A Student's Guide to the University of California, San Diego's Dorms and Apartments

University of California, San Diego or UCSD is home to six different colleges: Muir, Marshall, Revelle, Warren, ERC (Eleanor Roosevelt College), and Sixth. With all these different "colleges" on campus, there's just as many different dorms and on-campus apartments to boot. Even though as a college freshmen or transfer, you might have no choice in which college you're in or even which dorm or on-campus apartment you'll be headed to, it doesn't hurt to know which housing is fought over and which ones are best avoided.

Dorms are usually offered to 1st years, but 2nd years can sometimes find themselves stuck there as well. Dorms are usually split up into suites made up of same-sex students. These suites share the same floor with other suites as well. If you're lucky enough, you'll be able to avoid the triples (3 people to a room) and find a roommate that you can tolerate. Too bad there's no guarantee. On-campus apartments are usually only offered to 2nd years and have a lot of extras that dorms don't have, like a fully functional kitchen and refrigerator, more privacy, and more space. UCSD guarantees that all rooms in apartments and dorms are furnished a bed, desk, basic lighting, and more fun than monkeys in a barrel.

Muir apartments and dorms are the best on-campus housing at UCSD. Period. The best thing about Muir is it's location. From Muir, you can get to most classes within 5-10 minutes, which is pretty nice considering how huge the campus is. Its not uncommon for a Muir student to be able to roll out of bed 10 minutes before class starts and still be on time. The food is great as well (Sierra Summit and El Mercado) with easy access to the beach, gym, and parking.Tenaya and Tioga hall are the tallest dorms available at UCSD and enjoy an ocean view from around the 5th floor up. If you're lucky enough to snag one of those rooms, be sure to enjoy the wonderful sunsets and scenery that makes other colleges green with envy. Did you know that Muir apartments is the ONLY place at UCSD where you can have co-ed roommates?

Marshall college is home to one of the greatest dining places on campus: OVT (Ocean View Terrace). Open until 1 A.M., OVT is the perfect place to grab a late night snack without needing a car. Living next to it is a sure-fire way to gain the dreaded freshmen 15. But why worry? RIMAC ( Recreation Intramural Athletic Complex), the biggest gym at UCSD with all the latest equipment and facilities as well as a variety of rec classes and sports, is just a few minutes away. The dorms make it a little difficult to meet people from different floors since the doors are usually locked, but you should be able to have lots of fun with just your floor.

Revelle has the unfortunate distinction of having the most difficult GE (General Education) requirements at UCSD. Good thing that CLICS (Center for Library and Instructional Computer Services) is right around the corner and stays open until 1 A.M. during the regular school year and 24 hours during finals week. Its also great that Revelle has POTS (Plaza On The Side) which is one of the three dining halls open until 1 A.M. Although you won't find the same wide selection of food as OVT, its a wonderful place to stock up on energy drinks or to grab your favorite snack to help fuel your studying/partying. The dorms themselves are nothing to write home about, although Revelle is reputed to have the wildest dorm life on campus. Be sure to keep an eye out for a black cat that's been staying at Blake Hall for the past 3-4 years.

Warren is pretty secluded from campus compared to the other colleges. Warren students have the distinction of being more physically fit than their peers due to the long distances between Warren and classes that most students take. At least the dorms and apartments compensate for this inconvenience with relatively soundproof walls and floors. Warren dorms and apartments have some of the thickest walls and floors so you can enjoy your music without bothering your neighbor. Another great thing about Warren is Earl's Place. Although Earl's Place isn't exactly a dining hall where you can enjoy meals, it is the only place on campus where you can purchase non-food items, such as toothpaste and birthday cards, using only your meal points. Its also open until 1 A.M. with an on-line store to buy different products in bulk. Unfortunately, Warren has the worst parking situation, with few spaces available and a close proximity to the police station.

ERC is a close contender with Warren in terms of how difficult it is to get to classes on time. ERC is also on the edge of UCSD and happens to be the furthest away from ALL classes (Unless you happen to be taking international politics or history). The only dining hall around is Cafe Ventanas, home to fresh sushi and sub-par food with expensive price tags to match. ERC is also next to Pangea Parking Structure, which should be avoided like the plague due to car thefts and break-ins. ERC apartments (dorms don't exist) also have the thinnest walls and floors, allowing snores, phone rings, and normal conversations to be heard from all apartments around yours. Is there anything positive about ERC? Well, all the apartments have single rooms only. ALL of them. The top floors for some apartments also have great ocean views with balconies and terraces to help enjoy them. I house (Housing for international students) is also in ERC, which makes for some interesting conversations and friendships.

Last, but not least, is Sixth College. Yes, it's name is Sixth College, but only because it is the most recent college to have been created and so it's official name hasn't been attached yet. Unfortunately, being a new college at UCSD is a lot like being the youngest of a large family. You never get new stuff, you always get hand-me-downs. As ERC moved into their new apartments, Sixth moved into ERC's old dorms at Camp Snoopy. Extremely secluded from the rest of campus, Camp Snoopy and the Sixth apartments have a lot of issues to deal with. Being so far away from the rest of campus, classes take at least 15 minutes to get to, and its all uphill as well.The only dining hall nearby (Foodworx) is extremely small compared to other dining halls and has absolutely no place to sit down and eat. That means you have to go home and eat, and for Camp Snoopy, that's a long walk home. The dorms are old and haven't been remodeled in a while, although they do have nice study lounges for studying or goofing off. The apartments can be difficult to navigate through as well for newcomers and residents alike. So what's there to like at Sixth college? The apartments have two-story layouts that help make the apartment feel much bigger than it really is and the dorms themselves have an interesting layout as well, with suites connected by a communal bathroom. Its also got one of the better parking situations out of the colleges, with a huge parking lot and Gilman Parking Structure that offers a lot of open spaces.

If you've been accepted to UCSD, congratulations! After checking which college you're in, be sure to make the right choice of which dorm or apartment you'll be staying in. Good luck and have fun!