My parents said that they don’t want me to apply to places like UCLA and UCSB with the mindset that it would be too expensive my second year for housing and it is not even worth applying to. I really want to apply to these schools and I have the grades for it, but they don’t want me to. Help!
If your parents are footing the bill, they do have a say in your choices. On campus housing in most cases is more expensive than off campus housing, since you are required to have a meal plan which can get pretty pricey. Moving off campus in the LA/SB area can be expensive, but you can split the costs of rent/utilities/food etc… with several roommates. Have them check the COA of each campus comparing on-campus vs off campus housing. There are many ways to cut costs in your 2nd-4th year.
Here is a link showing the cost of attendance for UCLA:: Note the lower cost estimate for living off campus
https://www.admissions.ucla.edu/prospect/budget.htm
Here is a link for cost of attendance at UCSB:: Again note the lower cost estimate for living off campus
http://www.finaid.ucsb.edu/cost-of-attendance
That is an odd reason to object to UCLA. UCLA estimates that students living off-campus (which most non-frosh do) spend less than those living in the dorms: https://www.admissions.ucla.edu/prospect/budget.htm . The same is true for UCSB: http://www.finaid.ucsb.edu/cost-of-attendance .
Did they give you a basis for higher living costs in the second (and subsequent) years? It would appear that it is simply not the case.
Or are there actually other reasons why they are objecting to UCLA and UCSB? A problem with the culture? A concern about safety or partying? When I hear this kind of explanation for why UCLA and UCSB are off the table, I immediately suspect that there is something else going on. Check the costs of attendance for the other UCs - I’m betting they are pretty much the same.
The estimated off-campus housing costs at UCLA and UCSB, while less than the cost of living in a dorm, are still a couple of thousand dollars higher than the equivalent estimate at Berkeley (and, to be fair, a couple of thousand dollars less than the estimate at UC Irvine). So it’s possible that the parents are making a reasoned judgment here. (I’m not going to say it’s the most likely possibility, though.)
Yeah but if we’re talking a couple of thousand dollars, student could work to make up difference if they really want to go to those other schools.
Even a couple of thousand dollars can be the difference between barely affordable with everyone pitching in as much as they can, and unaffordable. Sit down with your parents, and talk through the numbers carefully. They may have done the math and believe that these two UCs are outside the reasonable range of what your family can come up with.
Good luck finding off campus room and board (food, supplies etc) around UCLA for the 10K listed on that site. I think parents know the reality of Westwood versus what the site says. Of course you can put 4-6 in a room that holds two, to achieve that pricing.
One Bruin family member spends about $1750 - $2000 less per 10-month school year for rent, utilities, food, and some misc. items (in comparison to that $10,239 off campus room & board estimate, and not including averaging in the deposit, which isn’t much if they stay for multiple years.) They are within walking distance to campus. The surrounding areas have such a wide range of apartments…from disgusting to luxury ones. This particular building is a lower mid-range building and they only have two students per bedroom. If you share a one bedroom apartment, it will be much more expensive than sharing a 2 & 3 bedroom one. Some students spend much more because they don’t cook, and primarily get take-out food. If you are frugal and can cook basic meals, you’ll save money. Also, I don’t know your statistics or if you would be eligible, but UCLA does offer scholarships, but you won’t know if you are eligible unless you apply.
Agreed. Westwood prices are extremely high. ([Apartment prices in LA in general are very expensive](Every Single Part of Los Angeles is Unaffordable on $15/Hour - Curbed LA), for that matter.) They’re aware they can charge students higher prices thanks to location, and they do. Most undergrads don’t know any better or simply prefer living in Westwood; either way, they pay as much for a shared room in Westwood as they could for a private bedroom a little further from campus.
Rent is cheaper west of the 405 in Sawtelle/Little Osaka or south of Wilshire in Palms. Splitting a 2 bedroom and getting your own room would run about $10-11K per year for a 12 month lease. For a shared bedroom in west LA, you could be looking at ~$8000 or a little under per year. Subletting your apartment in the summer would save 2-3 months of rent. The important thing is to start looking early – competition for affordable housing on the west side is completely insane. (It’s not unusual for 30 or 40 people to show up and apply for a nice apartment, and apartments on Craigslist can be taken in a couple of hours.)
Grocery bills aren’t bad if you shop around for deals, and good cheap produce is especially easy to find. Lots of farmers’ markets around, including a pretty decent one in Westwood.
Becoming an RA would get you room and board. It’s competitive but definitely an option to consider.
I would say why not apply to UCSB/UCLA and compare the financial aid packages and see if you can make the finances work. My two kids that went to UC’s got significantly more money from the UC’s than my daughter who went to SDSU. I also remember the financial aid offer was higher for UCLA than it was for UCSD.
Options to reduce costs at UCLA/UCSB:
- Become an RA, as @warblersrule says, it is competitive, but it would reduce costs tremendously. It would require working hard and maybe joining the residence hall government to make yourself competitive. I think at UCSB they also have private dorms in Isla Vista which probably would need RAs as well. (I am not sure, you would have to research).
- Join a fraternity/sorority. Often "living in" is significantly cheaper than living in an apartment or dorm. I think most sororities at UCLA are pretty full, so I think the girls only live in one year, maybe a max of two. But I imagine a guy might be able to live in for 3 years.
- Outside scholarships. My son that went to UCLA got a couple of outside scholarships. UCLA was quite generous with their financial aid, and did not reduce it because of the outside scholarships (just took away the loans, etc...) and that was enough for us to be able to afford his apartment. And he did share his room in his apartment with 2 other guys which made it affordable, and it wasn't too bad.
- Get an on-campus job to help defray costs.
Good Luck!
In my opinion, the cost of attendance numbers in the link in post 1 are off for UCSB. I lived in Isla Vista 11 years ago. Maybe some rents were about that then. They are significantly higher now.
Wow! I just looked at the cost of room and board at Tropicana and San Clemente at UCSB. Why so much? Are these apartments or residence halls? I remember being handed brochures during accepted students day last year. Now I am glad my daughter ended up in Riverside, not only does she have a merit scholarship, off campus rent is cheap!
The Tropicana is an apartment complex purchased by UCSB during the past year. (I’m not real happy about that, because it may end up letting UCSB take the complex off the property tax roles, which may take up to $400,000 out of the budget of the local elementary school district.)
San Clemente is fairly new construction by UCSB, and the room floorplans do include a kitchen and two separate bedrooms for one person each with a shared common area.
If you become an RA I think you can stay in the dorms for free or at least a significant discount.
http://www.hercampus.com/life/campus-living/should-you-be-ra-perks-pitfalls-life-resident-assistant
http://raselectionucsb.■■■■■■■■■■/ra-applicant-faqs.html
http://www.housing.ucsb.edu/residence-halls/becoming-resident-assistant
San Clemente is a grad student complex with surplus rooms alotted to undergrads. The atmosphere is a bit too “dormy” for most grad students after their first year. The majority of UCSB undergrads end up sharing rooms with other students in Isla Vista where rents are astronomical and housing quality poor. If you want your own room as an upperclassman expect to pay $1000/month and up in a multi bedroom apartment. Some of the nicer apartment complexes effectively bar renting to undergrads by requiring proof of income and refusing co signers. Until more housing is built the best option is to stay in university housing all 4 years.
If youre going to receive financial aid they may all end up being the same price. They may be more expensive but you will also get more financial aid than the other schools.