hey guise,
im a new international freshman and im starting my college life in a MINI DOUBLE with ma roommate.
i recently saw some photos of the room (btw im in marshall) and im starting to get worried if i could survive in that tiny-ass room for the next 9 months or so. thus im considering living off-campus next year since I could save a little bit of housing fee that i pay to school and actually live in a GOOD environment.
but can you guys give me some pros&cons of living off-campus? like the monthly fee, transportation, food, and etc. since our schoool is placed in La Jolla, aka the rich town, i believe the costs living outside is also a no joke. btw i dont have car yet but planning to get one right after i get my license.
I’d be surprised if you could save money living off-campus, unless you had a substantial commute in which case the extra costs of commuting would dwarf any differences.
BTW, it’s “guys”. “Guise” would be something like a concealment or attempting to hide the true nature of something.
Many students move off campus because it is much cheaper, mostly because you’re not required to buy the meal plan (which is very overpriced). It can be much cheaper to buy groceries and cook your own meals. However, if you think you’re just going to eat takeout all of the time because of the convenience, you may not save that much money. Also, off campus apartments can be much cheaper, depending on what you can find. When I lived off campus, I paid $700/month (including utilities) for a single room and was close enough that I could take the bus or school shuttle (both of which were free when I was a student but that may not be the case anymore) to campus. Using this (http://hdh.ucsd.edu//LOC/docs/ResHallCostandPaymentSchedule.pdf), if you take out the meal plan, it’s about the same per month as a mini double room (if you divide it by 9 months). However, I had my own room, as well as bonuses like a kitchen/living room shared only by 3 people and a bathroom only shared by 2. If I had shared by room with a roommate (which MANY students do when they live off campus because it cuts costs dramatically), it would have been much cheaper. And I saved a lot of money by not getting the meal plan as well because I just cooked my own food (and I was walking distance to a grocery store). But if you bail out of your housing contract, you might lose your deposit, which is something to consider.
However, if you get a more expensive place and don’t want to get any roommates and you eat takeout all of the time, it might end up costing the same or being more expensive to live off campus. It just depends on your lifestyle and what you’re willing to do to cut costs.
Also, are you living in a residence hall or an apartment? I knew a lot of international students who live in an apartment in their first year so that they could stay over the holidays. Keep in mind that if you live in a residence hall, they close during winter break (and maybe spring break? I don’t remember anymore), so you’ll have to go elsewhere. Many international students preferred apartments so they didn’t have to pay to fly home during breaks.
Also, living in a mini double might not be as horrible as you think it will be. I lived in a triple in the dorms, and I thought it was going to be really cramped. But it wasn’t that bad. We all had different schedules so we weren’t all in the room at the same time, and most of the time we were all out and about. If you have a really busy schedule or you start going out with friends a lot, you might only be in the room at nights, really. And there are usually common rooms and lounges that you can hang out in if you feel cramped.
In my opinion:
Living on campus:
Pros:
Much more convenient. You can roll out of bed and walk to class in 5-10 minutes (maybe 15 if your class is all the way across campus). The school also has cleaning services that clean shared spaces (common rooms, hallways, bathrooms, even if you live in an apartment). If you live off campus, you'll have to clean everything yourself. Not a huge deal, but it is convenient to have someone else do it for you.
Can be easier to make friends. You can definitely make friends if you live off campus, but it can be easier if you live on campus. You'll be surrounded by your peers and will be much more available if anyone wants to do something spontaneously. You won't have to worry about things like bus schedules and such to make sure you can get home and will be more available to do things late at night. You'll have a roommate to start you off with meeting people, and RAs often organize a number of events to help you explore the campus and do fun things with the people you're living with. Just being around more can help you find and make friends, and you'll have to put in more of an effort if you live off campus.
Don't have to cook (or at least cook as much). This goes with the convenience thing too. You'll have a meal plan with dining dollars that you can use at the dining halls for meals or at the markets to get snacks/frozen items/toiletries/etc. It can be really convenient to walk a couple of minutes to the dining hall to get something to eat, rather than having to cook yourself dinner. It's also nice to be able to just pick something up when you're really busy with classes/exams/finals/etc.
Cons:
Can be more expensive, depending on your situation.
You might not like the dining halls and waste that money if you don't use it.
You might get a placement that you're unhappy with and have few options to change.
Living off campus:
Pros:
Can be less expensive, depending on your situation.
You might be able to get more space for the same/less money.
You share things like the kitchen/bathroom/living room with fewer people.
You can stay in the apartment for years if you’re happy with it, and don’t have to move out at the end of the school year if you’re planning on staying in the area over the summer.
Cons:
You always have to consider the amount of time it takes to get to campus and transportation. Buses and school shuttles get crowded during peak times when everyone is trying to get to campus. I don’t know if UCSD still provides free bus passes (there was talk of them changing that and reducing shuttle service when I was graduating) so there might be a cost. If you get a car, you’ll have to get a parking pass, which is very expensive, and parking can be hard to find during peak times. You also have to consider parking in your apartment complex. A lot of students cram as many people as they can in apartments to save money, and if everyone has a car, you might not have enough spaces for everyone. So that’s an added stress. Buses stop running after a certain time, so it might limit what you can do late at night.
You'll be responsible for your own cooking and cleaning (might be a pro, if this is something you prefer)
You might have a hard time finding a place or might end up having to share a room anyway for cost purposes. It's pretty close to the start of the school year, so it might be hard for you find a place near enough that you can take the bus/shuttle to campus. You might have to share a room to reduce costs or because that's all you can find. You still might have issues with not liking your roommates, just like you would on campus, but you won't have an RA or anyone to help you manage those problems. You'll also likely lose your housing deposit from the school.
You have to put in more effort to make friends and get involved on campus.
They often have leases for the year, so if you're not planning on staying on campus over the summer, you'll have to figure out what to do with the apartment (find someone to sub-lease or take over your lease, or just pay the rent over the summer).