U.C. San Diego is surrounded by a lot of (relatively expensive) housing options. We used to say finding some kind of housing was not a problem. Lately it has become one. San Diego has become a booming telcommunications center. A lot of this growth has happened in Sorrento Valley - yes one exit north of campus on the 5. This means that apartment rentals have gotten more scarce and more expensive in the areas around campus (UTC, La Jolla, Sorrento Valley). Things are more reasonable in University City (the acres of condos surrounding UTC (University Town Center), east of campus), but still may be too steep for starving graduate students. It's possible to live on the beach, but it can be expensive, and many landlords only rent the apartments to students for 9 months, renting during the summer months at much higher rates to tourists.
The housing nearby is mostly condominiums and apartments. The average rate (in the UTC area)is about $950-$1150 for a two bedroom apartment, and $700-$950 for a one bedroom apartment. Most of the complexes near school are large (300 apartments/townhouses, usually as a large number of two or three story buildings).
The campus runs graduate/married apartments near campus. Rates are less than market, running $525-$700 this year for a two bedroom apartment, and about $450 for a studio or one bedroom apartment. There are only two ways to get into Coast or Mesa graduate student housing. First, you can be on the waiting list for anywhere for approximately one year (possibly longer for the one bedroom and studio apartments. Second you can find another graduate student who already has Mesa/Coast two bedroom apartment, but needs another roommate. When a single graduate student gets a two bedroom apartment, that student must find another student to share the apartment within a month. If they do not find a roommate (or if their roommate leaves and they can't find a new roommate), they must move out. Mesa's board usually has a number of roommate wanted postings, and the local readnews groups usually have a couple people looking for roommates. These apartments are close to campus, on the bus line, spread out, and populated by other graduate students and married undergraduates, so all the graduate student housing tends to be pretty quiet. Apartments in Mesa vary according to the area of Mesa you're in, but tend to provide storage space and reasonably sized rooms, but lack some of the extras that the nice apartments off-campus provide - covered parking, dishwashers, etc.
Apartments in Coast have just been remodeled. Some of them are very quiet and have ocean views. They were closed for all of 1996-1997 for revamping but are now open. The duration of the closure will probably make the waiting list time longer than at Mesa. Check with the apartments directly to find out exactly what the wait is. We suggest you get on the list ASAP if you think you might possibly be interested sometime in the future. You do this by filling out the housing application you recieve in your information folder.
The time on the waiting list also differs depending on your situation. Currently you have to wait for 1 year and a couple of quarters, if you are single, less than a year if you are married and very little if you are married with children. Most of the housing offered is shared and if you are single you have to have a roommate. You cannot be on the waiting list if you're living in Mesa in someone else's apartment.
The University has two suite-style apartment environments for grad students. There are 4-person grad student apartments in the Warren Apartments. These are closer to the center of campus but more expensive than Mesa. The University also runs the I-house (``International House'') in the Pepper Canyon undergrad apartments. They usually put foreign visiting students and Americans in the same apartment to provide a nice cultural experience, and they're willing to let grad students live there as well. Costs and living arrangements are similar to the Warren apartments.
There are other areas further away from campus that are cheaper than apartments near campus. The Hillcrest area tends to have cheaper housing (the best I've heard was a one bedroom apartment for $450 or so) but the area is more urban. There's more traffic, a better nightlife, better services (grocery stores, restaurants, coffee houses) nearby, more crowded conditions, etc. Hillcrest is also on the shuttle line to campus.
Many students also live in Pacific Beach. Prices are cheaper than campus, but a bit more than Hillcrest. Pacific Beach has horrendous traffic problems. It also has a very student-like atmosphere. Garnet, the main drag, has a number of nightclubs, bars, etc.
A final option is to rent a room in a house, townhouse, or apartment, and share the common areas with other students. Typically, rooms rent from $300 to $400 Rooms are available in all the areas listed.
The best places to search for a room or an apartment would probably be:
1) Off-campus housing office on campus (534-3670). They have bulletin boards where they list rooms for rent and apartments for rent. The rooms are usually with other students. They usually have a large number of listings, and most are aimed at student budgets.
2) San Diego Union Tribune, San Diego's daily paper. Lots of apartment listings.
3) San Diego Reader, weekly paper. Lots of apartments, lots of rooms for rent.
