I got accepted into UC Davis with tuition paid. However, I still have to pay around $14,000 on room and board so my question is: can I opt out of housing at UC Davis. And if I can will my financial aid be hurt? My goal to get a cheaper housing option but since they are paying for more than half of the total cost, does not living on campus hurt what they are giving me?
https://www.ucdavis.edu/admissions/cost/ indicates that off campus is assumed to be $5,057 less expensive. So you would probsbly need to find off campus living that is less expensive by more than that to save money after accounting for the financial aid adjustment. You may want to ask the financial aid office how your aid would change with different living arrangements.
I think its easier to live on campus for the first year, although it is EXPENSIVE.
Try using WikiDavis for help; there is a LOT of really good information on that site:
https://localwiki.org/davis/
It might be very difficult for you to look for off-campus housing.
If you were to look for off-campus housing, how far are you willing to live? Most apartments in Davis have already been filled up. Do you have a group to look for housing with? If you don’t, do you know where to look? Are you close enough to Davis to be able to easily check out the room before signing a lease, or meet potential housemates? Do you know what floor plans you’d want, and how you would split rooms? There are just a lot of things you’d have to consider if you do live off campus.
@Panduhr for future reference, when do students start looking for and committing to off campus housing?
Students start lining up their off campus housing by Early January or even earlier.
My D lives right across the street from the Segundo dorms, in a shared, non campus owned, one bedroom apartment that costs her $475 a month but increasing to $500 next school year. She walks or bikes to campus. There is affordable and convenient housing that is considerably less expensive than the dorms or campus owned apartments. I recommend going online asap to see what is out there in terms of availability - the sooner the better.
@lkg4answers Like Gumbymom mentioned, most students look early in the year.
From what I’ve seen:
Late Fall/Early Jan - Students gather information regarding what apartments they’re interested in, etc.
Late Jan/Early Feb - Off-campus students get the chance to renew their leases (if they choose to stay), everyone else starts waitlisting for their apartments of choice.
Late Feb/Early March - Apartments released to waitlisted students, signing of leases, move-in dates decided, etc.
If you have not signed a lease at this point, yes there will be options, but they will be the least popular (and likely for good reasons). This late in the game, it’s best to join a group that has had someone drop out.
Note, I don’t have any knowledge about how renting out a house works.