Hopefully by now you'll have found somewhere to live. If not, don't panic - you still have some time left before college starts.

However, you may not get your first choice of accommodation and it's not a good idea to hold out for the perfect place to come along, because it probably won't.

If you end up taking something you're not entirely happy with, all is not lost. Many college towns are in the process of building Section 50 purpose-built student accommodation. Some of the newer complexes have a limited number of rooms available now, but more are coming on stream in January.

If you arranged accommodation on foot of a round-one offer and you're now off to a completely different college town because of an offer received today, you need to get a few things sorted.

The first thing to do is ring the accommodation office in the original college and see if they can help you to get out of the first arrangement without incurring a penalty. Then, contact the office in the new college to find out what they have on offer.

DCU

DCU's pre-booking system means that all the on-campus places were already gone before any offers were made. However, some places have gone to students on the cancellation list since the first round of offers went out.

Accommodation officer Aoife O'Sullivan says availability in the private rented sector is becoming quite limited. "It is tough this year. We're seeing a real shortage of rented houses and apartments," she says.

The college has taken out newspaper ads asking prospective landlords to come forward and there has been some response, O'Sullivan says. "Things are coming in, in a trickle, but they are being snapped up just as quickly."

Where there is still plenty of availability, she says, is the digs list - and for people who would rather share with other students, there are still quite a few house-shares around. These are generally offered by other students who rented a house with a view to getting another person to make up the numbers. However, she warns this could mean that you end up sharing a room.

The rental prices in the area are sticking pretty much to the predicted average of £280 a month per person, but O'Sullivan has already heard of students being asked to pay significantly more. She advises those who just got their offer today to start looking straight away.

UCD

UCD held its on-campus accommodation lottery on Saturday under the strict supervision of the members of the Garda and the clergy, so you should now know whether you got a place in Merville, Belgrove or Roebuck Hall. If you didn't, the college still has its digs lists and house-share notices available from the accommodation office.

TCD

Trinity has only very limited accommodation available to first-years. None of this is on the main campus and this year, and there are just 70 places available at Trinity Hall in Dartry. However, the college does provide an accommodation advisory service which has notices of digs and self-catering places, newspaper listings and two free phones for calling landlords.

"The office is very busy at the moment," accommodation officer Tony Dempsey says. "Plenty of people are hunting earlier this year, but there are still some properties on the list and we're still advertising for landlords."

One of the biggest benefits of calling into the office, Dempsey says, is that you can meet up with other students and join together in a house share. "It's an excellent option," he says.

DIT

Things aren't looking too bright for DIT students on the accommodation front. None of its constituent colleges have on-campus housing and there are no Section 50 developments connected to the college.

DIT does have a student accommodation service which compiles a list of landlords offering digs or houses to rent. This list is circulated to all the constituent colleges, but it is only issued on a weekly basis and contains mainly digs, with very few private rented houses.

"To be honest, we haven't had much feedback from landlords yet," says Anne Harran in the DIT student services office.

UCC

The big accommodation rush in Cork is over says UCC accommodation officer Maura O'Neill. However, she says accommodation will still become available throughout September and right into October. O'Neill asks students who are accepting second-round offers not to forget to cancel their accommodation, so it becomes available to other students.

Cork IT

Accommodation in close proximity to Cork IT is all but gone at this stage, accommodation officer Margaret Faherty says. "Most of the single and twin rooms in digs and private houses close to the college are gone." The houses still available are not as convenient, she says, but should still be on a bus route or about a 25-minute walk away. Faherty advises students still looking to keep in constant contact with the college accommodation office. "We update our lists everyday and throughout the day and we post up new listing as soon as they come in," she says.

NUI Galway

NUI Galway students are finding the search for houses, "quite tough" this year, says accommodation officer Margaret Faherty. "There is simply not enough student-purpose accommodation," she says. "The Government needs to invest in building affordable accommodation for students." Huge queues of students wait to collect the Galway Advertiser each Wednesday, she says, and the college accommodation office is also very busy. Students who are still looking for a place will get one, she says, but they will find it very difficult to find somewhere affordable.

