Ucsc

[LaCroix]

Well, I'm inclined toward the Inn and against Grad housing because the Inn is not on campus. I'd like to get a feel for the city. Of course, I'm fully aware I could live to regret the dorm-like atmostphere...but having a firm housing situation is very alluring to me, being so far away. Oh, and I think with the meal plan it's $12,600 for 3 quarters.

[TheBrothersKaramazov]

Ahh... the off-campus factor. That's fair.
Well, i think that you are allowed to break most UCSC housing leases early for ~$200. So there isn't too much of a loss if you decide you can't take it anymore and want to move elsewhere.
It si also a good way to meet people - - which can be difficult if you live on your own in a single apartment or similar.

[gogol02]

Anyone with input on these apartments/area?

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/scz/apa/1169546167.html

there are very few places that do not limit dog size

[jlee7979]

Dear first year guys who plan to live in campus house:
How do you manage to live from August 31th in Santa Cruz? It seems that the move-in date is Sep. 18-19th.
It would be also great if you can tell us your experience, TBK.

[sir_ceterus]

Jlee, the academic housing contract starts September 1st. When you apply for housing make sure to note in the housing options section that you will need a pro-rated room from August 28-31.

[mynameiscurtis]

Originally Posted by LaCroix

Well, I'm inclined toward the Inn and against Grad housing because the Inn is not on campus. I'd like to get a feel for the city. Of course, I'm fully aware I could live to regret the dorm-like atmostphere...but having a firm housing situation is very alluring to me, being so far away. Oh, and I think with the meal plan it's $12,600 for 3 quarters.

I'll be joining y'all as a first year econ phd this Fall, but I attended UCSC back in 2004.

Not to say that I'm certain you wouldn't enjoy the Inn, but I'd feel guilty if I didn't caution you. Every person I knew who lived there was happy to leave. Unless the school has changed the set-up, you'll be sharing what is essentially a hotel room with likely one roommate - in what is essentially a motel. To me it seemed the worst part of the dorm experience without the positives (perhaps I'm being harsh, having never lived there personally).

But also, because the Inn isn't on campus, it's located between the county government seat and other hotels, you don't really get a feel for the school or the city living there.

Based on what I sense is you housing desire, and what I know about the city when I lived there five years ago, I might suggest the other housing options the university has along Pacific Ave or renting something on one of the tree-named Aves to the west of downtown. I lived on Chestnut my last year after living in the dorms and Beach Hill - it gave me a number of bus options to campus and was a nice-short walk to downtown.

Anywoo, my two sense. All best!

[TheBrothersKaramazov]

jlee, Sir Ceterus is right. You can ask housing to give you pro-rated rent for the days before Sept 1 that are living at GSH. They are pretty flexible about that. Also, GSH rent works on a monthly schedule, whereas the rest of on-campus housing is paid quarterly. So, your September month would start Sept. 1. You could move into GSH August 1, and that would be ok too... (you would pay for the full month of August instead of pro-rated rent).

[LaCroix]

Thanks for the heads up, mynameiscurtis. It seems like it's going to be a pain in the keister either way. But I still have a couple of weeks to cancel my application, so maybe I'll reconsider the options.

It seems Graduate Student Housing is highly regarded by TBK and others (except for the price). Although I was slightly put off at sharing a space with 3 other folks...any thoughts?

Regarding math camp: I took 2 semesters of graduate level Mathematical Economics last year, but we used a different book - "Mathematics for Economists" by Hoy, Livernois, et. al. Does anybody know if the UCSC math camp will be along those lines, or something different? My professor wasn't too keen on the Hoy book, so I'm not sure how helpful those classes will turn out to be.

[jlee7979]

Thanks sir_ceterus and TBK!

[TheBrothersKaramazov]

La Croix, you could have great roommates or awful ones. Everyone is sufficiently busy with their own work so it's usually pretty quiet in GSH. I don't regret living in GSH because I (a) didn't have to look for accomodations, (b) it is located in the most convenient part of campus, (c) and i didn't have to take the time and money to furnish a place when I first arrived. I arrived on the first day of math camp, so it would have been such a hectic experience if I lived elsewhere. That said, if I had arrived a month earlier ... maybe I could have found something off campus that was cheaper.

imho, i think sharing a bedroom with another person is riskier than living in GSH with your own bedroom but potentially annoying roommates. If you want the off campus feel, I'd recommend apartments or shared houses.

In case you haven't been bored enough to look for your Fall 2009 schedule, you can find it here. Econ listings are on page 111.
http://reg.ucsc.edu/soc/2098.pdf

Econ 204A - McCalman - TR - 4-5:45pm
Econ 205A - Staff - MW 2-3:45pm
Econ 211A - Cheng - TR - 8-9:45am

For those of you interested in AMS 205, both A and B are offered on TR 2-3:45.