<p>Hi, I’m a current UC Davis student and if any of you freshmen have questions about life at Davis, feel free to ask. :)</p>
<p>So for the housing application, I’m keeping three of the criteria the same for all three preferences (Standard Res Halls, coed dorms, opt out of any programs) and only changing the number of people in the room. How would you recommend I rank them? Cost is not a factor whatsoever (my dad is actually encouraging me to opt for a single,) so it’s basically just coming down to whether or not I want a roommate. I’m just wondering if you think it’s beneficial to be in a double (or even triple) as opposed to a single? Thanks</p>
<p>Hi JeSuis.</p>
<p>I’m not too sure how ranking actually goes but here’s what happened to me. When I submitted my app for housing, I requested a double at Segundo and everything else didn’t matter. My first preference was for a double room, second was location, and third was something else (I forgot). When housing arrangements were released, I ended up getting a double but however, I was placed in Cuarto. So, I believe they do run off your first preference and fill that into your second and third. But if your first preference is not available, then they run off into your second. </p>
<p>How would I recommend you rank them?
How you rank them is up to you. However, all residence halls are basically coed except for some of the letter buildings in Tercero (I heard these buildings were being knocked down this summer though). I wouldn’t recommend making coed floors a preference because it’s not very likely that you don’t end up living on a coed floor. However, you should consider location. Tercero is literally walking distance from central campus. Segundo is not too far. Cuarto is a definite bike/bus ride. It will be very hot during the summer here at Davis and very rainy and cold during the end of Fall and all Winter. Temps can reach 100 degrees F and rain will fall at angles near horizontal! Consider your willingness to bike/walk/bus through these conditions. You should also consider room setups. Single rooms are expensive but you get a room all to yourself. No roommate agreements and you don’t have to worry about people touching your stuff. Doubles are nice. You get to live with someone. Might be fun or not. Depends on who you’re roomed with. Downside is, if you’re studying in your room during the wee hours of the night and your roomie needs to sleep and you don’t want to be rude, you don’t have anywhere to go unless you want to use the floor lounge or maybe go to a friends. Cuarto has suites. They have their own bathrooms and living spaces. In situations where your roomie is trying to sleep, you can go out and work in the living room. Downside is, you have to clean your own bathroom.</p>
<p>Is it beneficial to be in a double (or even triple) as opposed to a single?
I wouldn’t say that single rooms have any less benefits than doubles or triples. Singles allow for alone time. Don’t think you won’t meet people because you aren’t rooming with someone. I know people from singles. College is what you make of it. If you’re looking to meet new people, you can do it by living in a single. But if you’re looking to live alone and not having to deal with someone else, then the single should be ideal.</p>
<p>Thanks,
Sean</p>
<p>Thanks for the response! </p>
<p>One more quick question: If all three of my preferences are to opt out of any program, they won’t put me in themed housing, right? I ask because I put “housing program” or whatever as my last priority. I’m sure you don’t know the answer to this for sure, but I’m just wondering if you know of any cases of someone opting out of themed housing but still being put on a themed floor. Thanks!</p>
<p>Yeah, I’m not too sure but I did overhear this Mexican student who got placed in the Latino floor/building and she didn’t even request to be placed there. Not too sure though.</p>
<p>Do you happen to take honor classes?</p>
<p>Actually, I do not know anything about the honors courses/classes/program here at UC Davis.</p>
<p>My S will be staying in a 4-person suite in Cuarto. Basically, what should he bring/what should he not bring. Against my advice, he bought a dorm fridge. Will there be room for it? I’m currently looking for a dorm trunk for storage and a place to lock up his valuables. Good idea?</p>
<p>Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.</p>
<p>I’d recommend bringing his own desk light. The dorms come with a desk light for each resident, but I felt like it wasn’t really bright enough. Since he’s in cuarto, internet access requires ethernet connection but each resident is provided a standard sized cable. If he and his roommate/suitemates would prefer wireless, they should figure out who can bring and set up a wireless router to use. Also, the suite should not have more than one fridge and microwave in the common room.</p>
<p>Generally speaking, how fast is the internet connection (wired/wireless) in the dorms at Davis?</p>
<p>@Kajagoogoo You’ve asked the right person. I actually lived in a 4 person suite this past school year in Webster Hall Cuarto. Regarding the fridge, it really depends on where you’d like to put the fridge. I had a fridge and there really wasnt much room in my bedroom to place it but thankfully my roommate had his bed lofted so we put it under his bed, which allowed for more room. As for the trunk, I think it’d be a good idea but maybe a bit unnecessary. Not too sure, but in my case I got along really well with my roommate and my other two suitemates and I wasn’t too worried that they’d go through my stuff. But then again, I had neighbors and friends who had to lock their things away. So if you or your son believe you must, then go for it. As for the lamp, I don’t recommend you bring your own. Not sure of the difficulties Scyoshi encountered with the provided lamps but I found them very useful. They were in somewhat way dim (only because of the thick covers on them) but the dimness served as a plus. If I had to stay up late to study and my roommate was trying to sleep, the dim light was by far less distracting to my roommate. As for the ethernet cable, my suite was only provided with one cord, which was only about 5 feet long. I’d recommend either getting a 25 ft ethernet cable for the room or purchasing a wireless router. Just make sure the router is password protected.</p>
<p>As for recommendations on what to bring, I’d definitely recommend bringing a multiple outlet plug, just so your son can plug everything into it especially if he’s going to have a fridge. I had to plug in my alarm clock, my stereo, my laptop charger, my phone charger and a whole bunch of other stuff around my desk but there was only one outlet on that side so the multiple outlet came in handy. Also, a hamper for dirty laundry or maybe storage tubs/boxes for shoes or books or anything else that your son may not need on a daily basis. Other than that, the residence be furnished with everything else a student needs.</p>
<p>@xbanhcuonx I found the internet connection super fast, probably faster (if not, just as fast as the connection I have at home). It didn’t lag much. You shouldn’t worry too much about the internet connection. It’ll serve you right. I’m sure of that.</p>
<p>Are you familiar with the Deferred Payment Plan?</p>
<p>If you are, how long does it take before MyBill changes the payment?
I’m on DPP, but nothing has changed for payments…</p>
<p>Sorry @rclittle</p>
<p>I am not familiar with the DPP. However, if you are talking about the charges/remaining balance to your student account, it’ll change after financial aid is disbursed.</p>
<p>Okay thank you!
I was worried for a minute.</p>
<p>One more question:
How lenient are frats when it comes to class schedule?
Like I have a couple of classes that are the same time as some of the rush events so would that put me at a disadvantage?</p>
<p>Sorry, I wouldn’t know. But if anything, and most likely, you’ll have to miss class.</p>
<p>Greek organizations understand (and emphasize) that school/academics is and should be your top priority. Therefore, coming late or being unable to attend rush events due to class is often excused. However, you should check out the individual fraternity policies–if there are 4 or 5 rush events that week they may have some sort of requirement that you attend at least 1, 2, etc. in order to be eligible to receive a bid to join. UC Davis has a wonderful Greek community so I encourage you to explore your options fully and I wish you the best of luck in rush this year.</p>
<p>QUESTIONS! help.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>I’m living at a suite in Primero grove. Do the rooms there have cork board wall sections the way tercero and segundo do? If not, how do I hang up stuff like photos and calendars?</p></li>
<li><p>How do I find out what books I need for my classes? I want to order them online so I basically must do it now.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>not sure about your first question, but slugbooks.com is usually very good for figuring out what books you need and whether or not they’re required.</p>
<p>easiest ge courses?</p>