Few questions regarding Tuition, Living Expenses

Colleges & Universities A-Z University of California - San Diego
1

Hi,

I’m an international student who was admitted to UCSD.
Before making my decision, I wanted to know if I would be able to afford the costs as opportunities for aid and scholarships are limited for international students.

  1. The UCSD website says that tuition fees is $13,456 + $22,878. Is this per semester or per year?
  2. Are there places to live out of campus? If yes, what is the difference in cost and general student life?
  3. Are there any opportunities for part time jobs and/or financial aid/scholarships that I might not be aware of?

I referred to the costs from this website: https://students.ucsd.edu/finances/financial-aid/budgeting/undergrad-2014-15.html
Are these accurate enough?

I would love to attend UCSD as it was always one of my top choices. Please clarify my doubts so that I can make my decision and look forward to being a Triton soon!

2
  1. per academic year, so x 4 for total years. Keep in mind the 2015-16 fees will be a bit higher and fees could increase as much as 5% that is threatened in the future depending on the budget the state gives the university. That is your fixed charge. The rest of your charges are for living expenses and books.
  2. yes but I suggest this would be impractical the first year and maybe you would want one year of dorming. Once you are there it will be easier to decide and make arrangements. I don't know the cost in San Diego. You can see from the chart that the school estimates it is be 3,000 per year less, probably you can save more. Many cities off campus housing is cheaper and going off meal plan and doing your own food is usually cheaper. But you will have to have transportation or get a place on a bus line. Tips: https://students.ucsd.edu/campus-services/housing/offcampus/search.html
  3. I do not think there are any scholarships you can rely on. Only Regent's is available initially and that is rare. There are small departmental scholarships you can look for as a continuing student. CA publics are not smart for aid seeking internationals, CA reserves funds for state taxpayers. For work you are restricted by CPT/OPT rules nationwide and I think you may only get jobs on campus. First there are jobs reserved for federal work-study students only. Then there should be jobs available not entirely sure. You wouldn't want to work more than 15 hours/week. http://icenter.ucsd.edu/ispo/ucsd-resources/finances/employment.html

Hopefully you will get more answers from current students.

3

@BrownParent‌ Thanks a lot for the information. Is your son/daughter in UCSD?

Yes, some responses from current students would be helpful.

4

No, my student didn’t attend but she did apply and we liked it quite a lot and I am in CA so familiar generally with the UC system. .

Oh, if you look in the link under #3. I will see that there are some opportunities for internships that fall under CPT too.

5

Current student here!

  1. per year

  2. There are loads of places to live off campus. The entire University City neighborhood southeast of campus is basically one mall surrounded by apartments. Many if not most third- and fourth-years find off-campus apartments here. While these complexes are a little far from campus, the UCSD shuttle system (http://blink.ucsd.edu/facilities/transportation/shuttles/index.html), particularly the A, N, and M shuttles connect them nicely, as does MTS (http://blink.ucsd.edu/facilities/transportation/commuting/public.html). I visited a friend yesterday whose apartment is across from a bus stop, and all five buses that stop there connect to UCSD.

The apartments are generally comfortable and quiet, with occasional exceptions. Many in the Regents area (Rage-ents) house fraternity and sorority members—this area is the de facto frat row for UCSD and is rumored to become official within the next few years. The social life isn’t lacking, but for first-years, it’s definitely easier to make friends and meet people by living in on-campus dorms—which most do (95% of entering freshmen). My few first-year friends who live off campus definitely don’t know as many people or what’s going on; a friend in Sixth who lives off-campus says she’s been to Sixth maybe twice since orientation.

Somewhat tangentially, most second-years try to find on-campus apartments. I haven’t heard any complaints about these facilities—Revelle’s Keeling Apts and Muir’s Tamarack Apts are beautiful, and everything else is pretty comfortable too.

  1. A lot of students choose to work part-time to pay for college. While many—particularly those employed by HDH—are doing so through federal work-study programs, there are plenty of places you can get hired in the La Jolla and University City areas. That said, make sure your visa allows you to work!
    As @BrownParent‌ stated, don’t count on finding much aid :neutral_face: Here is a somewhat depressing page on the topic from the UC website. http://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/international/finances/index.html
6

@groverrohan‌ Thanks for your response!

I heard that there are some departmental scholarships in other universities which, on receiving, can change your tuition fee to the in-state fee.
Is there something similar in UCSD?

7

@magicalpony‌ I haven’t heard anything about that, sorry :confused: