PROS/CONS: Commute or Housing (UCLA)

<p>well which roommates? you live with roommates right now? well get yourself another apartment where you live as you may well know in ucla apartments are very, very expensive. and traffic is always an issue but it really depends on the type of a person that you are. if you dont mind it then its cool but if you do, then you could definitely consider living near ucla. Thanks for the congrats!</p>

<p>do you guys think it will be fine if I don’t have classes everyday??</p>

<p>noooooooooooooo! don’t do it!</p>

<p>^^^lol (10 char)</p>

<p>saba, to me commuting 100% but I mean everyone has different ways of thinking and its perfectly fine to not commute as well. and if you dont have classes everyday then commuting is even better. as far as not meeting people, well what you prefer save yourself cash and stay chilled at thousand oaks or spend all that money and move out? it might be a tough decision but definitely consider the scenarios.</p>

<p>Depends on the amount of aid you get too. Remember Cal Grant A is used only for university fees and such. Living near campus is nice because you will get to know people. If you like on campus housing then you will definitely meet people.</p>

<p>you guys think i should commute? i live in Torrance. del amo mall area.</p>

<p>You’ll be fine the first quarter, but as time drags on, you’ll get tired. You’ll feel like skipping classes more often (at least I did), it will also be next to impossible for you to join club/activities since most of them meet at night. So if you want to get involved in club activities and you have say a 9am -3pm class, you’ll have to stay in school for a full day if your club meets at 8pm. </p>

<p>And you don’t want to hit freeway traffic 4pm onwards till maybe after 6. The traffic along Wilshire is so bad it’ll give you a headache. Unless you can plan your classes around those timings, good luck. But you’ll find your college experience less than stellar</p>

<p>i live in the valley right now… w/o traffic, it’s a 15 minute drive to westwood… </p>

<p>if i end up at UCLA, i’ll be on-campus w/o question. </p>

<p>to the rest of you contemplating the commute: don’t do it. it’s not worth the trouble… trade a few thousand dollars’ worth more in debt for the calm that comes with living 5 minutes from any one of your classes. enjoy the byproducts of a closer proximity… more local friends, closer affiliation with campus, surrounded by people your same age / with the same general drive… i don’t know…</p>

<p>to reiterate the point, if $$ is the issue, think of what you’ll be sacrificing for the difference of (let’s say) $10k over two years? it just seems like such an insignificant sum in the bigger scheme of things… </p>

<p>then again… to each his own, i guess.</p>

<p>i really want to commute but my mom is too attached to me. she doesnt want to let me go. she is an old fashion asian woman. i have to figure out a way for her to let me go. UGH! thanks calafair for the advise, i do hate traffic.</p>

<p>^ LOL me too … asian moms sigh</p>

<p>“yeah not a lot of people commute”</p>

<p>that just isn’t true. </p>

<p>@ saba… w/o traffic, that’s ~40 minute commute one way… a 15 minute one way drive can take over an hour in traffic… and it isn’t the 405 that’s going to get you… the 101 is like the third dimension of hell between 3 and 5 and really any time int he morning. from your posts, you sound kind of reserved. get out and experience life outside of the bubble of westlake village. that ****t’s worse than the valley…</p>

<p>^^wouldn’t it be more like 10K+ per year, that’s also assuming one ends up finishing their degree in 2 years and not in 3.</p>

<p>you’ve got to keep in mind that your parents are paying for the room, even if you aren’t. either way, $ is spent… </p>

<p>even so… </p>

<p>what’s $20k in the bigger scheme of things?</p>

<p>median annual salary with:
B.A. = ~50k
masters = ~62k
post grad = ~75k</p>

<p>don’t fear the dollar.
embrace it.
bank on yourself by giving yourself the experience you really want and allowing for the type of focus necessary to really actualize your potential.</p>

<p>pinker makes a good point about being close to campus and close to friends and such. The experience staying near campus is well worth it. Also, communting includes parking as well so you will have to consider that as well.</p>

<p>stacyadams: I say just try to convince your mom, like maybe video chat or something (I know people who have done this).</p>

<p>^^you know that is such a vague statistic.
after how many years? what job/career fields?</p>

<p>If after undergrad, one is left hustling for a job(because in this world no one just hands you things) what real resources list jobs that seek undergrads who have just graduated with starting salaries in the 40-60K? Not the best resource, but just browse through Craigslist,rarely will you find a job(that one could tolerate) that would pay that much… Considering the replies I got in the UCLA’s forum about UCLA’s career offices/resources, they aren’t to strong either. When one is majoring in the humanities that statistic is not realistic or helpful. I’m sure that statistic applies to the direct to career majors such as engineering.</p>

<p>Do NOT commute!! Take it from someone who has lived in LA all of her life. Traffic gets ****ing nuts, especially on the notorious 405. Plus I think you’d get a much more fulfilling college experience if you lived on campus anyway, or found an apartment right next to school. I’ve commuted from SMC to Glendale which is 15 minutes away without traffic; it’s taken me an hour and a half to get home when there was traffic, which was 98% of the time.</p>

<p>those salary statistics are way off, because all degrees are not created equal and that’s a sad fact. we go to school and only see the academic side portrayed by our professors, and its a different picture outside of academia as there is more of a corporate structure that cares more about how you can help them make the most profits</p>

<p>40 mins on the 405, 5 days a week, about 11 weeks per quarter</p>

<p>40 x 5 x 11 = 2200 minutes a quarter or about 27 hours, <–i don’t even spend that much time studying -_-</p>

<p>Just be independent enough to make your own decisions, no one will question what you want to do with your life if you do it with self certainty. I love my Asian mom.</p>