Joy of joys. You've received your acceptance letter and its goodbye to mom and dad. So now that you're enrolled you're going to need to find a wall to hang your Hannah Montana poster on. Cal State San Marcos housing choices include both on-campus and off-campus options. Whether you're looking for apartments near CSUSM or the Cal State San Marcos dorms, start here for a couple ideas.

Live in the CSUSM dorms
The quintessential college experience. Shack up with other students in a pleasant on-campus environment.
Resources University Village Apartments - on-campus housing perfect for students just starting at CSUSM
Pros You, surrounded by hundreds of college students - watch out!
Cons You, surrounded by hundreds of college students - watch out!
Watch our for Read above
Price $575 - $800

Rent a room near the Cal State campus
Affordable and convenient, renting a room in a local house or apartment with existing occupants can be a mixed bag.
Resources Craigslist - Because everyone uses it. An aspiring roommate should always check here first.
Pros You may end up with cool people
Cons Swimfan. Need I say more?
Watch our for Make sure you understand what you're responsible for, like the deposit, utilities, etc.
Price $450 - $750 (check Craigslist for current rates)

Rent an apartment or house
Want to rent your own space with a couple of friends or all by yourself? Start here.
Resources Apartments.com - Pretty good apartment finding website Craigslist - Craigslist to the rescue, again
Pros You won't catch lice from unwashed roommates
Cons Definitely pricier than renting a room
Watch our for If you're not familiar with the area make sure wherever you rent is within a short distance of the CSUSM campus
Price $900 - $2000+ (check Craigslist for current rates)

Alternative living arrangements
The Kellogg Library has 5 floors of twisting hallways, small alcoves, secluded study rooms, and a veritable forest of book stacks. You get the idea.
Resources Cunning, wits, and the ability to camouflage yourself as The Encyclopedia of Accounting Principles, Volumes I-X
Pros Its free and after hours you can finally catch up on all those issues of Vogue you missed
Cons Hard to land a date when you look like Manson and smell like a hippy's Birkenstock
Watch our for Librarians - shhhhhhhh!
Price Free