Reality check: rent in St John's?

I'll potentially be moving to St John's this September to attend grad school at MUN. I've lived my whole life in Montreal and am used to cheap rent & a large availability of apartments. I understand that this is not the case for St John's and that you guys are currently going through a housing crisis. I've been accepted to grad school elsewhere, however MUN is my 1st choice, but if I'm not able to secure comfortable housing that would impact my decision. From the brief research I've done so far I'm not optimistic and from what I understand the market is competitive, which disadvantages me as I will be looking for housing long distance.

(For reference: I am female, mid-20's, no pets, non smoker, and have landlord references.)

My criteria:

• parking spot
• studio/one bedroom
• near MUN or reliable bus stop
• budget of 1600$

Realistically speaking, is this even possible? I have an extremely flexible budget but have found almost nothing when looking at listings. Please be blunt with me! Thanks in advance!!