<p>^lol, thanks for the heads up. My friend who got into the PHHP college said they were very direct with her about having a specific orientation date that she HAD to attend and all this other stuff. I’ll check that out tonight then, thanks.</p>
<p>Hi everyone. For those who are looking for off-campus housing here’s a quick review of the places I looked at:</p>
<p>Frederick Gardens: drove around the complex, was scared of parking and walking to the leasing office… two sketchy characters walking and roaming around shirtless. Didn’t even look at the apartments, just drove far away from there.</p>
<p>Mount Vernon: it seemed ok, close to campus, bus stop right in front of it. I didn’t like the fact that to go upstairs into the building, and once inside the building you have to go downstairs and into the apartment (p.i.t.a to move in and out). Grounds seemed ok and neighborhood seemed alright. </p>
<p>Sunrise Villas: the first time I went it looked ok. HUGE closet. Pricing was reasonable; they have a package where it’s all inclusive for about $540 a month. $600 If you want to add furniture. Not happy about the window a/c units. No pet restrictions. I kinda liked it due to budget, but then I drove by it again this past Friday w/my boyfriend and it looked pretty ghetto, not moving in there.</p>
<p>Lenox Corner: didn’t even go in, was afraid of leaving my car alone while I went to look at the apartments.</p>
<p>Southwest Villas: The grounds were ok, location seemed fine, there’s a bus stop right in front of the complex. Didn’t like that the grounds were covered in raccoon poop, and then when we went into the model, it stunk like mold. If that’s what the model smells like, don’t want to smell the actual apartment. It was nice that it had a little private fenced backyard, however, my english bulldog is on their list of aggressive breeds.</p>
<p>Hidden Villas: they’re truly hidden, tried to find them by address, and I couldn’t find them. When I went again this past Friday, I had my google map directions… google wants me to turn on a road that doesn’t exist.</p>
<p>Arbor Apartments: probably my favorite budget wise. They have a nice little front yard that is gated, it’s all one story so no noisy people upstairs. Kitchen is a little tight but the fact of having a nice enclosed yard makes it up for me. They do however ask for $200 pet fee per pet (ouch, $400 in my case) but they can work a payment plan for you; and there’s pet rent like everywhere else. Location is good, there’s a couple of bus stops right in front. The grounds were well kept.</p>
<p>Bridgelight Townhomes: The price was ok for it being a townhome with a loft. Their biggest con is that the stairs are so narrow it makes it impossible to get a queen bed upstairs without tearing the drywall accidentally. The stairs didn’t feel very safe either, almost fell twice, once going up and then going down. The pony wall upstairs didn’t feel very safe either, if my dog’s playing rough he can tear it off and fly downstairs with it. </p>
<p>Pinetree Gardens: I really liked this one, it was actually my favorite. The grounds are very well kept, central a/c, pool looked clean. I liked that the laundry works with special cards that you load with your money at the management office (no weird people coming into the laundry room with rolls of quarters but shopping out of the machines). The models are not models, are apartments from people that actually live there and they agreed to have their unit used as a model, so it was nice to see what the actual apartments look like when real people move in. They’re a little pricey for a 1-bed but it’s worth it.</p>
<p>Spanish Trace: let’s start with the girl at the leasing office not even saying hi to us or greeting us, she just sat there, stared at us waiting for us to start the conversation. Moving on, the apartment it self looked ok, central a/c, no w/d hookup or anything. I wasn’t very excited about the location. It’s on a busy intersection and a lot of cars were just cutting through the complex to skip the traffic light. Also there were a lot of people just roaming around or walking through the apartments to get to the shops across the street, so I don’t know how safe my car would be there. </p>
<p>All complexes charge pet rent: $20 a pet, also charge an additional pet fee, some are refundable and some aren’t. A good resource I found was that apartment/condo guide. they have them at all the leasing offices. </p>
