Classes start next month at Hawaii's largest university, where students are still scrambling to find housing on campus or nearby.

The housing shortage continues at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, but work is underway that will bring a big relief next year. Meanwhile, students are getting creative about finding somewhere to live.

"I'm actually the 316th person on the waiting list right now to get housing," said junior Lisa Williams.

She and 812 others on the waitlist could know as late as a month after the semester starts if there will be space for them in campus housing.

"So it's too late, it's really not convenient at all,” Williams said. “It's a horrible situation."

A situation she's been through before.

"I didn't have anywhere to stay for a week so I actually stayed in my car for a week,” she said. “I was very uncomfortable."

Construction at Frear Hall is underway to house more than 810 by the fall of next year, but meanwhile 3,100 other campus spots are hot property.

"They'll house international students first, then mainland students, then outer island, then people farthest away from the campus," senior Shawn Watarida said.

Finding off-campus housing is just as tough.

"It's very hard because it's very expensive,” Watarida said. “Especially if you're a college student and you're surviving off of loans you want to pay back."

That's taking many students a lot farther away than the Manoa area.

"Liliha was the closest I could find,” Williams said. “It's $500 a month, not too bad."

A bill this last legislative session would have given matching funds to get private developers to expand or renovate campus housing. It died along the way but its backers say they'll bring it up again next session. Students and U.H. housing officials hope so.

"There's definitely a need for new housing,” Watarida said. “They built the apartments back in the 1970s, so it's very outdated."

Nearby the campus, landowner Kamehahema Schools plans to re-develop the Moiliili area over the next 3 to 5 years. They say student housing will be an important part of their plans.