This past year, my roommates and I found the perfect little house located near campus. Even though every floor tilts in all sorts of directions, the basement stairs are steep enough to essentially be a slide and there is one bathroom (for five girls!), our little red house quickly became home. It was a place we were excited to call ours for the next two years before graduation...until our rent was raised by $150 dollars…per person.

And so, we joined the numerous other students in this stressful time a year to yet again find housing. Already overwhelmed with midterms, jobs and extracurricular activities, we must now search endlessly on Craigslist, Zillow and other campus rental agencies- not to mention the infinite tours.

Some were lucky enough to find a place that they could afford and enjoy for another year. Good for you (I'm jealous)! Then there are those who have already signed for next year which I congratulate you. And for the remaining students who have yet to find a home, I'm praying for you.

Renting an apartment or house at the University of Minnesota is a blind race. There is no time to think or evaluate because by the time you have toured all your options, other students have already signed at your top eight choices. Might as well ditch that list of requirements from the beginning of your search, because campus housing at the UMN is never a fair battle.

Here are some tips to help you navigate the mad race for housing "close to campus."

1. Accept that you probably won't have air conditioning.

To save yourself some disappointment, always rule out air conditioning as an option. Apparently, such luxuries do not exist on campus.

2. Always make a pro/con List.

This list not only serves the purpose of helping you to make your decision but to reflect back on the amusingly awful housing units available. Accommodations include a shower that is one-foot-by-one-foot, a built-in bar with the Minnesota logo burnt into it, a porch held up by two-by-fours, a sauna, a kitchen with no counter space, a disco light in the basement and a room the size of a closet. The possibilities are endless.

3. Remember, it's just temporary.

You will probably only end up living in your house for one or two years. So yes, while sharing a fridge with five other people is not ideal, it might be doable for one year.

4. Always ask about move-in and move-out dates.

Just do it, please. Otherwise, you’ll end up commuting more than two hours to work, crashing on new couches every night or temporarily moving in with your sibling for three whole weeks.

5. Do not compare rents.

Comparing your rent to your friends' at other universities will only make you cry... and then cry more. While you are living in a shared two-bedroom apartment where the kitchen, dining room, living room and laundry room are all combined, your friend at another college will be paying half your rent for a three-story house and their own room. It is not fair, but you are paying for the experience, right…?

6. Just sign and cross your fingers.

Nobody knows why we need to sign for housing a year in advance. Just accept it and move on and hope that everyone with whom you signed can still live in the house and that it doesn’t get trashed within the ten months until your move-in date.

Yet inevitably you will find housing, whether it be a fifteen-story apartment building in Dinkytown or a shack in Como, it is still better than nothing. Besides, the worse the conditions, the better the story- at least that's what I tell myself.