990.