It's that time of year again - the sun is shining, flowers are blooming, spring is somewhat in the air - and students staying in the area after the semester ends are embarking on a maddening struggle to find summer housing in Providence.
But eCollegeCribs.com, a new student-founded Web site that links tenants to landlords in Providence, could alleviate anxiety over uncertain housing plans that plague students throughout the spring.
Mark Tuttle '07, co-founder of the Web site, said the idea for eCollegeCribs came from its founders' frustrating experience finding housing in Providence the summer after their sophomore year. Tuttle and Lindsay Heck '07 designed the Web site's business plan as an assignment for EN 90: "Managerial Decision Making," taught by Professor Emeritus of Engineering Barrett Hazeltine, and on March 5, the plan turned into reality, he said.
According to Heck, eCollegeCribs is unique in that it allows renters to see the location of their housing on an interactive map, to "bookmark" prospective apartments on their accounts - so the places they look at don't "get lost" in all the listings - and to e-mail friends with apartment listings, which can be very helpful for roommates.
The map, which shows all listings on the East Side of Providence, is useful because location is "one of the most important criteria in people's housing decisions," Tuttle added.
Renters can filter searches by price range and distance. The site measures the distance and walking time from prospective housing to several landmarks around College Hill.
The site currently has 70 registered users, Tuttle said, and about 20 listings. It can also be used for year-long housing, he said, but such arrangements are usually made in the fall of the prior year.
Though anyone can use eCollegeCribs, renters and landlords can specify if they want only Brown students or college students to reside in their housing, Heck said. This feature is an improvement on the housing listings on Craigslist, Tuttle said, because Craigslist can leave renters in the dark about their roommates, leading to uncomfortable rooming situations.
Renters' ability to specify with whom they want to live adds "more of a layer of security," Heck said.
Tuttle said Hazeltine thought visiting professors would also benefit from the site, since they would be able to choose their roommates more carefully.
The site, which had 250 hits on its first day, was advertised mostly by "word of mouth," Heck said.
"Juniors are probably the target audience," she added, because many are looking to rent out their apartments for the summer.
Though the Web site itself does not give Tuttle and Heck "any feedback" regarding its success in matching renters with landlords, the two have received several e-mails from professors and students who liked the resource, Tuttle said.
Since eCollegeCribs does not require any administration, Tuttle said, "hopefully it will get more users and be able to sustain itself" even after he and Heck graduate from Brown in May.
