<p>lol I wish. My life would be so less stressful.</p>
<p>At least you only have to commute that far for one last quarter. It will be worth 10 weeks of chaos if you know you will be getting your degree at the end of it. </p>
<p>btw, it is so depressing that I just put $50 of gas into my car and it still doesn't have a full tank.</p>
<p>Just wanted to bump this. In light of the crappy housing offers many are receiving, is anyone else considering commuting instead?</p>
<p>im telling you guys the truth- you will want to kill yourself if you plan on commuting. you have to keep in mind that the level of traffic on the westside is a whole level up from the already disgusting so-cal traffic. you are going to be sitting behind the wheel, boxed in with traffic, thinking about all the studying you could have been doing, that workout you wish you had time for, the girlfriend you never see.. its awful guys and its simply not avoidable.</p>
<p>I'm honestly not looking forward to commuting either, but for those students who cannot afford to live on campus like myself, it's a better alternative than not going at all. :)</p>
<p>I think it sucks that I claim myself as an independent for tax purposes, but for FAFSA purposes I am classified as a dependent. Seriously lame.</p>
<p>^ you are right that it beats not going at all. i suggest getting satellite radio to keep your sanity.</p>
<p>i just want to point out that as a commuter you do learn the bes time to drive - there are ways around being boxed in a car.</p>
<p>You might leave the house 30 min earlier, stay on campus a bit later, arrive a bit earlier, etc, and just study more but trust me you do not have to be in traffic for the most part if you do not want to.</p>
<p>^that would be true if people were able to design any schedule they wanted but at ucla you might very well get stuck with classes at unpleasant times... and in LA traffic is unpleasant from literally 7:15AM until about 9:00pm. Thursday/friday/ can be a whole other beast in the evening with bar traffic. It is true that there are surface street routes which can be less awful, but still not fun. Ive been fighting the battle driving over to that side of town from the pasadena area, at a wide range of times, for years and experimented with countless routes. It always sucks :(</p>
<p>I drove from the valley and i had weird schedules always, but i worked around it. by working around it i mean that if i left at 6am i would get there at 630am .... vs if i left at like 7am i would get there at 830am. </p>
<p>And i only lived like 10 miles away. </p>
<p>The worst was when i was driving home once to San Diego, and it took 7 hours!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!</p>
<p>I thought I read somewhere on the UCLA website that parking doesn't open up until 7:30. Is that not accurate then?</p>
<p>I can't imagine I would have too weird of a schedule for my first quarter or two because there are so many classes I have to take that I could just hopefully rig it to where I have a nice schedule. <em>hopefully</em></p>
<p>btw, 7 hours to get to San Diego? I cringe just thinking about that. ugh...</p>
<p>a lot of times the bars on the parking structure are broken
check first b4 buying the parking thing... you might get a ticket but most likely you wont</p>
<p>damn malishka 7 hours to san diego is brutal... we had a nine hour marathon driving home (pasadena area) from vegas some holiday weekend (i think i blocked out which specific holiday because it was so awful)... that is some boring ass freeway to be stuck on lemme tell ya!</p>
<p>The title says it all pretty much. Except that it doesn’t say that I live in Rancho Cucamonga, CA. I first considered the option to use the Van Pool which I would to catch at 5 AM and then leave UCLA at 3 PM. Then I thought about living on campus. Now, I didn’t received full financial aid as UCLA would have me believe. They gave me, for the 2010-2011 academic year, around $18,000 in grant money, $2,500 for work study, and $9,000 in federal loans. I was considering living on campus, but I don’t want to start out with debt. However, I need to find a part-time employer that will help me pay for my car, gas, cell-phone and other expenses. I figured if I used the Van Pool there would no way to find work because I will either be stuck in traffic while riding the van or the employer will not hire me because of my strange schedule. Of course I am probably counting my chickens before they hatch, but I really need to plan ahead. Any advice would be most helpful. Thank you!</p>
