I'm bored so... Ask a UCF student

<p>is orientation really from 8am to 9pm !!! and then 8-4 the next day ?? wtheck do you do for so long ??</p>

<p>**is orientation really from 8am to 9pm !!! and then 8-4 the next day ?? wtheck do you do for so long ?? **</p>

<p>Yes it is. Be on time too!
You go from building to building being explained EVERYTHING from Financial Aid to Failing classes. Meals are provided… but they’re not the best in my opinion.
The second day is basically stating the reality of big classes and then you register for classes. I don’t think I stayed until 4 the second day.</p>

<p>Does anyone on this thread have any reviews for The Edge and The Village at Alafaya Club? Has anyone visited a friend there or heard anything about those apartments? I truly appreciate it, thank you!</p>

<p>I’ve visited a friend at The Edge and it was okay. His apartment was formerly leased to a smoker and you could smell it. The walls were also discolored from the cigarette smoke. It was a little old and worn, which is to be expected. After the Summer his lease is up and he’s moving out though. The Edge has the nicest pool of any apartment complex around.</p>

<p>You can read reviews of both of those communities at ApartmentRatings.com. Both are managed by the same company, American Campus Communities, the company that manages (but doesn’t own) Pegasus Landing and Pegasus Pointe. So keep that in mind if you read a review about the management. Most apartment complexes have more negative reviews than positives. Most of the positives are left by the office staff. Especially if the reviews are completely 5-stars. Keep in mind that less people take the time to go on a website and leave a positive review. Mostly only fed up consumers leave reviews.</p>

<p>Also remember that thin walls are a problem at any apartment; anyone who complains about noise should probably go live in a house instead. Any apartment complex that rents to college students will have some noise issues. That’s a common problem with apartments. Most of them have thin walls that let in a lot of sound, and most complexes that allow college students tend to have some of the partying types. You’ll find that the nicest apartments around are “deed restricted” so that they don’t allow co-signers or guarantors.</p>

<p>Another good one to check out, at least from what I read when I did some research, is Northgate Lakes. It’s on the back side of the campus, close to the football stadium. It’s also managed by American Campus Communities.</p>

<p>Just remember that any unit you look at won’t look like the model unit. For one, the model unit is decorated with pictures and art on the wall and lots of extra things that make it feel nicer. Also the model unit hasn’t had tons of people living in it, leaving stains on the carpet and scuffs on the wall.</p>

<p>If you want to move into a brand new apartment and are willing to pay a little more, check on Sterling Central. It’s across the road from UCF. This is their website: [UCF</a> Area Apartments | View Sterling Apartment Floorplans, Pricing](<a href=“Sterling Housing”>Sterling Housing)
It’s under construction right now but will be finished by Fall 2010. They’re leasing right now. The cheapest unit is a 4/4 for $670/mo., so it’s definitely not as cheap as some other communities.</p>

<p>I realize this hasn’t answered your question, but my mom and I agonized over finding an apartment and knowing some of this information would have helped us. I ended up living in a townhouse in Avalon Park, which is about 15-30 minutes away from the campus depending on traffic. If you don’t want to deal with the issues that come with student complexes, I’d recommend looking on Craigslist and similar sites for houses like mine. Some good areas to check out are Waterford Lakes, Avalon Park, and Oviedo.</p>

<p>I got sick of the daily commute to school from Avalon Park, so I decided to move into a 1-bedroom apartment at Sterling. I’m aware there are going to be some issues with it, but I’ll tolerate some noise and annoying neighbors to be across from campus.</p>

<p>Also I’d recommend looking for subleases and sublets at any complex you’re interested in. A lot of people are trying to get out of their lease and you can get a cheaper rate on rent (since they signed before prices rent up) in addition to getting to see your ACTUAL unit and meeting the roommates before making any commitments. Some places to look for sublets are Craigslist.org, the classifieds section in CentralFloridaFuture.com (school newspaper), and UCF’s off-campus housing website’s message boards: [University</a> of Central Florida Off Campus Housing Service](<a href=“http://offcampus.housing.ucf.edu/]University”>http://offcampus.housing.ucf.edu/)</p>

<p>Are rice cookers allowed in dorms? What are the disadvantages of attending orientation at a later date?</p>

<p>I heard some students talking about a “lottery” system for housing. I’m staying in Libra my first year, but am planning on living in the apartments in Nike/Hercules for my sophomore through senior years. Is there not enough housing for non-freshman students?</p>

<p>Thanks.</p>

<p>I can’t answer the question about rice cookers (hopefully someone else will), but I can tell you the disadvantage of attending orientation later is that you’ll have less of a chance of getting the classes you need or want. The earlier you attend orientation, the earlier you can register, which means you could end up with a better class schedule.</p>

<p>My roommate waited until the last possible day to attend orientation, and there wasn’t enough space in some of the classes he needed to take. As a result, he’s taking Neuroscience as an elective (he’s a pre-med student).</p>

<p>@ imwmucf Yeah, I’ve had to take all of that into consideration. Thank you so much for your response.
I’m actually going to go look at Sterling next weekend…but did the tell anything about availability (specifically the D1 Corner[4/4 with bigger, round room])? Monthly caps or how the utilities work? And what are the fees for applying, moving-in, and so on? (Please give any more info that might be useful to me about this complex) THANKS!</p>

<p>do you have to apply for a pre optometry/pre med program ? how does that work ?</p>

<p>There’s a $255 one-time, nonrefundable application fee. No deposits or anything like that, but they do have a list of possible damage charges in the lease.</p>

<p>When I signed my lease (a week and a half ago) they said they had “a few” 3 and 4 bedrooms left, so you probably still have a chance. If I had to guess, I’d say you probably have a chance at a corner unit too. I think it used to cost more for those units, but now the prices are the same.</p>

