Category Archives: UW-Madison

Rent Safely at UW-Madison with CollegePads.com

When it comes to picking a place to live in a big city like Madison, it’s important to know as much as you can about your new neighborhood. We want you to love your new place, but we (and probably your parents) want you to be safe too and you can find the best and safest UW-Madison off-campus housing on CollegePads.com. But to make sure you’re staying safe on campus, read on to learn more about the best ways to be safe when you go to the University of Wisconsin. Continue reading

Top 10 UW-Madison Landlords

As a first-time renter (and sometimes even as a seasoned tenant), finding quality UW-Madison off campus housing isn’t the easiest task. It takes some know-how and a little bit of insider knowledge to get to know the best apartments and prices around.

Fortunately, instead of finding all this information through trial and error, Rent College Pads dug through tons of reviews to find the top 10 landlords in Madison. Read on to learn why we chose them, then make your own informed decision about which of our apartments and homes for rent in Madison are right for you!

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The Top 10 UW-Madison Athletes to Follow
Bucky Badger, directing fans to follow all these guys on Twitter. (Flickr)

Bucky Badger, directing fans to follow all these guys on Twitter. (Flickr)

There aren’t many better follows when you’re a college student than the athletes you watch tear it up on the field or the court. NCAA football and basketball players have been responsible for some of the great tweets of our time over the past ten years, so we thought we’d highlight the UW-Madison athletes with the most Twitter followers. Continue reading

UW-Madison: Food on a Budget
ian's pizza in madison

Ian’s in Madison (John Fischer : Flickr)

We know money is tight for students at UW-Madison. That’s the one big negative that comes alongside all the great things about being in college. We also know that students love food. Especially in a town like Madison with so many great dining options. So we’ve scoured the internet (mainly Yelp, honestly) and found the best options for UW-Madison food that won’t ruin your budget.

Being (almost) broke doesn’t mean you can’t occasionally enjoy a quality meal. Continue reading

Finding Your First Apartment: Madison

 Finding UW-Madison off campus housing is a nerve-racking experience. Whether you are just starting off college or simply moving to a new city, each area has its own unique tricks to finding your perfect place. While there are many options to choose from, there are important details to consider that help narrow down the decision pool. Among these are price, area, utilities included, and also nearby amenities.

Finances: What can you expect to afford in Madison?

One of the most important things to consider when you are looking for an apartment in Madison is your price range. Before you begin, you should sit down and figure out how much you can afford to spend every month and then don’t forget to leave an amount to pay your initial security deposit. Costs to take into account are rent, groceries, utilities not included in your rental agreement, and extracurriculars since Madison is the capital of Wisconsin and as such has many amenities to enjoy.

Rent is one of the biggest costs of living to consider and it fluctuates depending on what type of apartment you are looking at (studio, 1 bedroom, duplex, etc.), area, and amenities included in your rental agreement. Madison apartments can generally cost between $600 and $900 a person per month. Proximity to UW can also affect the price of your apartment. (Many apartment leases do not include electricity and some also exclude internet or charge extra on top of rent.)

Area: Where should you live?

Madison is a large city, being the capital of Wisconsin. The areas to live in are varied as you will find in all larger cities, but to find a place near campus is a much smaller search radius. Many of the places near campus are categorized by street name and will consist of student tenants. There are still many areas to choose from, including Monroe Street, Campus Drive (which is turns into University Avenue heading east), and then northeast of the UW campus, which is right by the lake. Each of these areas is right near campus and is primarily students living there. Don’t forget to research the area you are thinking of living in before you choose it.

Looking: What to look out for.

While you are searching for your apartment in Madison, be sure to keep an eye out for things included in the rental cost and things that are not. The biggest costs to look for are heat, cooking gas, electric, internet, and if the facility has on-site laundry. Before you sign a lease, read it over carefully because some landlords will try to slip in a clause that you do not need to sign on with. If you are questioning anything in the lease you can search for the Tenants’ Rights Handbook.