<p>I'm currently a community college student, and I will transfer most likely to either UCI or UCLA. I guess the commuting to UCI vs living in apartment at UCLA issue will be my biggest decision factor. </p>
<p>What I want to know is that for those of you who live/lived in an apartment, how much responsibility/life skills did you learn? I'm very worried about what kind of roommate I'll meet as I tend to have fairly bad social skills. Yet I know that I'm gonna have to take responsibility sooner or later as I believe my parents really did a poor job of doing it. </p>
<p>There's also the issue of how much study time I get. My approach to college is to get good grades and do plenty of research. I won't mind if I make few friends. So how much will living in an apartment affect your study time?</p>
<p>If I decide to commute to UCI, I'm worried that my parents will baby me too much. Since I'll be a physics major, I'll probably have to deal with alot of frustration, and I really can't have my parents trying butting in and encouraging me not to study.</p>
<p>I'm not really sure what you mean about learning responsibility/life skills...you do have to be responsible, pay bills on time, keep the apartment clean, take out your trash, feed yourself, etc., but I was used to doing such things at home so it wasn't really much of a learning experience. I guess it depends on what level of independence you had while you were at home.</p>
<p>I lived in an apartment with 3 other people one year, and I've lived in my own apartment now for 2 years. I would say that if you are really worried about being disrupted and it's financially feasible, this would be the best option. If not, you just have to scout out your roommates very carefully and find one that has a similar personality and values. My roommates were pretty quiet (which is why I chose to live with them, I'm not a big partier), and they didn't ever really bother me. I was looking for another roommate after I left, but I didn't find anyone that I felt compatible with so I just got a one bedroom apartment.</p>
<p>"I'm not really sure what you mean about learning responsibility/life skills...you do have to be responsible, pay bills on time, keep the apartment clean, take out your trash, feed yourself, etc., but I was used to doing such things at home so it wasn't really much of a learning experience."
Well I've never paid for any bills, I rarely vacuum/clean my house, I rarely take out the trash. I guess the responsibility/life skills I'm referring to are how to deal with roommates who are total strangers. </p>
<p>"I would say that if you are really worried about being disrupted and it's financially feasible, this would be the best option"
You mean living by myself in an apartment. I would love that, but my parent's won't let me.</p>
<p>"My roommates were pretty quiet (which is why I chose to live with them, I'm not a big partier), and they didn't ever really bother me."
Those are the kind of roommates I want. My studies are my biggest priorities.</p>
<p>Yeah, so I guess I just have to be really careful who I pick as my roommate.</p>
<p>Well, also look at which school you really want to attend. If it's UCLA, having to get an apartment and find decent roommates should definitely not prevent you from going there.</p>
<p>"Commuting kills most chances of a good social life in college. "
I'm not asking for a good social life. I'll probably make good friends with the other physics majors. If I make few, if any friends, that's still OK for me. </p>
<p>"Well, also look at which school you really want to attend. If it's UCLA, having to get an apartment and find decent roommates should definitely not prevent you from going there."
Well what other reasons are there to favor one school over the other? I don't care about the locations, UCLA's prestige probably won't matter to me much as I'll probably get a phD, and from what I've heard, both schools have decent physics departments. The main reason why I'm willing to go to UCLA is because I believe that I can learn a lot about responsibility if I live with a roommate, as I think that my parents have babied me too much. But if I'm able to concentrate on my studies better much better at home than with a roommate, I may as well forget about the "learning responsibility", as my studies are my first priority.</p>
<p>So can anyone else comment about how much responsibility you've learned since living in an apartment? and whether its worth living in an apartment over commuting because of what you learn?</p>
<p>I'm a commuter and I enjoy it! It's just like you said, I've made good friends with the other comp sci majors, in fact, today, 4 of us were in the computer lab all working on the same homework assignment, and it was pretty fun because we could all help each other out and warn each other of the snags that we hit. Then, when I finished, I headed home, simple as that.</p>
<p>I'd recommend commuting, you'd save lots of money, keep a good relationship with your parents and family, and you have the mobility and flexibility that only a commuter has.</p>
<p>On the flip side, living in an apartment does give you a lot of experience about independence and how to take care of yourself. You don't have your parents there to remind you to do this or do that. Essentially, you learn to be on your own more or less.</p>
<p>"I'm a commuter and I enjoy it! It's just like you said, I've made good friends with the other comp sci majors, in fact, today, 4 of us were in the computer lab all working on the same homework assignment, and it was pretty fun because we could all help each other out and warn each other of the snags that we hit. Then, when I finished, I headed home, simple as that."</p>
<p>If that's a commuter's idea of fun, then I feel bad for them.</p>
<p>
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If that's a commuter's idea of fun, then I feel bad for them.
