Freshmen housing options

I’m going in as a freshmen to UCI in fall 2016. I was looking at the housing options and are freshmen only allowed to live in dorms? I also checked the prices for other housing options on campus and dorming seemed to be the more expensive than living in an on campus apartment. My parents are worried about the cost and are saying its better for me to rent an apartment off campus but I rather live on campus. Any advice helps.

Yes, only first years are allowed to stay in the dorms. It is true that it’s cheaper to rent an apartment, however I recommend that you take the opportunity to stay in the dorms your first year, as you won’t have the chance to stay in them again. They are really close to class and it’s an easy way to meet people. At the end of spring quarter they make you move out, so at that point I’d recommend getting an on-campus apartment (Campus Village, VDC, Camino, etc) or an off-campus apartment that’s close to campus (such as any of the UTC ones).

I recommend Arroyo Vista theme houses. They have first year themed houses which are similar to dorms except you don’t need to buy a meal plan. Rent is around 650/month I believe. The dorms here such as MC and ME are not that nice to justify the cost but they will be finished building the new MC towers. I lived in MC myself but I don’t think the experience justified the price.

I check and the only housing I’m able to apply for is ME and MC. I looked into Arroyo Vista, if I could I would room there because I can actually afford it.