Galway-Mayo IT

There is still a lot of accommodation available for students in Galway-Mayo IT, according to Annie Geraghty of the accommodation office. Both student complexes, Glasβn and Gleann na R∅, still have places. Digs are still plentiful, but the supply of houses is limited. However Geraghty says there should be more available in the second and third week of September when the holiday season ends.

NUI Maynooth

Prospective Maynooth students will have filled out their campus application forms in July. Those who got first-round offers will already know if they got lucky in the lottery, but there are still places reserved for students awaiting the second round. Most students offered places in the second round will end up seeking accommodation in the town. "They'll find it more difficult than the first round, but they will still get housed," Maynooth residence officer Fiona Kenny says.

Students looking this week should come straight to the college accommodation office, where they can get a copy of the regularly updated lists.

The list has more digs than houses, but even the digs are moving quickly.

"At this stage, we're taking more off the list than we're putting on," says Kenny. Students who have arranged accommodation in Maynooth but are now intending to go to another college should contact the office immediately.

"If you organised your accommodation through the office we can organise for someone else to take your place, but even if you organised it privately, still contact us. We do approach landlords on the student's behalf and they usually do give the deposit back," Kenny says.

UL

The UL accommodation open day on August 24th helped a large proportion of students to make contact with landlords.

"A lot of students came to the open day, so they've already secured their houses," says accommodation officer Frances McNamara. For students joining the hunt now, the supply of housing "seems a lot better this year", she says.

The UL student villages, Plassey, Kilmurry and Dromroe, are filling fast and may not be an option for the remaining house-seekers this semester. However, Dromroe will have another 200 places available in January and students can apply now and seek alternative housing for the first semester.

Limerick IT

A housing list is currently available from the accommodation service in Limerick IT. They also provide a list of estate agents who will deal with students. Digs allocation works on a referral basis, where each student is refereed to a given address, but it is their own responsibility to inspect the place and ensure they are happy with the terms and conditions.

Carlow IT

Carlow IT's daily updated list still has a good number of digs places and some self-catering accommodation, officer Margaret Jones says. "We have put ads in the paper and on the radio and we got a good response," she says.

Tralee IT

The majority of first-years still looking for accommodation in Tralee will end up in digs, says the college's accommodation spokesman, Fr Pat O'Donnell. "I have very few houses left, some rooms in apartments and a good lot of digs." All the housing around the new campus is on the north side of town is now gone, he says.

Sligo IT

The supply of student housing is running very low in Sligo IT this year. "There's practically nothing left in self-catering and most of the digs are gone," says Madeline Finan of the accommodation office. The office will still compile notices of what is available, but her advice is to get the Sligo Champion on a Wednesday for their listings.

Waterford IT

Waterford IT has two student complexes with availability: Ardkeen Woods at £2,090 for the year and Ozier Park at £1,710 plus £275 deposit. Accommodation officer John Butler says many of the rooms still available are doubles, but the complexes do their best to match students appropriately. "If you're coming to college with a friend they'll try to put you together, or if you want they'll match you with someone on your course or from your area."

Letterkenny IT

There are still some spaces available in Letterkenny IT's Celtic Apartments but at this stage it's mainly double rather than single rooms. The college hopes that more Section 50 places will be finished within the next month, which should help latecomers, but Vicky O'Rouke in the students union says, "We really need more student purpose accommodation to be built." Private houses are in short supply now, but she says there are still plenty of digs.

Dundalk IT

The college still has a good supply of housing and students should have no problems finding somewhere, Liam Reilly in the students union says. Regularly updated housing lists are available on the web at dkitsu.com.

Athlone IT

The accommodation situation in Athlone is not good, Ian Harnett in the students union says. "There's usually no shortage, but the houses in the Willow Park estate are being bought up by the council and students can't find anything." Digs, he says, are "totally gone" and students starting to look now will have to look in the town centre away from the college. "They're going to have to squeeze into apartments and end up paying £45 to share a room."