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</p>
<p>You wouldn't understand, this is an "A" student thing.</p>
<p>And I'd rather consider working on my future instead of the crap that people like you and many others on these boards do for fun. Drugs, STD spreading, getting high, failing classes...yeah, tons of fun.</p>
<p>"On the flip side, living in an apartment does give you a lot of experience about independence and how to take care of yourself. You don't have your parents there to remind you to do this or do that. Essentially, you learn to be on your own more or less."</p>
<p>Yeah, that's what I want to hear more from, I want more opinions like these</p>
<p>"You wouldn't understand, this is an "A" student thing.</p>
<p>And I'd rather consider working on my future instead of the crap that people like you and many others on these boards do for fun. Drugs, STD spreading, getting high, failing classes...yeah, tons of fun."</p>
<p>Yeah I totally agree. I guess some kids just don't mature fully when in college</p>
<p>UCI vs UCLA....for physics...it's a no brainer, go to UCLA. I don't think finding an apartment will be too hard-especially since (im guessing) you're transferring as a junior.</p>
<p>Vail, you're awesome. I also enjoy being a commuter. I get to be around my family, I don't have to live in a dorm with people who party until 3 am. I can study, I can come and go as I please, and I get my socialization by talking to people in my classes. Then again, I've always been more on the quiet side, and I really would rather focus on my academics than I would on partying.</p>
<p>"I don't think finding an apartment will be too hard-especially since (im guessing) you're transferring as a junior."
Right, but how hard is it to find a roommate who doesn't like partying, dedicates most of his time to his studies, and is responsible?</p>
<p>From what I'm hearing, its probably better if I just commute to UCI, but I still have plenty of time to change my mind</p>
<p>don't worry about a wild roommate-most (95%) people at ucla are not complete jacka**es, they will compromise. plus, my roommates are really serious students but I still find myself studying in the library most of the time. It's not worth going to UCI over UCLA because of the CHANCE of getting a bad roommate. Also, before you fill out your housing app, you have to answer questions like "do you smoke", "do you drink", "what time do you sleep", etc. While this doesn't guarantee you will not get a wild roommate, putting down that you don't drink/smoke (assuming you dont) and you sleep between 12-2 will increase your chance of a good roommate.</p>
<p>^don't you get to choose your roommates for off campus? plus can't he just get a studio (single)? if he was off campus then im not sure why he's so worried about housing.</p>
<p>You get to choose your roommates, yeah (after a 10-minute chat with them), and then you still have to live with them. Like I said before, I was looking for off-campus roommates and didn't manage to find anybody who didn't think that having an apartment was an awesome reason to have lots of parties in the living room. A one bedroom/studio would be the best option but he says he can't do that.</p>
<p>Really you are going to have to learn all the 'life skills' that come with living on your own eventually...it'll just either be while you're in college, or when you get a job after you graduate. I actually know someone who wishes he could live with his parents forever because he wants to avoid the responsibility, but that's not exactly a route I would recommend.</p>
<p>"don't worry about a wild roommate-most (95%) people at ucla are not complete jacka**es, they will compromise. plus, my roommates are really serious students but I still find myself studying in the library most of the time. It's not worth going to UCI over UCLA because of the CHANCE of getting a bad roommate."
Well there's no other reason I can think of wanting to go to UCLA other than the roommate issue. Unless I learn alot about responsibility or make a life-long friend with my roommate, I may as well go to UCI as its cheaper and I can just commute. </p>
<p>"I was under the impression that Newton is planning to live off-campus"
Yes if I go to UCLA I have to live off-campus as my parents will not pay for me living in a single</p>
<p>"Really you are going to have to learn all the 'life skills' that come with living on your own eventually...it'll just either be while you're in college, or when you get a job after you graduate."
Right, that's why I would rather learn them asap. See, the only reason I'm in the community college in the first place, instead of already being in a UC, was because I was too lazy in high school. I've now taken responsibility academically, but I'm unsure about it socially</p>
<p>"I actually know someone who wishes he could live with his parents forever because he wants to avoid the responsibility, but that's not exactly a route I would recommend."
That's exactly the attitude I'm trying to avoid!</p>
<p>go with your gut feeling: if you know you'll be happier at UCI then go there. but don't go to UCI because your scared of the whole roommate thing at UCLA.</p>