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SocInTheCity

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I will be attending in the Fall as well. I also have not heard back about housing *GULP* 

 

Just got the email about the orientation week, and I'm pretty excited! Ready to get this PhD show on the road!

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For 3 quarters, right?

 

I've not heard back about housing yet.

3 (4 credit) grad-courses per quarter.

 

I was under the impression that UCSD is going to offer priority housing candidates their housing choice around 2 weeks before the move in date put on the applications. I've got a move in date of August 1st and I don't expect to be offered housing until around July 18.

Edited by twentysix
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3 (4 credit) grad-courses per quarter.

 

I was under the impression that UCSD is going to offer priority housing candidates their housing choice around 2 weeks before the move in date put on the applications. I've got a move in date of August 1st and I don't expect to be offered housing until around July 18.

Are you basing that on the bullet point that says "All rental charges begin on the date listed on the Rental Agreement, which is determined by the Housing Office. This date may not be your exact move-in date. The rental agreement start date may be two weeks prior or after your requested move-in date." on the SHORE page? I hadn't interpreted it in that way. If that's the case, it makes moving internationally a lot harder to plan for! I thought this meant that they might give you an agreement to sign in advance (e.g. in June), but the date it starts on might not be exactly the date you requested (e.g. you requested August 15, but they are starting the agreement August 7, or something). Perhaps I should just inquire. It's weird that it's not on the FAQ, since it is probably something a lot of people are wondering about.

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Are you basing that on the bullet point that says "All rental charges begin on the date listed on the Rental Agreement, which is determined by the Housing Office. This date may not be your exact move-in date. The rental agreement start date may be two weeks prior or after your requested move-in date." on the SHORE page? I hadn't interpreted it in that way. If that's the case, it makes moving internationally a lot harder to plan for! I thought this meant that they might give you an agreement to sign in advance (e.g. in June), but the date it starts on might not be exactly the date you requested (e.g. you requested August 15, but they are starting the agreement August 7, or something). Perhaps I should just inquire. It's weird that it's not on the FAQ, since it is probably something a lot of people are wondering about.

 

I was basing it off that, and the fact that grad housing at UCSD is a month to month lease, not an extended lease. There is really no way UCSD could hold your apartment for months waiting for you to move in.

 

The ARCH office told me that I should not expect to hear any sooner than 30 days before my move in, but most likely 2 weeks prior to the move in date.

 

Your apartment will be available the day you requested to move in. I guess I don't know how leases work around the world, but in the USA you don't start paying for the apartment until the day you agreed to start the lease. It is a legally binding contract, for both parties.

Edited by twentysix
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I was basing it off that, and the fact that grad housing at UCSD is a month to month lease, not an extended lease. There is really no way UCSD could hold your apartment for months waiting for you to move in.

 

The ARCH office told me that I should not expect to hear any sooner than 30 days before my move in, but most likely 2 weeks prior to the move in date.

 

Your apartment will be available the day you requested to move in. I guess I don't know how leases work around the world, but in the USA you don't start paying for the apartment until the day you agreed to start the lease. It is a legally binding contract, for both parties.

It is my understanding that the housing is only month to month for people with SHORE (or perhaps other priority programs). Most people are there on a longer agreement, I think. So, I wasn't expecting that they're holding an empty apartment, but rather that they already know somebody is moving out then, so you can move in once they're gone.

 

2 weeks notice to move isn't going to be fun :(  But thanks for sharing what ARCH told you about the timeline.

 

edit: Yeah, the ARCH application page says "Each new resident, with the exception of students with children and priority students, will receive a non-renewable two year fixed term rental agreement. After residing in campus housing for two years the resident will vacate the apartment and move off-campus." So I was expecting that this means they can pretty easily predict when apartments will be vacant.

Edited by MathCat
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It is my understanding that the housing is only month to month for people with SHORE (or perhaps other priority programs). Most people are there on a longer agreement, I think. So, I wasn't expecting that they're holding an empty apartment, but rather that they already know somebody is moving out then, so you can move in once they're gone.

