I'm going to UCSD next year. Should i get a parking permit , a bike or ride the bus?

<p>Before anything, I just want to say that I have a horrible sense of direction. I've never taken the public bus in my life and I rarely use the bike. However, I've seen a lot of complaints about UCSD's horrible parkings and how you can seriously get a ticket for almost anything. What should I do?! I'm going to be living in the dorm my first year.
Please answer these:</p>

<ol>
<li>Get a car for transportion but suffer from parking spaces or get a bike and risk a chance of wet weathers or ride a bus and get lost?</li>
<li>If I do take the public bus, how do i get to my destination? How does it work (god this is so embarrassing)</li>
</ol>

<p>Even though this is my first year and my classes may not be that far, I still want to know what i should do for future reference.
P.S. I'm in the Marshall college, does that affect how far my classes are?</p>

<p>Also, do i even need a car my first year? The problem is that i live in north california, so when i move there, i was planning to drive there with my dad and my dad will fly back.</p>

<p>I didn’t realize how many people have never ridden a bus until college. That’s pretty unbelievable.</p>

<p>For my first year at UCSD, I didn’t use bikes or have a car. I relied on buses only and it worked out fine for me. There are a lot of grocery stores, shopping centers, etc within a few minutes by bus. I use [San</a> Diego Metropolitan Transit System](<a href=“http://sdmts.com/]San”>http://sdmts.com/) for bus routes. Your ID card is a free pass for riding the buses. </p>

<p>You should also get an email on your ACS webmail account giving you more details about shuttle transportation. You don’t have to learn it all immediately though. A lot of the things that you can get off-campus can also be found on-campus, so you can make a gradual transtition to relying on buses.</p>

<p>The only concern is if you waive SHIP. I waived it because I already had insurance for Kaiser. The nearest Kaiser hospital is over an hour away by bus, so if you have an emergency, you’re likely to end up going to the school health center and pay a huge sum for the visit. Either that or rely on someone with a car to drive you off-campus.</p>

<p>Also, I forgot to mention that Marshall College is a very good location if you want to be close to your classes. The majority of classes I’ve taken have been on west campus in Revelle or Marshall. I think the best colleges to live for proximity to classes would be in Muir, Marshall, or Revelle. The worst ones would be Roosevelt, Warren, and Sixth. </p>

<p>However, this might vary depending on the types of classes you’re taking, because classes for specific subjects might be more likely to be segregated into certain parts of campus. I noticed that the lower-division chemistry and physics classes seem to always be in York Hall in Revelle.</p>

<p>

</p>

<p>Can you please explain to me on more about SHIP? In high school, i was able to get free lunch and my family is on wellfare, does that mean I might be qualified for SHIP?</p>

<p>I don’t remember much about SHIP, but here the page that explains it. [Student</a> Health Service - Undergrads: How to Use SHIP](<a href=“http://studenthealth.ucsd.edu/ushiphowtouse.shtml]Student”>http://studenthealth.ucsd.edu/ushiphowtouse.shtml)
You should also receive an email about it on your ACS account.</p>

<p>If you’re ever unsure about how to get somewhere, Google Maps has a public transportation option that will tell you where the most convenient bus stop is, when the next few buses arrive, and what (if any) transfers are necessary and where.</p>

<p>None of the extremes are good. You’re looking for a solution to your transportation needs, but the best one is actually a combination of all three.</p>

<p>Ride the bike when the weather’s nice, take the bus when there’s a large risk of getting wet, and use a car when it’s out of reach of the bus.</p>

<p>Few things about the bus:
1.) It is not embarrassing to get lost. It happens to everyone. Some people get lost more than others, but when it happens, your friends are likely not there to judge you and the bus operators are quite helpful.
2.) You’re more likely to get lost on a bike or car than the bus because the bus follows fixed routes.
3.) Basics of the bus: make sure you’re at a bus stop on the correct side of the road, and when a bus route with the correct number comes, get on the bus and pay the fare (this may include flashing a pass if your school has one). When the next bus stop is the one you intend to get off at, push the button (or pull the cord) to request a stop.</p>

<p>It’ll be a real learning experience. I personally go to college in the Bay Area, and several of my friends have ended up getting lost 10mi away from their destination and across the bay. They are still alive :)</p>

<p>^^ Agree with the above two statements. If you can somehow have a car and bike, that’s the best option, though I think between the car and bus you should be fine. Bikes kind of scare me just in terms of making sure they’re locked up and don’t get stolen. I never got one because my campus is so small, walked to all my classes and only used my car to drive home, to work, etc.</p>

<p>I didn’t use any public transportation until I studied abroad, and it wasn’t too hard to figure out. It will be confusing at first, but once you figure out the numbers of the buses you want it stays the same, so no confusion after that.</p>