<p>I don’t have any advice to give, but I want to tell you that I sympathize. I’ll be commuting from the San Fernando Valley in order to avoid loans, as well. I’m waiting until I find out my school schedule to see if it’s compatible with a work schedule.</p>
<p>Here is my experience, for those of you considering a commute:</p>
<p>I commute right now from Conejo Valley Area (think 101 exit that goes straight down to Malibu). So, I take the 101 to the 405. </p>
<p>It can take me anywhere from 35 minutes to 1.5 hours to get to campus (or back). On clear days, I’m usually speeding though (not above traffic levels, but if the left lane is going 80 so am I). </p>
<p>I’m careful to avoid rush hour times (in my class scheduling and I will leave early or stay at school later to avoid traffic);
however, there are often accidents and other random traffic on the freeway. Nothing angers me more when it’s 1 in the afternoon or 10 at night and it’s bumper to bumper. I become like manically angry.</p>
<p>The worst parts of the drive are the areas when the 101 and 405 split off and vice versa. People do INSANE **** to try to start merging in when they think they might miss it. INSANE. In fact, people do INSANE **** all the time. I’ve been making this trek for about 5 months now. Keep in mind, I commuted all around Ventura County before. But, Jesus, coming into LA can be scary. I have been almost hit so many times. Yesterday, a fricking semi CUT ME OFF. A SEMI. Swallow on that. Why? Because he almost missed the freeway exist and was probably on meth amphetamines. I don’t know. People just drive erratically.</p>
<p>My first quarter I was only commuting 2 days a week and I was managing pretty well. This quarter I’m only commuting 3 days a week but I’m not doing so well. Just the one extra day is killing me. I’m grinding my teeth often. I fantasize about stabbing tail-gaiters. </p>
<p>It’s bad. </p>
<p>Still, I’m saving a lot of money, and so for that reason I’m happy. I’m planning on moving back to LA in the late summer, though. I honestly don’t think I could take much of this anymore. My car is also starting to fall apart faster. The brakes… jesus. The brake pads are doing like 4x the work of before. </p>
<p>Verdict: Commuting sucks. If you have no choice but to commute, try to keep the days you commute to school down. And maybe far apart. </p>
<p>Oh, if ya’ll don’t know, take the sunset exit to UCLA and not the Wilshire one. The former is usually moving, while the latter is always congested.</p>
<p>[101-405</a> AMONG WORST IN NATION; STUDY PUTS L.A. ATOP LIST OF BOTTLENECKS. - Free Online Library](<a href=“http://www.thefreelibrary.com/101-405+AMONG+WORST+IN+NATION%3B+STUDY+PUTS+L.A.+ATOP+LIST+OF…-a083630067%5D101-405”>http://www.thefreelibrary.com/101-405+AMONG+WORST+IN+NATION%3B+STUDY+PUTS+L.A.+ATOP+LIST+OF…-a083630067)</p>
<p>lol The 405/10 and 101/405 interchanges are among the most bottlenecked in the WORLD. So vanpooling or Metro-ing that as often as I can.</p>
<p>This article is really helpful and has info on where to park at ucla if you are living in the commuting:[Finding</a> UCLA Parking - A Complete Guide](<a href=“http://blog.parkme.com/2013/03/08/ucla-parking/]Finding”>http://blog.parkme.com/2013/03/08/ucla-parking/)</p>
<p>This one is good too:
[Westwood</a> Parking Tips](<a href=“http://blog.parkme.com/2013/03/12/westwood-parking/]Westwood”>http://blog.parkme.com/2013/03/12/westwood-parking/)</p>
<p>It says there are a bunch of streets with free street parking, shows you how to get a parking pass, and shows you other lots in the area that you can park at for cheap.</p>
<p>this map can be helpful too:[Ucla</a> & Westwood Village Parking Map](<a href=“Parking Map | Find Parking, Compare Rates, Save Money | ParkMe”>Parking Map | Find Parking, Compare Rates, Save Money | ParkMe)</p>