The housing portal opens in October - first term you are required to live in residence
Dorms are not required for first term students. You can live off campus if you want, it's just harder to find an apartment and set everything up while you're living in a different country. I'm actually already living in Grenada so I have housing set for a while. My girlfriend started term 1 in August. Out apartment complex is all students and at least 4 that we've met are first term, so you most certainly do not have to live on campus. With that said, living on campus has a lot of advantages. You are forced into meeting new people, which can help if you're not super outgoing, and having study partners is always a good thing. You are on campus, and have a five minute walk to classes instead of relying on the buses or walking from off campus. It's a 20-minute walk to campus from our apartment and the buses are usually full when they pass by us, so getting to campus on time can be tricky sometimes. Or if you live far enough away, you might have to look into getting a car or scooter, which is just one more cost to consider.
As to finding a single occupancy room, good luck. The only one I know of is the RA, so if you don't mind babysitting stressed out med students go ahead. This last term starting in August SGU overbooked the dorms by a good amount and told students to look off campus for housing or forced some to live in a hotel off campus.
So when you're considering on-campus dorms or finding a place off campus, just keep in mind a few things:
- transportation to and from campus - SGU has a pretty good bus system if you live on one of the routes. Some routes (Grand Anse) have more buses than others (Mont Tout, Lance aux Epines). Cars run between $300-500 USD a month to rent, and between $4000-10000 to buy. Scooters are cheaper. Walking is great but it is hot and rains a good bit, as well as closer to campus apartments cost a good bit more. Just think about how long you want to spend everyday trying to get to campus.
- cost - off campus housing is definitely cheaper if you look around. The closer you get to campus, the more expensive the rates. Further away, cheaper rent, but you might have to get a car. Also, look into what the apartment covers. Ours has free internet, cable TV, water, and gas for the stove, but we pay electricity. Some pay everything for you, others don't cover anything. Check to see if they have laundry and what the setup is. Some have washers and you line dry your clothes, ours takes quarters, some have in unit machines, which add to electricity.
- pets if you want to bring them - Dorms don't allow pets. Most apartments do, but might require a deposit. Pet food is another cost and the selection here isn't great.
- the trouble of finding a livable apartment - I love my apartment, but some people we've talked sound like they're living in hell. There's a facebook housing group with a blacklist of apartments. You can still live there, but be careful. Really check out the place and talk to the landlord. Request pictures, ask about utilities, what type of plugs they have, laundry, cleaning service (we have a weekly maid that is free), pets, crime, bonuses like a pool, whatever you think is important. Just be sure you can live there for six months without driving yourself crazy.
- Really find out what you can do without and what is absolutely necessary. Make a dealbreaker list. Don't expect all of the niceties you can get elsewhere, but don't give up what you want if it'll make your time down here easier. Some places don't have AC. That's a dealbreaker for me, some people don't mind. We have a maid, but if we didn't I would still take this place. Our kitchen is small. If you really like to cook, that might be a dealbreaker. Just think of a few things you can't do without and look for those. You're going to be here for 2years. Don't settle if you don't have to.
Lastly, keep in mind that even afters hours and hours of researching and asking questions, you may still not get what you what. Things are different down here. If you don't like your place, you can look for a new place while you're down here. This is one of the reason on-campus dorms are so attractive. It takes all the worry out of the first term as far as housing, and lets you focus on school. You don't have some of the added benefits, but trust me, you won't have a lot of time to enjoy any of them. Most of my girlfriend's time is spent on campus.
Hope this post was somewhat informative. If you have any more questions about living down here, feel free to ask.