I am so sorry to see many of you caught up in the housing crunch. As someone who really wanted to be sure my son lived on campus, I am very sympathetic. My son is starting his junior year there, and this crunch has just been getting worse each year. A couple of years ago, UCSD guaranteed housing to freshmen who met the deadlines for 4 years. Now it is only 2 years. I am not sure of the reasons why they accept more freshmen than dorms can handle, but I am sure it has something to do with the increasing number of applicants and the Calif. State budget.
That being said, UCSD does make it very clear that this situation exists. They send out a number of e-mails after a student is accepted explaining that housing may run out and that it is VERY important to meet all housing deadlines, completing your housing application on the day it opens on your portal. For those students accepted from the waitlist, they also make it clear that they may have to go on the housing waitlist as the opening for housing has passed. They also inform parents to be sure to look at the parent portal for housing which also explains everything very well. I remember that my son was on his computer immediately when the housing application opened to be sure to get a spot. Unfortunately, a lot of people leave these details to their kids- it sounds great in theory since they are now “adults”, but in reality they are burned out from the whole college search process and end of the year senior activities. It is just too important a deadline for the parents not to get involved. For those students who were admitted late, it is frustrating because they really need to decide if they want to accept at UCSD when they may not get housing. However, it is explained thoroughly that this situation exists. I checked the housing website for this information, but unfortunately it is no longer there since all of those deadlines have passed for this year. I see that my son did get this email when he registered for housing back in April 2013:
"* UC San Diego will create e-mail accounts for new students in mid-May. The Housing Office and other campus offices use UCSD e-mail as the official means of communication. Please keep your mailbox clear so important messages can reach you.
- Instructions for completing the housing contract will be e-mailed to your UCSD e-mail account if you submit the housing application and Statement of Intent to Register (SIR) by their respective deadlines. "
I really do feel very sorry for this situation and I feel like UCSD should somehow resolve the situation by either only guaranteeing 1 year of housing and thereby freeing up some housing, or offering off-site housing. However, I also know that UCSD made the situation very clear and can’t be blamed if students did not follow the guidelines.