<p>I applied to The Village for this Fall term, which is considerably cheaper than the two other options I have as a transfer student (Transfer Community and UTC). If I'm assigned to a room other than the Village, am I required to sign the contract? Or do I have the option of finding cheaper housing off-campus?</p>
<p>I believe that if you are on the waitlist and you cancel your application, you will not be charged anything at all. If you get assigned to university housing but then before the move-in date starts you find an apartment, then there’s like a $150.00 cancellation fee. I think the fee is much higher if you cancel your housing after the term starts but I don’t remember the rate for that.</p>
<p>Keep in mind that part of the reason that The Village is the cheapest is that it doesn’t come with a meal plan which is mandatory if you’re in any of the residential colleges (which includes the transfer community). Meal plans are actually a pretty good deal at UCSC, if you’re in a triple room at a residential college, you will have to pay about $240 more per quarter than if you were at The Village, but you also get a 5 day meal plan which means that between Monday-Friday, you get to enter any of the campus dining halls and eat all you want to eat. You also get unlimited entry to the dining halls every day. Most other universities restrict you to 1-2 meals a day on their meal plans but the meal plan at UCSC is cheap enough that it could be the cheapest way of living on campus.</p>
<p>Transfer Community rates (meal plan included):</p>
<p>[Transfer</a> Community](<a href=“Transfer Student Housing”>Transfer Student Housing)</p>
<p>Meal plan by itself:
[UC</a> Santa Cruz - Dining Meal Plans](<a href=“http://housing.ucsc.edu/meal-plans/index.html]UC”>http://housing.ucsc.edu/meal-plans/index.html)</p>
<p>I’m familiar with the meal plan rates and all that. The Village still ends up cheaper than the dorms by about $2,000 a year when you subtract the meal plan from the dorm rates.</p>
<p>Thanks for the info on cancelling before the move-in date. Can I ask where you got that from? I tried looking for it on the housing site but couldn’t find it.</p>
<p>That info was on the terms and conditions section of the housing application right at the end before you finish submitting the application. This link has all of that information I believe:</p>
<p><a href=“https://sho-prod.ucsc.edu/shs/students/info/2011-12-TermsandConditions-Undergraduate.pdf[/url]”>https://sho-prod.ucsc.edu/shs/students/info/2011-12-TermsandConditions-Undergraduate.pdf</a></p>
<p>For dorm rates, whether it’s cheaper depends on whether you personally want a meal plan. If you want a meal plan then the math as far as I know goes (The Village single room+5 day meal plan)-(Transfer Community triple room) for one academic year ends up with ($11,907+$3,339)-($9,297)=$729 which means that it is about $700 cheaper per year to live in the the transfer community if you actually want to have the 5 day meal plan. It all depends on if the meal plan is worth it to you.</p>
<p>You used a triple room in your calculations. When you use a single room from the Transfer community, The Village ends up cheaper by a significant amount.</p>
<p>Yup that’s why I chose the village! A single at the village is cheaper than a single or double at the transfer community with a meal plan included!</p>
<p>Just got a call from UCSC saying that the Village is full and if I would consider any other housing options on campus…</p>
<p>I’m sorry to hear that Lakerace! You should stay in your residential college! I believe that they are cheaper than the transfer community!</p>
<p>After some thought and going back and forth with the housing office, it looks like I’ll be getting a single room in Cowell this year.</p>