The importance of work experience is constantly being drilled in to the brains of college undergraduates. Because of the competitive job market, students are advised and often required to complete an internship before graduation. Although some have the option of working during fall or spring semesters, others rely on summer break to be when they are most available for a job.  With the pressure of obtaining a summer internship, a common problem for students is paying for housing if the internships are not located in the Starkville area.  This rarely affects freshmen since Mississippi State has required first-year students to live on campus in residence halls since fall 2008.  However, this occurs frequently for most students who choose to live in off-campus apartments.
Unfortunately, signing a 12-month lease is the common requirement of apartment complexes in Starkville. Signing this lease requires tenants to pay rent on a certain date each month,  usually starting in August and ending the following July. Even though full leases have been signed, students are often in situations where they would like to opt out of leases for summer months.  Most internships result in students paying for an apartment they will not be living in because of the requirement of living elsewhere. Having to pay for two apartments at once can also be an issue.
To prove students should be offered assistance in the summer, it is regularly argued that complexes are typically emptier during summer months compared to fall and spring semesters. Beth Bland, property manager for Tabor Management said this is not necessarily true.
“You would be surprised that it is not drastically different. I would not have thought that, but several stay up here in the summer for school, work or to simply visit friends,” she said.
Although some may think landlords are solely out to collect monthly rent, several Starkville apartment complexes offer a subleasing system to help students out with these and similar issues.
“We try to be understanding when dealing with students. We want to help our residents as much as we can,” Tamera Davis, accounts director at The Pointe, said.
Like Tabor Management, apartment complexes frequently prefer to use the term “assignment” for helping with these types of situations. Knowing internships are often unpaid, it is generally understood that their tenants may need assistance under certain situations.
Starting early is the best approach to fixing this problem. As soon as a tenant knows he or she will not be living in an apartment, even for spring or fall semesters, he or she should contact the apartment complex to inquire about assistance with subleasing. The day of notice varies between each complex.  Assignments should always be handled through whoever owns the apartment complex. Having a friend or acquaintance sublease for a tenant is commonly allowed. Often, there is a list of people who have contacted the complex looking to sublease. However, complexes not at full occupancy are less likely to have a list of people willing to sublease and will require the tenants to find someone on their own.
Unfortunately, there is no way to guarantee getting out of summer rent payments if you land an internship. Living on campus may lighten the load, as it is cheaper than off-campus housing and payments are made per semester rather than per month. Although three new residence halls allow for more upperclassmen housing, your best bet is to hit social media to find someone to sublease.