Months after many students such as Wenzel had hoped to finalize their fall living situation, Facebook and many online housing forums have filled with students desperate to find roommates, sublessees or a place to live.

“Housing shouldn’t be this difficult,” Wenzel said in an email. “This was all toward the end of the semester when I should have been worrying about finals, not stressing about my living situation for the next year.”

There is an influx of students trying to nail down their fall living situations toward the middle to end of summer, Abbott Place General Manager Becky Leirstein said. She said housing contracts are signed steadily throughout the year, with the time before Christmas and before spring break being the busiest.

“Time is of the essence,” Leirstein said, adding that while there are still living situations available in East Lansing, the sooner students act, the more likely they will find a living situation they are comfortable with.

“If you know you need a space, make a move on it.”

Leirstein, as well as MSU Community Liaison Erin Carter, said students who are still trying to find a place to live or roommates to live with should follow the lead of students like Wenzel, who took advantage of online resources such as Facebook.

Wenzel struggled to get out of her MSU housing contract, but when she did, she was able to find two off-campus roommates by posting on Facebook. Wenzel ended up falsely reporting “financial difficulty” and contacting the chairman of the committee that decides if students can be released from housing contracts to hurry the process along.

“It angers me to no end,” Wenzel said, adding she has heard “horror stories” of students who have had a parent get sick or lose a job and were still unable to get out of their MSU housing contract. “If I had told the truth, there’s no way I would have ever been released.”

Amanda Vasas, communications manager for the Division of Residential and Hospitality Services, said there is currently a waiting list for returning students and transfers for on-campus housing, due to high enrollment for the freshman class and ongoing renovations and construction.

Carter, Vasas and Leirstein suggested students trying to find living situations or roommates continually post ads on Craigslist, Facebook, the new Off-Campus Housing website and SpartanConnect, as well as contacting the apartment complex’s office if they will be off campus.

This plan has worked out positively so far for accounting sophomore Janson Hicks, who originally was just trying to help a friend figure out housing, but decided to sublet his own apartment.

Carter said students still working to figure out their housing for the fall need not worry.

“It is nerve-racking to not have things planned, (but) there are a lot of resources that can help,” Carter said. “Try not to stress out — there are plenty of options still available.”