freshman living off campus

<p>hi
so i am a freshman living off campus, i havent had the greatest experience, living with relative strangers in an apartment (i thought they would be ok) so im just wondering did i do the right thing? i am saving money, learning my responsibilities, dealing with real life issues, its quieter, i like the girl i actually share a room with, i can study and sleep in peace, and i eat whatever i want, etc. but there are other issues like feeling disconected from campus life and not being able to stay late at he library etc. any tips/advice?
thankss</p>

<p>Join the greek system or other orgs! I personally feel it's necessary at ucsd to have something else besides schoolwork or you'll just go insane... but maybe that's not the case for everyone!</p>

<p>hey, i'm a freshmen living off campus also!
for the first few week, i felt really disconnected from campus life also. but after making some friends on campus, i realized that living on campus is not much different than living offcampus other than the fact that you don't have to take the bus everyday.. </p>

<p>now, i pretty much come to school in the morning and stay on campus until night, usually studying in the library. like ucsandiego915 said, try to join some clubs because i honestly do not think there are a lot of "campus events" at UCSD.</p>

<p>having said that, i do think it's a whole lot more difficult to meet people if you live off campus because nobody ever talks to each other during the lecture other then to their suite-mates. most of the friends i made are from my freshmen seminar class because my seminar really facilitated class discussions. but i'm sure it'll get easier to meet people as you start seeing the same people in lectures or join clubs.</p>

<p>Alpha Phi Omega</p>

<p></p>

<p>I'm a freshman living off campus with my parents. I have no problem meeting people, I joined ultimate Frisbee, so I know a bunch of people on the team, and I have an awesome job. </p>

<p>If you are having problems meeting new people try joining a club or getting a job, be outgoing and socialize with your co-workers, or talk to people in discussion section. Just try to be outgoing and put yourself out there, it will draw more people to you. </p>

<p>A great thing to meet new people is to hang out in the dorm of one of ur friends who lives on campus that way you will automatically meet their whole suite.</p>

<p>Come to think of it, I still would like to meet more, living on campus your options are so broad, all of your suite mates are automatically your friends. Its definitely harder, and you wont have the numbers but its definitely within grasp</p>

<p>i'm another freshman living off campus :)
make friends w/ people on campus, it helps! Muir is like my second home, practically, haha. it's frustrating when there's finals and everyone's studying all night together in clics, but i usually just sleep over at in friends' dorms during those nights. make friends in section!</p>

<p>Hi! I'm not in college yet. I want to get an off campus apartment with another person, but I'm confused about the whole loan process. How did you guys manage to get everything in order? And how did you get the money for first and last months rent, ect? I'm assuming a student loan won't cover any costs until you show them what you're actually going to have to pay..so how do you know if you're going to be able to pay it without getting a loan approved first? I hope that made sense.. Then again, I am very lost when it comes to student loans. I NEED HELP SOON! Time is running out... =(!</p>

<p>thanks!</p>

<p>UCSD determines your financial aid package. This includes how much money you can take out in student loans (there are maximums that you can't exceed per year). For me, I had saved money from my part time job before I moved down so I used that to pay for rent and stuff before I got my loan and grants. Rent is not as expensive as you make it sound, unless your parents really can't afford to pay it... Time is not running out if you aren't in college yet. </p>

<p>The whole financial aid process is something like this
1. fill out fafsa (it'll determine your financial need)
2. ucsd will take the info from fafsa and determine your financial aid award
3. they will email you when they have the award ready for you to accept or decline
the award is a list of grants and loans that they can offer you, you either accept or decline them
4. for loans that you accept, ucsd will forward to a bank (they give you a list and you choose from it) that is loaning money to students, you have to apply for the student loan with that bank, once its approved, they'll send the money to ucsd to give to you</p>

<p>award amounts will be totals for that academic year, ucsd will divide totals by 3 and give you a third of it each quarter if you are here for fall/winter/spring</p>

<p>it doesnt really matter if you are living on or off campus. they will provide you money as if you were living on campus. it works the same way really. they give you money for the quarter and that you'd pay student fees and housing with. but instead of paying ucsd for housing, you'd just use the money for paying your landlord or whatever. any money left over from grants and loans after you pay your student fees are given to you to use for whatever purposes.</p>

<p>I was a winter admit and just started this quarter actually and I live off campus. The grants covered my student fees and then I paid for my 1st month's rent on my own til the loans came in. If you get your loan before then, then you'd use that to pay for rent.</p>

<p>hope all ^ that made sense</p>