Housing
Options | Residence Halls | Certified Housing | Apartments | Homestays | Meal Plans
Housing Options
The following information is provided as a sample of housing options available to the University of Illinois Intensive English Institute (IEI) students. IEI does not specifically endorse nor supervise these residences and services. Students should make arrangements for housing directly with the manager of a property. All prices shown are subject to change, and apartment prices fluctuate seasonally.
UI Residence Halls
All University Housing residence halls feature on-campus locations, convenient services in the hall, and professional staff. Living on campus also means that you will be able to use your meal plan in any University Housing dining hall. Your choice to live with University Housing means you will be in the middle of it all!
See
a summary of all University Housing options. (pdf)
Changing Meal Plans
If you live in the dorms and want to change your meal plan, you will need to use your Enterprise ID and password.
- What is my Enterprise ID?
Your Enterprise username is the same as your NetID. - How do I set my Enterprise password?
You will need your Kerberos (NetID) password to set your Enterprise password. Follow these steps:- Go to University of Illinois Enterprise Applications, Self-service
- This is a page that lists the three Illinois campuses. Click on University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (URBANA)
- On the next page click the box that says “First time users”. You will be asked to enter your net ID and your Net ID password – which is the password you created in the Computer Orientation.
- On the next page you create your Enterprise password. To find out about the rules for the password, click on the link Strong Password Criteria. Read this carefully to create an acceptable password.
- Once you have thought of a password, you need to type your password twice into the text boxes. If you have not followed one of the rules, you will get an error sign at the top.
- Once you have set your Enterprise Password, go to the MyHousing website. It will ask you to put in your Enterprise ID (same as your net ID) and the password you have just created. This time enter your Enterprise ID and password on the left side of the screen.
- Once you enter this correctly, you can change your meal plan on the MyHousing website.
UI Certified Housing
All of the Private Certified Housing facilities are certified by the University of Illinois for all students. These facilities are part of the University's housing program. They offer comfortable and attractive living accommodations in a wide range of prices and sizes. For a complete listing, please go to the following website: http://certified.housing.uiuc.edu/
Apartments
Most apartments offer only 9- or 12-month leases beginning in August. Students who arrive in January or June can find apartments with shorter leases. Some apartments offer one-semester, individual leases for Fall and for Spring. Apartments range from efficiency apartments with a combined living room/bedroom to models with more than one bedroom. In addition, apartments may be either “furnished” or “unfurnished”. Students renting unfurnished apartments will need to buy or rent furniture for the bedrooms and living room. Students renting apartments may also have to pay for electricity, gas, telephone, and water.
Apartment Finder Websites
You can log on to the following websites and do a “search” by entering your specifications – maximum amount of rent, number of rooms, type of unit, etc.
- My Cheap Apartments
- ApartmentList
- My Apartment Map
- Daily Illini Apartment Search
- Central Illinois Apartment Association
- Cazoodle Apartment Search
- Rentbits
Leases: Students should be sure that they understand all the terms of the lease before they sign it. A lease is a legally binding document, and the landlord may take legal action against a tenant if terms of the lease are broken.
Homestays
If you want to live with an American family in Champaign-Urbana while you are studying at the Intensive English Institute you can choose to participate in a homestay program. Homestay rates include two meals a day: breakfast and dinner. Students normally have their own bedroom and study space. Bathrooms are usually shared with the family. Transportation to school and home may be by bus. Homestays for students in the IEI are arranged by a company called OvECS. Please see the OvECS website for cost and application or contact them via e-mail at homestay@ovecs.com. You can apply on-line at their website at http://www.azhomestay.com/. The cost is approximately $600 for four weeks for room and meals plus a $180 initial placement fee. Students can stay a minimum of 4 weeks or continue for as long as they like. Remember, there is no typical US family. Some families are single parents with children, older couples whose children are grown, or couples with small or no children. Some families may have pets, and you must understand and follow the family rules.