The 1355 WKU Kentucky Street apartments, which offer one and two bedroom options for upperclassmen, opened this fall and remained filled throughout the year. 

Full-time and approved part-time students who have more than 60 credit hours can lease the apartments, which contain a kitchen, living room and private bedrooms. 

Taylorsville senior Chase Thomas has lived in the 1355 WKU Apartments with a friend since December and said he enjoys having his own space. 

“It’s a really comfortable, nice place to live, especially if you have roommates who you like,” Thomas said. “And it’s been nice to have my own room and bathroom.”

Thomas said he also enjoys the apartments’ proximity to campus.

“Being close to campus is nice,” he said. “It’s like five minutes away.” 

Taylorsville senior Arden Gregory, who has lived in the 1350 WKU Apartments for two semesters, said she likes having her own kitchen for cooking. She said she also enjoys the inclusion of a washer and dryer in her apartment, so she doesn’t have to pay extra to wash clothes or wait for others to finish.

“I’ve enjoyed it,” she said. “It’s a nice alternative.”

Gregory said the apartments include cable and Wi-Fi, and she doesn’t pay for electric and water unless she goes over the set limit, which is $40 per person. 

Thomas, who lives in a two-bedroom apartment with a roommate, said he pays a “pretty fair” price.

A one bedroom single-occupancy apartment costs $515 a month and a one bedroom double-occupancy apartment costs $600 a month. 

Apartments lease for 11 months and the cost of rent is charged to a student’s university account with tuition and fees. Loans, grants and WKU scholarships can be used to pay rent.

Gregory said she chose to live in the apartments this year because she wanted an option where she could use her scholarship money, which pays entirely for her housing, but have more freedom than at the residence halls. 

“I like living there better because there’s more freedom and they don’t close for breaks,” she said.

Thomas said he lived in the Fiji fraternity house last year and then traveled to China to participate in an exchange program last semester.

He said he chose to move into the WKU Apartments for the spring semester because they were the only choice available when he returned.  

“I miss the social interaction at my fraternity house,” he said.

Gregory said she previously lived in Minton, Bates-Runner and McLean Halls, and she misses the intimate atmosphere dorm life provided. 

“There’s a loss of a sense of community (at the apartments),” she said. “It’s not unlikely to come and go and never interact with another person.”

Gregory said there are certain events, such as an ice cream social, held monthly for the apartment residents, but she has never been able to go. 

Gregory shares a two bedroom apartment with her sister, who will be getting married next year and moving into the WKU Apartments with her spouse. 

“I’m really, really glad WKU has these, because it was the only university who didn’t have something like this,” she said. “It’s a really great alternative for students who are married.” 

The wait list for the apartments is currently closed and assignments for the 2015-2016 school year will be decided toward the end of March.