<p>Regarding safety, this past Friday I stayed until very late with my boyfriend just driving around trying to figure out the ghetto areas… sw 62nd st (by the mall) seemed ok, didn’t have much weird activity going on. sw 20th ave has its areas where it looks ok and then it turns ghettoish. Archer road: didn’t look very safe past 7pm. We stopped for gas there at about 9:30pm and the air in the area just felt weird, lots of sketchy characters here and there. sw 6th street looked like hooker central. Well, that’s all I gathered, I guess my recommendation is to not choose an apartment on your first visit. The ambiance really changes when the sun goes down. once you pick a place drive by it at night and see what it looks like… At this point I ended up applying for a condo right by UF off of depot ave, next to College View; if I don’t get that one I guess I’ll go for Arbor apartments…</p>
<p>I would say SW 20th, SW 35th or SW 62nd are your best and safest bets for finding a clean, safe, well-kept apartment complex. That’s where most of them are located.</p>
<p>kttn2103- Do you know if Sun Island Apartments are a safe place? What apartments are off of Depot Ave next to College View?</p>
<p>Kate61, I didn’t really drive through that are at night, but at daytime seemed ok. College View are condos, then next to them there’s another condo building, a couple single family homes, and then two more condo places. There aren’t any apartments in that area. They do lease some of the condos though, but College View and the newer one are both luxury condos…</p>
<p>I just went up for orientation and ended up signing at boardwalk for a 2/2 with a friend.</p>
<p>I drove through Sun Island at night. I didn’t feel scared, and didn’t see anyone sketch driving around. Sun Island is a bit older however, so take that for what its worth. Had a friend live there a few years ago and she had no complaints over the 3 years she was there.</p>
<p>Only bad thing I had to say about boardwalk is how far it is from any supermarket, and that its in an older part of town. It’s only a 1.5 mile bike ride to most of my classes, and the buses pass by if anything though. Talked to a couple tenants and no one really had anything bad to say. I’m looking forward to moving up!</p>
<p>I agree with kttn though. Definitely drive around at night to see what the area is like before getting too excited. You can also call GRU and ask them the average for utilities used at an address to find out what your average utilities bill would be. Talk to people there and ask them their utilities bill + how they feel about the area, if its quiet or loud, etc. That helped my decision a ton.</p>
<p>I signed at The Enclave for a 2/2, the area is really nice and the apartment complex is gorgeous. Utilities are included in the rent AND they offer separate leases which my advice, is one of the best things you can do. In case your roommate ever flakes out on you, leaves, you’re not stuck paying their half of the rent until you find another roommate.</p>
<p>I thought UF had to tell us by yesterday if we got in or not?</p>
<p>Only CALS had that deadline, which college did you apply to?</p>
<p>@Steel88 I think I did apply to CALS, I’m going in for Wildlife Conservation. So I think that’s the school my degree is with.</p>
<p>^ Have you called them yet?</p>
<p>Yeah, I called them. They told me to e-mail Emelie. She seems too busy to respond though, I also sent her an e-mail almost a month ago to make sure my transcripts got in alright.</p>
<p>i ended up signing with trimark properties in a 4/4 with a friend and two set ups. should be fun! i’m glad everyone seems to be finding housing :)</p>
<p>have any transfers for spring 2012 hear anything yet ?! :)</p>
<p>Not yet, and summer is coming to a close…! Getting anxious over here just waiting</p>
<p>ugh me too I feel like I’ve been waiting forever !</p>
<p>It HAS been forever! I applied back in January ;(</p>
<p>Do they include the labs when calculating your pre-pro. average?</p>
<p>They should, but honestly I never got to see their calculated version of my gpa so I’m not 100%</p>
<p>Yes, they do include labs when they calculate your GPA. However, it doesn’t really count if it’s not for your major - those are the grades that are the most important to UF. Your “pre-professional” GPA. For example, if you took Meteorology at your CC and got a C in it, that doesn’t look good for your overall GPA. However, if your major is business, it doesn’t matter because the college wouldn’t calculate that grade into the GPA they use to decide whether you get into their college or not, since it is not a prerequisite for that major. Do you see what I mean? </p>
<p>And remember, spring transfers, you have a long time til you hear back from them. And if you want, you could start your own thread (spring transfer students 2012) because most people will be likely to post on it.</p>