4) University run graduate/married apartments bulletin board. The Graduate/Married Student Housing office in Mesa Apartments (534-2952) has a bulletin board where they list Mesa and Coast residents who need a roommate. Mesa's board always has a few ``roommate wanted'' postings, and the local news groups (ucsd.housing, ucsd.grads) usually have a couple people looking for roommates.
If you're going to look for an apartment after you arrive, plan anywhere from 1 to 5 days. If you're not picky, in one day you can check out the larger complexes near campus. They're all very similar in price, service, and overall condition. But you could spend 5 days and still not see everything. Allow a day for your application to be processed, too. If you want to check out places more distant from campus, add extra time. If you don't have a car this will be particularly time-consuming. Note that in some complexes, the management may only rent a single apartment to you if your income is three times the rent.
Costs to move in: Deposits probably vary with who you're renting from. Some places will expect no move in charges other than a deposit (typically $200 to $400 for an apartment), others may expect first month's rent, last month's rent, and security deposit. Many of the condos have one year leases. Pacific Bell will charge about $35 for installing each phone line (assuming they only have to turn on the line and don't have to install wiring.) San Diego Gas and Electric charges a lesser amount for turning on service. Utility costs for an apartment will typically be around $15/line/month for basic service and $30-40/month for electricity. Cable TV is about $30/month. Many people are not fond of San Diego's tap water; you might want to plan to buy bottled water (probably in the $15-20/month range for one or two people).
If you decide you really must park on campus, the procedures for getting a parking permit change seemingly at random, and the Parking Office has a poor reputation for efficiency and customer relations. The process of getting a permit has often been very complicated and we don't know which hoops you'll have to jump through this year.
Graduate students may purchase either the S (yellow) sticker at $90.75 a quarter or the B (green) sticker at $131.67 per quarter. The green is more expensive, but allows parking in the green spaces, in addition to the yellow spaces. Undergrads don't get to use the green spaces. If you want to try to park between 9am and 2pm in the lots closest to APM, you'll want to get a green sticker, and even then it can be difficult to find a parking space close to APM. If the lots closest to APM are full, you can try the lots located directly north of the Extension buildings which don't usually fill up early. Generally, the farther away from anything the lot is, the better is your chance of finding a spot. There is a shuttle service to the remote parking lots which serves APM. The shuttle gets crowded at peak times. Over the past two years, several hundred parking spaces have been removed for new buildings, with no new parking added. The costs are rising and the availability is declining. If you don't need to drive to campus, you are better off.
There are also two other deals available for infrequent users. One is a $20 pass which allows use of all spots (yellow, green, red, meter) after 4:30pm on weekdays or all day on weekends. The other is also $20, and allows you 10 days of parking per quarter, in yellow/green spaces during weekdays, and also red/metered spots during night/weekend hours.
The Parking Office likes to change the rules a lot and invent new ones, so ask them frequently if what you're doing is still OK, as ticket prices are getting pretty high.
There is some free parking off-campus (usually a 10+ minute walk), some meters (fierce competition) and one-day parking permits. They are available at the info booths at the North and Gilman entrances.
Three or more people who form a carpool can get their own reserved parking space!
Get your picture taken. Processing can take a up to a week and you will need your ID card to get a bus pass on it (so you can ride the bus for free within a 3-mile radius of campus), for the use of libraries, and other facilities. This is one of the first things to do. You should be able to do this at the Bursar's Office, located across from the cashier's office. Be sure to take ID when you get your picture taken.
You should have already received a statement from the bursar's office. If you have to pay your own fees go to the cashier's office, give them the statement and money and receive your sticker for the ID card. If you do not wish to wait in line you can drop off your check and statement in the night deposit slot located on the north side of the cashier's office. If you have a TAship, you may elect to have the fees deducted from your paycheck in equal amounts. If your fees are paid for by the University, you may need to see OGSR (Office of Graduate Studies and Research.)
To sign up for classes you need a catalog (somewhat optional, but worth having) and a schedule of classes. Or, once you have been assigned a PAC (personal access code), you can use it and your student ID number to register on-line (or on the phone with TESS). For more information go to https://www-act.ucsd.edu/cgi-bin/studentlink.pl. You should talk to one of the faculty advisors on gradcom before registering for classes your first quarter.
The Office of Graduate Studies and Research is the main university-wide agent you will have to talk to. They are quite efficient and aptly described in the Graduate Student Handbook, which you should receive at the orientation meeting. They are located at building 520 of Roosevelt College. You can also reach them at 534-3555.