<p>If you get an apartment on the first floor, it’s called an “urban apartment” and has a stained concrete floor, higher ceiling, and exposed ducts. Those cost $25 more per month. Probably not worth it in my opinion, unless you like the convenience of being on the first floor. I’m guessing more of those are available due to the cost.</p>

<p>Also consider a 3/3. It’s only $5/mo. more than a 4/4. That’s a small price to pay for the benefit of having one less roommate.</p>

<p>The parking will be in a garage and costs $10/mo, $20 for preferred parking. Preferred parking is a spot assigned to you. If you see someone in your spot you can call to have them towed. I got preferred parking but it’s on the 6th level of the garage because that’s the only place where they have preferred spaces left. They may not have any preferred spaces left except for the 7th level (uncovered) by now.</p>

<p>Utilities are included up to a cap (like most other student complexes). My cap is $50/mo for the one bedroom, so I’m guessing the other apartments are $50/roommate. I’ve heard of a lot of people going over this electrical cap at other complexes; usually not by much though. It also includes water (no cap I think?), basic cable with HBO, and free high-speed internet.</p>

<p>You can choose a move-in date of August 1, or August 12, if I remember correctly. The date is when the first rent check is due and it’s for the full amount either way, so I picked the 1st. It gives you more time to move in and stuff. You don’t have to move in on that day, it’s just when the rent is due.</p>

<p>You won’t get to see a model unit since they haven’t finished building it yet. The leasing trailer has the furniture that you’ll get in the apartment. I don’t think it’s going to include a microwave, which is strange… but I figure microwaves are not too expensive and I can always use it later after I move out.</p>

<p>They have a complex in Tampa called Sterling 42nd Street if you want to look up reviews for it.</p>

<p>do people usually bring their parents to orientation ? lol and do alot of people stay in the dorms that one night ?</p>

<p>**Are rice cookers allowed in dorms? What are the disadvantages of attending orientation at a later date? **
I don’t see why they shouldn’t be allowed in dorms. For a small fun fact, they allow small aquariums in dorms! (At least in AV)
Maybe your O-team members might be a little tired of doing the same thing. Also registering for classes can be a problem if you register really late. I went to Orientation pretty late and most classes were filled, but I still got my classes and you can swap your schedule at any time until add/drop week ends.</p>

<p>I heard some students talking about a “lottery” system for housing. I’m staying in Libra my first year, but am planning on living in the apartments in Nike/Hercules for my sophomore through senior years. Is there not enough housing for non-freshman students?
Although never directly stated, I think it’s the priority goes to Freshman students. You should get an e-mail the first month of your second semester asking if you need housing at UCF your second year and to apply early. I don’t know if this full answers you question though</p>

<p>**do you have to apply for a pre optometry/pre med program ? how does that work ? **
If I knew I could tell you. UCF seems pretty silent on me when I tell them I’m Physics with Pre-Med. So far I’ve just relied on Pre-Med clubs and Pre-med advising for this.</p>

<p>I can answer on the “lottery” system for housing. When it comes time to sign up for housing for sophmore year, you will be offered 2 options if you want to stay on campus. Towers is the first option and you have a guaranteed spot if you sign up by the date they tell you, this year it was 1/29 and they gave plenty of notice. The second option is for the apartments at Nike/Hercules. The apartments are for upper classmen only, no freshman allowed. Here there is a lottery unless you have Florida prepaid for housing. Those are guaranteed a spot in the apartments in Nike/Hercules if you sign up by the cut-off dates. The rest are put into a lottery. Apparently they have twice as many applicants as they have spots. </p>

<p>My son and 3 of his friends wanted an apt on campus in AV Village. He has FPP for housing and had a guaranteed spot and could “bring in” one other roommate that wasn’t picked for the lottery, so in essence he only needed 1 out of the 3 other friends to “win” a spot and then that person could also “bring in” a roommate. None of his 3 friends were picked in the lottery. They all decided to get an apt together off campus. </p>

<p>Hope this helps.</p>

<p>^Thanks peacemkr for the better response :)</p>

<p>hi, i just got accepted to UCF for summer term. and i decided to live on campus in summer. So do u guys have any suggestion for choosing residental hall in summer? thx!!</p>

<p>Thank you, peacemkr59. One of my friends has FPP for 2 years so, she’s guaranteed housing for her sophomore year. So she would be able to “pull me in,” right? And with off-campus housing, can you sign a contract for only the semesters you live there? Or is it a yearly agreement?</p>

<p>Thanks for your help.</p>

<p>Off-campus is almost always 11.5 months. There may be some that have semester leases, but they’re probably the smaller, independent ones. I personally haven’t heard of any that I can remember.</p>

<p>dance2night26, yes your friend would be able to pull you in as long as they don’t change the process. That’s what it was this year, I don’t think they would change that aspect of it though since that way you could room with someone who didn’t have FPP. Make sure your friend applys on time to be guaranteed the on-campus apartments. Off campus housing is for 11.5 months.</p>

<p>hi, i just got accepted to UCF for summer term. and i decided to live on campus in summer. So do u guys have any suggestion for choosing residental hall in summer? thx!!</p>

<p>I would personally pick Libra if I were to choose again. I like the location of it being close to the Math and Physics/Chemistry Building and the Library. The only down side is the parking because it’s shared with the general student population.</p>

<p>But in summer term, they only offer Lake Clarie, Nike/Hercules and Towers. My choice is between Lake Clarie and Nike/Hercules. But my friend she told me that Lake Clarie is very far away from everything and it is like a ghetto. Is it true??</p>