<p>I was looking at UCSB's website and I saw that transfers only have two residence halls to choose from, Manzanita and San Rafael. Is this true? Which is the better of the two?</p>
<p>You can also request the graduate student housing, San Clemente, which is based on lottery. And transfer students actually live off campus. </p>
<p>Personally I prefer Manzanita. The rooms are bigger there and buildings are newer. And there’re plenty study rooms. But San Raf is suite style and it has living room for every suite about 6-7 people.</p>
<p>well two years ago that was also the case, transfer students wanting to live in the residence halls got to choose between those two. But yeah years due to over enrollment, there were no transfers in the dorms, transfers all got assigned undergrad apartments and some got an email later with an option to go to san clemente. I think they do a screening process like if you’re in honors or a good student then they email you asking if you want san clemente cause they can’t fill it out with all grad students so they email upperclassman to see if they want those spaces so they can make more money. I lived in san raf two years ago and the suites were too small and way to crowded, and if you have roommates and suite mates that you don’t like, even worse crazy people that live on the floor, you might be screwed and stuck there the whole year unless you find a way to move out. There are 4,6, and 8 person suite, which i think you all pay the same prices, which is unfair since the more people in the suite the less you should be paying. I wanted a 4 person site for space reason but i got stuck in a 6 and it was way to crowded, small living room, furniture, and 1 toilet, and it doesn’t help that some of the suitmates hog the living room, worse if there is dating on the floor and the bf, gf is always over, which makes it even more crowded. And if your suite becomes the hangout place for movie night and video games, it could be fun but not all the time and not duirng finals week. So every floor has 2 suites of each, 4, 6, and 8. The two eight person suite on the floor were both for girls, so if you put 8 girls in a small area, watch out. Manzanita does have the biggest rooms, some rooms are bigger than others, especially the top floors with high ceilings, and especially the corner rooms, and corner rooms with beach views. But manzanita is also quiet and can be unsocial. And i heard this year sna raf is not as social as years past. So i would recommend san clemente where you get your own room or santa ynez if you want more space.</p>