Just got done living here for 10 months, and the experience was not what I expected. Me and my parents got here to move in and absolutely nothing was cleaned by the owners in advance, we had to clean every room despite no one having lived there besides one roommate who got there before me. In no way had we indicated before we arrived that we were moving in early to move in our possessions or anything. I signed up for a normal move in date like everyone else.
Also, not only did my bedroom and the kitchen have ants that were somehow not previously taken care of, but the thermostat actually had no effect on my bedroom at all, and I had to buy a fan for it in the early fall like I was still living in an unrenovated campus dorm with no AC. My roommates and my neighbors in identical units complained to me about this. Also the ants were written off by management as just being a State College thing, even though I've lived in State College for two years previous and never seen that, and despite the fact that there were no traps previously laid and the one treatment they gave my bedroom for ants completely solved the problem. Seemed like something that could've been done before move in, especially since they then had pest control do a property wide inspection in December.
And one final thing about my bedroom, the wall between me and the adjacent bedroom was definitely super thin. I could literally hear every sound my roommate made, no exaggeration, which prevented me from sleeping many times. I went so far as to purchase ear plugs for this issue. There was a sizable space under the door that I thought was causing the issue, which would also be just as annoying, but I tried multiple times to put clothing and towels under it to muffle the sound and there was no difference in volume.
With all the problems I had in my bedroom and the poor state of my unit when I arrived, I was already disappointed, but there was still more. Drawers in the kitchen scraped against the walls whenever I opened them, and the stove smoked every time I used it. I got maintenance to come by and replace every stove coil and they still emitted smoke. As for the problems with maintenance, the guy who came by was always nice, but I was rarely given any notice regarding when he'd be coming. I once came downstairs from my bedroom and he was literally just inside my home, working on something I'd asked about days before but received no communications about. In a survey following a maintenance request, I even asked to be given more notice on when someone would come by, but that never happened.
Another thing, and perhaps the most annoying, is that they advertise themselves as a property that does Roommate Matching via a survey everyone takes to decide which tenants would be compatible with each other. Now I understand that in their lease they say that they aren't responsible for who you end up with, but why would you advertise something about yourself if you aren't able to follow through with it consistently? This is one of the things I chose this apartment for, and they couldn't come through for me. Another reason I bring this up is because my roommates were wildly incompatible to me. Of course my roommates could've exaggerated or lied on their surveys, but in that case I would just avoid Blue Course if roommate matching is what you're looking for, since their process for it certainly is not at all foolproof.
To sum everything up, the apartment itself is just okay, but the experience was just awful. Management was nice enough most times, but the problems lie mostly in what you have to deal with in your own home, and that's the worst part and not something one should have to deal with while being stressed out enough about school. There are other options for off campus housing, and with the way this property keeps increasing their rent price while still having their utilities not included, I know for a fact (because I've seen it) that there are plenty of options downtown or closer to campus where you'll get more bang for your buck, or even for less. read more