 

2 weeks notice to move isn't going to be fun :(  But thanks for sharing what ARCH told you about the timeline.

 

edit: Yeah, the ARCH application page says "Each new resident, with the exception of students with children and priority students, will receive a non-renewable two year fixed term rental agreement. After residing in campus housing for two years the resident will vacate the apartment and move off-campus." So I was expecting that this means they can pretty easily predict when apartments will be vacant.

 

Yeah, you are misunderstanding that.

 

You cannot live in Grad housing longer than 2 years. It's still only 30 day notice, i.e. month to month. SHORE allows you to stay throughout your degree completion "This program guarantees you on-campus housing atMesa Residential Apartments (Mesa), One Miramar Street (OMS) Rita Atkinson Residences (RAR),or Single Graduate Apartments (SGA) for Fall 2015, continuing through normative time to degree plus one year."

 

But for non-SHORE people the limit is 2 years.

Because of the ability to leave every month, you could be taking over the apartment of someone who lived there for the last 4 years, or the last 2 months.

Edited by twentysix
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  • 2 weeks later...

For those not with SHORE, are you waiting it out or looking for an off-campus apartment?

 

I am waiting it out, but if I don't hear anything this month, I think Im going to start searching off-campus. 

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I am waiting it out, but if I don't hear anything this month, I think Im going to start searching off-campus. 

That was my plan too. Thought I've actually been thinking that I might be happier living off-campus, possibly in SD proper. I like to have separation between work/school and home. 

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You guys are going to have so much fun here!! I'm about to graduate undergrad from UCSD this week so I'm feeling all sad and nostalgic :')

 

Anyway, if you want to live off-campus, I highly recommend Hillcrest -- it's cheaper (as in, $1100-$1300 for a one-bedroom instead of $1500-$1800 in La Jolla). It's also right near the Hillcrest Medical Center shuttle to campus. If you have a car, I also recommend North Park, University Heights, and Normal Heights. Slightly cheaper, cool neighborhoods, and not horribly far away.

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Okay, I just got off the phone with housing. Im in 50/50 position, there are people ahead of me on the list, but it's not entirely impossible to get housing. They also said they call you 30-60 days before your anticipated move-in date if they have a spot for you. Hope this helps!

Edited by Randomgal
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I received my housing offer last week Tuesday for those of you with SHORE. So if you haven't gotten your offer yet, it will be coming soon.

 

$1122/mo for a 2bdrm in one miramar.

Edited by twentysix
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ooh yeah I am curious too. I put Sept 1st, and wasn't expecting to hear anything for a while yet.

 

Did they call you or email?

 

They called me when I was in a Best Buy. My move in date was Aug 1, but my lease starts July 18th because that is what they offered me. Sucks a bit cause I'm at Yale in class until August 7th and then I'm driving across the entire country from CT to UCSD. So I have to pay about 1 1/2 months of rent without even being on campus. But that is better than not having an apt. When you are offered you have 48 hours to accept/decline the offer. If you accept you have 24 hours to digitally sign your lease. If you decline the first offer you lose priority placement status. I was offered my 3rd choice.

Edited by twentysix
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They called me when I was in a Best Buy. My move in date was Aug 1, but my lease starts July 18th because that is what they offered me. Sucks a bit cause I'm at Yale in class until August 7th and then I'm driving across the entire country from CT to UCSD. So I have to pay about 1 1/2 months of rent without even being on campus. But that is better than not having an apt. When you are offered you have 48 hours to accept/decline the offer. If you accept you have 24 hours to digitally sign your lease. If you decline the first offer you lose priority placement status. I was offered my 3rd choice.

 

Cool, thanks for letting us know. Sucks to hear you didn't get your first choice :( 

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I wish you had more space to specify your preferences. I definitely prefer an apartment that's not on the first floor, but that complex is still my first choice. I don't want to take two spots to specify this. Also a spot to say what you don't want would be nice... I'd take anything over SGA!

