<p>Do you guys think I need a printer for my dorm, I was also wondering about a bike??</p>
<p>Some roommates bought a printer together for their room and shared- but every time it ran out of ink or jammed they’d get in a fight over who’s fault is was and who should pay for a new cartridge. There are big office-type printers in the Library and Price Center- you put money on this plastic card they give you or from your Triton account, and pay to print, it’s maybe 10 cents/page… not sure if that’s the exact amount. </p>
<p>I bought a tiny cheapy printer for like $30 on sale at the ucsd bookstore- which was nice b/c theres not much space for a printer in the dorm. I used this to print assignments that were just 1 or 2 pages. Then I used the big library printers for bigger projects, assignments that were like 10 pages. That way I didn’t kill my little printer and it lasted the whole year.</p>
<p>@gswhoops</p>
<p>Those are two things you could live without if you wanted but are nice to have. Printing is 5 cents a page at Geisel but you can find printers for really cheap like SurfSD88 said. Biking will definitely get you around faster but is sometimes a little bit annoying with all the people walking between classes. </p>
<p>I have both and I’m happy I have both, but like I said they aren’t SUPER necessities if you were thinking of not getting them. You can always come here without them and see how you like it without them and then make a decision.</p>
<p>I would say a printer is necessary. I’d imagine it’s a huge hassle to leave early, go to a library, wait excuse me, only Geisel now, to print out your paper then head to class every time you have a paper or rough draft due. </p>
<p>A bike isn’t necessary but I found that walking across campus was a bit time consuming. it really depends on you though.</p>
<p>printer - yes. i’m gonna say it’s one of those “not quite necessary, but very nice to have” type of things. every college student i’ve ever known seemed to agree. you can get inkjet printers really cheap online, or invest in a laserjet printer. inkjet printers run cheap ($25-40) but the ink is expensive, runs out in 2-4 months (or even sooner depending how much you use) and in the long run is no cheaper than ink for laserjet printers. you can get a basic laserjet for $100-140. trust me, it’s worth it. my roomie and i used our inkjet printer pretty sparsely and still had to replace the ink once. and this is after a concerted effort not to use too much ink. so the average inkjet printer runs out 1-2 times per year, and each ink cartridge costs at least $16. whereas with a laserjet, the cartridge will last YEARS, no joke. at home i have a 9-year old laserjet that’s needed new ink once, ever. laserjets also jam way less, are much quieter, faster, and the quality of print is far superior. if you do get an inkjet (blehhh), lemme tell you: there is plenty of ink left even when it tells you to replace the cartridge. they do that so you’ll waste your ink. me and roomie printed for at least another 2 months on our cartridge that was “almost empty.” tricky bast€rds.</p>
<p>OH and if you share with a roommate - negotiate costs & responsibilities beforehand. me and roomie just split the cost of everything in half (we each paid $8 for a $16 cartridge).</p>
<p>bike - i’m not much a bike person, but i kinda wish i were. bikes can save you a lot of time getting places. you’ll learn which routes a bike is really useful for, and which ones are better taken on foot (really bumpy roads, steep uphills). ultimately, if you enjoy biking and would like one with you, i say bring it. there are plenty of people on bikes here and while it’s not the most bike-friendly campus, i imagine someone who enjoys biking will find it worthwhile to bring one. my friend who loves her bike certainly didn’t regret it.</p>
<p>@christee8876</p>
<p>You can’t print out your paper the day before you have to turn it in?</p>
<p>GET A PRINTER!!! I did not have one for my entire freshman year. At first it was okay because first quarter does not require that much printing and writing. However, as your quarters progress you will use a printer more and more (especially in intensive writing courses). Both my roommates had a printer and I was very close with one of them; however, it get annoying to constantly ask to print something (especially if it’s long). People generally try to conserve ink and paper. Also you never know if your roommates are going to be there when you need to print, and the walk to giesel isn’t a short as you think when you’re crunched for time. As far as a bike goes, you don’t need one, and a lot of people don’t use the ones they bring. However, they are pretty convent when you really want to get somewhere in a hurry.</p>
<p>IMO it’s a must. You never know when you have to pull an all-nighter to finish a paper, when all the libraries are closed. Also, depending on what college you’re at, getting to a library can be a pain.</p>
<p>Bikes are probably not a must have if you don’t want one. I didn’t have one and I got along just fine with walking/shuttling. Honestly, three of my suitemates had bikes and not one of them actually used it after September.</p>
<p>Thanks guys, I think I’ll probably end up getting both a bike and printer for my dorm. I’m in a single, would it be possible for me to fit a mini fridge in my dorm, and would it be useful?</p>
<p>You will have enough room for a mini fridge. I would recommend bringing one, especially if you think you are going to go grocery shopping or buy ice cream/ cold food from one of the markets at school. Most people bring one, and you can even rent them once you get to UCSD.</p>
<p>Thanks, does anyone know where or when I have to register my laptop to get access to university wi fi?</p>
<p>Okay, I’ll be the first to go against the crowd. </p>
<p>1) A printer is completely unnecessary and I would advise against buying one. You can buy a $10 printing account online at the UCSD website and print in almost every single computer lab on campus for $.05/page. That’s 200 pages for $10, which is much less than refilling your ink in your printer. The labs are everywhere including the econ building by Marshall, AP&M by Muir, CS lab by Warren, Price Center, and more. It is cheaper to do this and you will never worry about buying paper or ink.</p>
<p>2) Bring a bike. You can get to anywhere on campus in under 5 minutes. If you start on the top of campus at Marshall or Muir, you can get to anywhere in about 2 minutes. I use my bike everyday and it is priceless. You don’t need an expensive bike like the silly girls riding $800 road bikes, just bring an old mountain bike that works. No worries about anyone stealing it, and you can still cut through the trails if you have to. I left mine locked on campus over the summer and it’s still fine.</p>
<p>To register you just connect to the wifi network UCSD Protected and when you start your internet browser it will go to the webpage to register.</p>
<p>@gswhoops</p>
<p>You can do it the moment you get here. Just connect yourself to their network, open up a web browser it will immediately take you to their page to sign up.</p>
<p>Are the chairs students are given nice? and if not are we allowed to switch them? I was also wondering if anyone knew when we could request our bed to be raised so we can use the space underneath for storage.</p>
<p>the chairs are fine. some of them are wheeled/rotating ones, and some are just sit-still. some of my friends who had rolling chairs had loose backs or even broken arms, but i had one of those non-moving ones (kinda like a lawn chair except… for office style?) and i never had a problem with my chair. overall the quality is passable. you don’t need to bring your own chair.</p>
<p>@gswhoops</p>
<p>If it’s possible to raise your bed, you’ll be able to do it on your own when you get here.</p>