Students can rent more than apartments in State College -- they can rent computers.

Many local businesses have made computers accessible to customers by leasing them at a variety of prices with hourly and monthly rates. Depending on the rental center, computers may also be used on or off the premises.

Kinko's Copies, 224 W. College Ave., offers on-the-premises Macintosh rentals at $6 per hour. Krissy Warr, desktop publishing supervisor for Kinko's, said the store's computer rental service is especially helpful for students who find campus computer labs crowded or impersonal.

"We seem to offer more help than on campus," Warr said. "We're user-friendly."

Kinko's offers many software packages, but Warr noted that a popular program with student customers is the "Ready, Set, Go" software for the Penn State interview request form program. She said customers also use the rental computers for free-lance design work.

Warr said computer rentals always increase at the end of the semester, especially during finals week.

Allen Potter, manager of the Computer Exchange and Rental Center, 248 W. Hamilton Ave., said the center rents a wide range of computers, for use off the premises. Although the center's rates usually run by the week, month or semester, they can be adjusted to fit the needs of customers.

"If someone wants to rent only 13 or 17 days, we'll rent," Potter said.

He also said he believes the Computer Exchange and Rental Center may appeal to students who are interviewing for jobs and need a costly laptop machine in order to give a demonstration.

Laptop rentals for students and even athletic teams are also common rentals at Keewaydin Computers, 434 Clay Lane, owner David Kurtz said.

"We like to emphasize laptops that perhaps students can carry around," Kurtz said.

Keewaydin Computers also offers hourly computer rentals by appointment at its 319 S. Pugh St. location. Because the store carries several types of computers, the rental rates vary by time and model, Kurtz said, adding that he tries to give students a reasonable price.

Christine Seng, a Penn State alumna who has rented from Kinko's, said she rents a computer because she can't afford to own one.

"It would probably be more cost-efficient for me to buy one, but I don't have the money right now," she said.