Student housing is arranged by College Year in Athens and is included in the Program Fee. Accepted students should fill out the Housing Form as soon as possible; this form helps CYA staff match students with their roommates. While every effort will be made to accommodate specific requests and placements, preferences cannot be guaranteed. CYA's priority is to accommodate each student in a safe environment conducive to learning and cultural immersion. For these reasons, CYA reserves the right to alter or change accommodation at any time.

Overview
CYA students live in self-contained apartments in residential apartment buildings in the Kolonaki and Pangrati areas of Athens, which are situated a ten- to twenty-minute walk from the Academic Center. These neighborhoods are desirable for their central location, proximity to sites, monuments and museums, and access to the National Gardens and the wooded slopes of Lykavittos Hill.

All students live within easy walking distance of grocery stores, cafes and restaurants, bakeries, dry-cleaning shops, banks, and other amenities, including a lively, weekly outdoor "people's market" offering fresh fruit and vegetables, fish, and flowers.

There are generally no more than a few CYA apartments within a given building. The advantage of these accommodations over typical student dormitories is that students have a greater opportunity to interact with their Greek neighbors and generally live like Athenians do.

Essentials
A typical apartment houses four or five students (double and single rooms) and includes a common area, a kitchen (stocked with tableware and basic cooking equipment), bathroom and balcony. Apartments are simply but fully furnished, with air-conditioned bedrooms. Although each student receives space to store clothing and personal belongings, storage is limited and students are advised not to over-pack. CYA provides a pillow, two blankets and a bedspread for each student. Semester and full-year students must bring towels, sheets and pillowcases.   Beds are standard twin size.

Housekeeping
Program fees include housekeeping services for each apartment once every 8-10 days. Students are nevertheless expected to keep common areas clean and in good order.

Laundry
Students are responsible for laundering their own clothing, sheets, and towels. Washers and dryers are available  free of charge at the Academic Center. Apartments are equipped with laundry lines for air-drying, irons, and ironing boards.

Utilities
Heat, electricity and water are included in the Program Fee. Students should be aware that Greeks are accustomed to conserving water and that North American homes would be considered over-heated by Greek standards. Each apartment includes an electric water heater that must be switched on and off manually. More information on the safe use of the water heaters is included in the Student Handbook.

Telephones
Each CYA student is required to carry a mobile phone with a Greek telephone number.  CYA has contracted with PicCell Wireless to provide students with mobile phones. CYA encourages students to order their mobile phones prior to departing for Greece in order to have use of the telephone while traveling before and/or after the Program.  Please visit  www.piccellwireless.com/CYA  for detailed information.  Student apartments are not equipped with telephones or wall jacks, so students who wish to place a "land line" call must use public pay phones or the student phone at the Academic Center. Although Internet access is not available in student apartments, the Academic Center offers plentiful wall jacks and wireless service throughout for laptop users, as well as Internet access in the computer labs.

Being a Good Neighbor
Living side-by-side with Greek neighbors and their families is one of the benefits of CYA student housing. CYA students who are accustomed to dormitory or student-apartment-complex living, however, can expect a period of adjustment. Being a good neighbor means being aware of noise levels at all times as well as respecting Greek social customs-including greeting neighbors in hallways and elevators and respecting the traditional "quiet hours" as set by law (2 p.m. until 5 p.m. and 11 p.m. until 7 a.m.).

Each student is expected to understand and follow the rules of student conduct in apartments as outlined in the Student Handbook. Disregard for such standards will result in disciplinary procedures that can lead to loss of housing privileges or even expulsion from the Program.

Student Housing Between Semesters
Full-year students may remain in their CYA apartments at no extra cost between semesters (see Fees).

** Summer students only: Linens (sheets and pillowcases, towels, blankets) are provided and laundered in conjunction with regular housekeeping services.

Meals
Program fees include a main mid-day meal on weekdays (Monday through Friday), except on holidays and during recesses. On overnight field trips, breakfast is customarily served in lieu of lunch. CYA dining facilities are located on the ground floor of the Academic Center.