Anyone plan on living off-campus? Advices, tips?

Transfer Students
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<p>Hi everyone. I ran across this forum through google. This seems like a very helpful community. As a transfer student, it's too bad I didn't see this site sooner. Writing the personal statement was a lot of work. Now we're all waiting and crossing our fingers for that admission letter. Unless you're one of the smart people and already know you're in, in which case, congrats! Oh, at this point, I suppose I should also congratulate those who already got in. CONGRATS!</p>

<p>This is my first post, so I suppose I should introduce myself? I'm John and if you haven't already guessed from my username, I'm a student majoring in electrical engineering. I'm transferring from De Anza College/Foothill College and hoping to go to UCSD. Any fellow students here?</p>

<p>I think most UC campuses give priority to incoming freshmen when it comes to dorm rooms, so is there anyone else who's transferring and plan on living off-campus? Or does anyone here have had relocation experience and do you have any advice for us?</p>

<p>I'll be living off-campus since I need my own space to set up a home gym. It's my necessity. (I can't live without my power rack! I'm 23 and scrawny as hell because I've been on a sh***y diet all my life. I've been adopting a healthy and active lifestyle and a personal power rack allows me to optimize my training in conjunction with my nutrition)</p>

<p>I have no experience when it comes to relocating. I don't have much of a savings so I'm trying to be economical. I'll be moving alone so sometime in the summer, I'll greyhound there to save a few bucks, check into a motel (hotels are more expensive) and try find and reserve an apartment studio. I will probably rent a car too (Enterprise seems economical but it's been a while since I've checked rates) since the farther I'm willing to live from UCSD/La Jolla, the cheaper the rent will be.</p>

<p>I'm in San Jose so it's a 10 hour drive, so renting a van/U-Haul is probably not economical? How do you guys transport your stuff to your new home, which "service provider" are reliable? Outside of FedEx and UPS, I have no idea who to go with. I'm moving some big stuff: my computer, matress, 300 lb squatting cage, 300 lb of weights. And I need to ship my car too, it's too old to make it to San Diego.</p>

<p>There are probably more relevant questions that I haven't raised, so if anyone has any questions, please feel free to ask them. Making the transition from community college to a distant university and living off-campus seems to be one hell of a process. I feel (and perhaps a few of you on this board?) so alone in this transition. I'm regretting not having gone the traditional route of highschool to UC as incoming freshman. Hopefully we can help each other through this. I've searched for some keywords but it seems most people are incoming freshmen or will be moving into furnished dormitories (no need to for car, finding housing, or hauling too many things with them).</p>

<p>I will probably move just once and not return home unti I get my BS at UCSD. It's probably easier to stay there and work during the summer to pay rent than to have to return home and go through all this again. Are most of you guys planning on returning home for the summers?</p>

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<p>I almost forgot, someone online from San Diego suggested that I look into Badlands and NorthPark for cheap housing. Just a shout out to anyone going to UCSD!</p>

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<p>Holy **** man! Slow down and take it easy. Check the student housing page for UCSD, they have their own private listings for apts in and around UTC (University Town Center). Just take one thing at a time.</p>

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<p>Lol, I'm going to stress myself, huh. I already tried to get into that listing but access is restricted because I'm not a student yet. Let me try again.</p>

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<p>lol! you're shipping your car?</p>

<p>also, ucsd has a nice gym ...</p>

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<p>Haha, why is shipping my car funny? I'm told that rent is cheaper outside La Jolla. Unless you're thinking about my car being loaded onto a freight plane...in which case, LOL, that would be funny! Especially for a lousy car with almost 250,000 miles!</p>

<p>If I drive a U-Haul to there, I could hook my car to the pack of it and pull it but 10 hour drive is a lot of gas. I don't know, I'll have to check rates and get quotes to compare.</p>

<p>And yes, I've heard the same about UCSD gym. I'll probably have to visit it and check the gym traffic throughout a day. I like lifting weights at home because I have it all to myself. It's actually important to be able to switch between exercises and keep resting intervals between sets under about 3 minutes.</p>

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<p>most campuses have seperate gyms. ex: the football team has their own gym, the swimmers have their own pools, and the non-sports people have their own facility that the sports teams cannot use. either way, fedexing a 300lb squatting cage and 300lb of weights will cost a hell of a lot more (since it is shipped via freight) than a year's membership at 24hr fitness.</p>

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<p>okay. first of all, how are you going to pay the rent for your apartment? also, have you factored in other expenses such as water, electric/gas, cable, phone, etc?</p>

<p>and with that whole gym thing, that is the biggest waste of time and space i've ever heard of. a studio apartment is tiny and you don't want half of the space being used for weight-lifting equipment. maybe some dumbbells would be fine, but that's about it. you're paying tuition for ucsd and you should make the best use of that money by using their gym facilities. i mean, you're probably gonna be going to class or campus almost every day, so you'll have plenty of time to get your workouts in. if you don't like how gyms are crowded, maybe go RIGHT when they open. also, you california people take your nice weather for granted. go outside and do something active! :]</p>

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<p>I'd rather buy everything new than move stuffs from home, cuz moving company is very expensive. Buy a laptop computer instead of using the old one.</p>

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<p>Wow........:&lt;/p>

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<p>EE major here...what's ur GPA?</p>

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<p>Good thread idea. I'm looking into off-campus housing for UCSB and am thinking that I don't want to live in IV. It also seems like SB's housing is among the most expensive -- more than SD, at least. Anyone that's going to SB have any thoughts?</p>

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<p>My GPA is currently 3.89 at De Anza College and 4.00 at Foothills College. So combined is 3.9ish. I'm just worried that I may have jeopardized my admission to UCSD by dropping 2 courses that were in my Work-In-Progress. I've upped my courseload this quarter to make up for it, but one course will have to be done during summer quarter. Will you be transferring soon too Citan? </p>

<p>@ gocheechoo, I got accepted in UCSB and have recieved an unofficial financial awards letter. The Cost of Attendence is 23,472. I'm given 15,152 in grants, 6175 in subsidized loans, and only expected to contribute 245. And 1900 from work study. I consider myself poorer than most - I don't eat out, shop, or spend money. Too bad they calculate my parent's income even though I haven't lived with them for the past 4 years. </p>

<p>Have you received your financial aid award yet gocheechoo? If you got something like mine, it's perfect because room and board is about 7500-8500 for most campuses. If you're able to find a studio+utilities for 800/mo, it's only 7200 for 9 months. Maybe add in deposit and how mightily you dine. :) So it's roughly what the dorm costs but you get more freedom. Books are usually estimated at 1500/yr but I always buy International Editional which are always half price.</p>

<p>@jL_visioNz - My living space for the past 2 years that I've had the rack is exactly like you described. My living quarter is a bedroom and half the room is the rack, other half is my computer/desk and twin size mattress on the floor. Everything is within 1-2 arms reach from each other. You should see what I do when I lift weights. I have to put my mattress up against the wall, LOL.</p>

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<p>My EFC is a grotesque number. It's way higher than I would expect, which is incredibly lame. The number is basically in the 30k range and it's absolute nonsense, so I'm stuck not receiving money on any level other than loans because my parents don't have the disposable income.</p>

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<p>30k? Are you transferring from out-of-state?</p>

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<p>I am in the same situation with SB... don't want to live in Isla Vista but I haven't been granted access to their off-campus listing server. </p>

<p>I am currently paying $1500 for my apartment in Orange Co., but I have no idea how much I should expect to pay if I go to SB.</p>