 

I'm so paranoid that I'm going to miss the phone call now. My requested move in date is the middle of August, so maybe I'll be hearing soon?

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Hey guys/girls, I'm also getting to UCSD. Things are becoming real now.

 

You were talking about courses per quarter before. Would you recommend taking 4 or 5 courses per quarter? Is it too much?

 

Cheers!

Edited by nottern
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I talked with current students and they said 3 core classes at once is the best. I am taking 2 core, 2 colloquiums (they are participation based), and TAing, which is 14 credits (you need 12 to be full time). They told me that my schedule would be challenging but doable.

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The number and composition of courses you should take is going to depend a lot on your program, teaching load, other commitments, etc.. It's probably best to talk to people in your department about that. I know that what was recommended to me is different from what people are saying here (taking 3 core classes would be a LOT in my program).

 

I didn't know course registration was open already! Did your department tell you it's time to register or something? I don't even know how...

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Does anyone know if Voight Dr. is the only place to cross the I5 as a pedestrian or cyclist on campus? I'd really like to be able to walk or bike to the math building (which is around where Google maps shows John Muir College) and it looks like you have to be pretty indirect about it if going from Mesa or One Miramar. If I ask Google for directions as a pedestrian, it does say you can cross the I5 at La Jolla Village Drive, but on street view that didn't look very safe... edit: actually, there is a sidewalk. Maybe it's okay? If anyone has actually been there, insight would be appreciated.

Edited by MathCat
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Does anyone know if Voight Dr. is the only place to cross the I5 as a pedestrian or cyclist on campus? I'd really like to be able to walk or bike to the math building (which is around where Google maps shows John Muir College) and it looks like you have to be pretty indirect about it if going from Mesa or One Miramar. If I ask Google for directions as a pedestrian, it does say you can cross the I5 at La Jolla Village Drive, but on street view that didn't look very safe... edit: actually, there is a sidewalk. Maybe it's okay? If anyone has actually been there, insight would be appreciated.

 

Did my undergrad studies at UCSD, and have returned as a graduate student, and have been following this thread... allow me to help!

 

If you're coming from graduate student housing (One Miramar or Mesa), I can confirm the only way to cross the 5 is via Voight Dr or La Jolla Village Drive, but I highly recommend Voight Drive. La Jolla Village Drive is dangerous for cyclists(cars go very quickly and there is no bike lane). As a pedestrian, while there is a sidewalk, you would have to cross the on-ramp and the off-ramp to the 5... which can be risky, especially at night. Do you know about the Mesa Shuttle? It takes graduate students from grad housing to UCSD. It will drop you off in front of Mandeville Auditorium, which is also in Muir College.

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Did my undergrad studies at UCSD, and have returned as a graduate student, and have been following this thread... allow me to help!

 

If you're coming from graduate student housing (One Miramar or Mesa), I can confirm the only way to cross the 5 is via Voight Dr or La Jolla Village Drive, but I highly recommend Voight Drive. La Jolla Village Drive is dangerous for cyclists(cars go very quickly and there is no bike lane). As a pedestrian, while there is a sidewalk, you would have to cross the on-ramp and the off-ramp to the 5... which can be risky, especially at night. Do you know about the Mesa Shuttle? It takes graduate students from grad housing to UCSD. It will drop you off in front of Mandeville Auditorium, which is also in Muir College.

I do know about the shuttle, but would prefer to walk or bike if possible and safe. I think I would avoid La Jolla Village Drive unless I was walking during day time, and even then it looks pretty unpleasant. I definitely wouldn't consider cycling there. I'm kind of getting ahead of myself anyway - I haven't received my housing assignment yet, and don't even know which side of the I5 I'll be on! I appreciate your insight though, thanks.

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Just got my shore offer: South Mesa, 1 room in 2br, was 2nd option in my preference list.

 

Most likely going to accept.

 

Move-in date was approx. 15 August, offer made starting 18th.

 

They even called me, even though I am very-very far away, and it's middle of the night here :)

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