UniFi Lettere e Filosofia is in Piazza Brunelleschi so in the heart of the historical center. You can choose to look for something in the center or anywhere a bit outside of the main perimeter (outside the viali) since prices downtown are pretty high. To move around, definitely use the bus system which is very good - majority of all bus lines run towards the center and out - or you can choose to buy a bike. It is very common to bike around Florence, and especially in the center.
I certainly recommend you get in touch with MerryGoRound (
http://www.merrygoround.org/) - Mr. Gogoli is very nice and will do all that is possible to find you a place that is right for a student and for your length of study. In order to budget, many students at the UniFi end up sharing apartments with several other students. Many advertise space in their apartments simply through fliers posted downtown on bulletin boards but hopefully many have moved on to posting online.
If you already understand Italian, you'll likely find more on Italian boards. You should search for "affitti studenti firenze" on Google.it to find online boards where students exchange requests for rooms, you might find a sublet that is more affordable in this way. In English the only online board that comes into mind is
http://www.studentsville.eu/forum/forums/default.asp - you should be able to find other useful information on the site as well for studying in Florence.
I could share a lot about studying in Florence, I think though as you get closer to coming you'll have more specific questions and I'll be happy to answer any of them.
Happy apartment searching!
