Whether you’re transferring from another school, doing the 2+2 from a branch campus, or just not in State College while looking for places to live, it can get tough.

You don’t have to sign completely sight unseen; there are still ways to make smart choices from afar. Here are some of the best tips.

Start Early

If you know you’re coming to Penn State, start looking as early as possible. While you can wait to sign at some schools, it gets riskier the later it gets in Happy Valley. Leases are often signed 8-10 months here, especially if you want to live downtown.

Use Trusted, Verified Resources

Make sure you’re looking at real websites and don’t get scammed! Penn State has support for living off-campus, and popular sites like apartments.com work here, too. But make sure to always check the individual leasing sites and make sure you’re looking at the right building!

Ask Students Living There How It Is

When you’re not on campus, you can’t get the casual reviews of apartments from friends or classmates. While a place can look great in the staged photos, you won’t know all the pros and cons unless you’re living there, so try to find someone living there now through connections or even the building’s social media and ask them for their review and recommendations.

There are even Facebook groups or Reddit pages to find student reviews on.

Find Virtual Tours

Many apartments offer 360 tours online, where you can “walk through” a sample apartment by clicking around the screen and photos updating as you go. But, if they don’t offer that or even if you want to see more, you could email and ask the company or landlord for a video tour to see what it truly looks like. And if they say no, that might be a sign you don’t want to live there.

Map It Out

If you’ve never been on campus before, take a walk through Google Earth to see what campus is like and map the most important places to your housing searches. If you’re downtown, everything is more walkable and accessible, but it will be more crowded and expensive. Areas like Tofttress are more affordable, but you’ll be relying on the CATA buses and friends. Make sure you can get everywhere you need to go from your apartment, and what you would prefer, before signing.

Consider A Short-Term Lease

If you’re still unsure of where you want to commit to long-term when you arrive on campus, consider a short-term lease or sublet while you settle in. Maybe students sublet apartments for studying abroad, graduating early, or just switching leases. They’re usually cheaper and will help you look at more apartments in person to find your best fit.